Tire washing

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bill dane

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Jan 6, 2009
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    Read recently that tires should be washed with a water based soap opposed to petro based soap.  Went to the soap isle and tried to read what it was made with. I had the wrong college degree as all the wording was not to my understanding.
    Can anyone recommend a brand of WATER based soap?

Bill Dane
99 Country Coach Allure
 
Most dishwashing soaps are waterbased - I believe.  Joy does a good job of disolving/removing oil/prtroleum residues.  Then a decent protectant coating, like 303 is good. Tough job washing the insides of tires and inside dual.
 
For many years now we have used a tire brush and Wesley's Bleche-Wite on the tires before starting the rest of the wash on our vehicles, then as we progress from the top to the bottom of the vehicle, we wash the tires and wheels again with whatever car wash detergent we happen to be using at the time. I'm almost 61 years old, and have been doing my tires like that since I can remember. I have never had a problem with my tires due to the detergent I used.
 
No worries, there isn't enough petroleum in any household detergent to affect a tire in any meaningful way.  Just don't use petroleum solvents on them, e.g. kerosine, mineral spirits, acetone, etc.
 
My Michelin tires get that ugly brown stuff all over.  From what I understand, that comes to the surface for rubber protection.  I do use the Wesley's Bleche-Wite, and the brown stuff washes off, but since I learned about the protection aspect I use it less often.
 
Considering how many times the tread makes direct contact with drips of oil on the pavement I don't think washing a tire with a petroleum based soap would have any significant impact if any on the life of the tire.
 
You might check with your tire manufacturer and see what they recommend and if there are any cautions.  I say this because I have read where certain products can cause the tire to begin to turn brown which is caused by certain products.  Cannot recall what chemicals in those products creating this adverse effect, so it might be worth your effort to check to see what the Mfg. say's.  I did have tires begin to turn brown on two previous vehicles using common tire cleaning & dressing products.  Since then, I wash them with the same car wash product I use and treat periodically with Aerospace 303, no issues since.
 
I have been using Goodyear Marathon trailer tires for 19 years with no problems at all.  I replace them every 6 years.  Here is what Goodyear says and what I do:

Cleaning your RV tires.
Goodyear RV tires do not need dressings, appearance products or covers to help protect them. In fact, using
products that contain alcohol, petroleum or silicone may cause your Goodyear RV tires to deteriorate and crack.
Clean your tires whenever you wash your RV. You can wash your tires with the same products you use to wash
your RV ? a soft brush and mild soap.
 
    Thanks for the replies.  Have been using Aero 303 on the tires, dash and all rubber gaskets with very good results.  I just waxed the coach and decided to put a coat of 303 on the fiberglass roof and the rest of the coach and see if it protect the coach  from UV.

Bill Dane
99 Country Coach Allure
210,000+ miles
















uv
 
The only problem with applying 303 on your coach is according to the manufacturer, it needs to be reapplied approximately every 5-weeks where as a good quality rv/marine wax will typically last 3-6 months and a good quality sealer can last 6-months to a year, thus reducing the amount of labor.
 
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