Archive for the ‘Washing and Waxing’ Category

Do you have an old tin of car wax, or a bottle of car-wash concentrate that’s more than a few years old? Don’t use it; they likely contain so-called volatile organic compounds (VOC), which are dangerous for health and the environment. They've been tightly regulated by California and have been reduced steadily over the years.

Among the other products to watch out for are brake-dust-removing wheel cleaners, which have changed significantly in formulation in recent years to cut the presence of VOCs.

According to Dmitri Stanich of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the regulations have greatly reduced VOCs, along with some other...

Wildfires have become a seasonal fact of life in parts of California, and throughout the Western U.S. in the dry season. But given the widespread fires affecting Southern California over the past several days, it’s likely that many more people will be affected by the fires in ways they didn’t think of—like their cars.

All over Southern California in the coming days, motorists might see a light ash residue on their cars—even if they were quite far from the actual flames and smoke.

While it might just seem like a little dust on your sparkling clearcoat, owners should be quick to remove the deposits, or take measures to keep the ash off in the...