Deerfield

I wanted to get the group's perspective on the value of purchasing a blower to dry car after a wash. I do see from many that it is the "professional" approach most seem to take. I am unfortunately at a car washing disadvantage as I live in a condo with no such facility and my local Porsche dealership (which is seemingly convenient as it is across the street) just stopped doing washes this year for customers (other than for service). I therefore have to resort to the car wash "bays" (hand wash car wash offerings are few and far between near me which is puzzling).

I will add - brand new car with PPF and Cermaic - to the extent that makes a difference.

Questions:

• Does a blower make a dramatic difference in appearance and time for drying a car?
• Is a blower effective for just pollen removal in isolation of a wash?
• Any recommendations for a battery powered small unit (remember need to store in a condo) that I should look into?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Tobeit

I also moved into a condo but our condo has a wash bay. But even before I moved I always used my 40V Kobalt leaf blower. Light and powerful enough. Most effective if your ceramic coating is in good shape. When the water does not pearl off with the leaf blower I know its time to refresh the ceramic application. The blowe saves a lot of time and is easier on your paint than wiping it dry. The blower leaves a few water pearls (especially as the ceramic coating has some wear) but these are easy done with a hand drying towel after blowing most of it it off.

shrimp money

Will the car be garaged?


If so, you can wash the car and wheels using a 2 gallon pump sprayer. You can do all four wheels with the 2 gallons.

You might need to fill up once during the rinse process.

If the car will be garaged and had full PPF, I’ve been using a Swiffer Duster to remove pollen and dust on the car from simply opening and closing the garage door. A leaf blower isn’t effective at getting the pollen off.

The Swiffer Dusters have science to them on how they attract dust and pollen.

22992

Just get a dionizer that removes impurities, also known as “spot free rinse” at your local car wash. This will remove hard water deposits and make drying less critical.

Deerfield

Thanks all -

Yes garaged but not 360 -open back (if you can tell from my profile picture). I washed the car yesterday noonish - this morning to go to work - already covered in pollen.

I will give the good old Swiffer a shot - seems logical and easy to keep in the frunk.

If 40v is sufficient enough power - that is a low investment - will try and find a small hand-held.


thanks

Tobeit

I stopped using swiffers even though they work great …but I just don’t like wiping something all over the car that collects dust/debris over time. I think they work based on electrostatic charge and small particles get attached. I also know you can clean them but I am just not a fan knowing if I cleaned it well or not .

on the blower, just make sure the nozzle is not too small or it will take way too much time. I just use a regular blower with about a 5” nozzle and works well. Consider actually cutting the nozzle shorter to make it easier to do the roof but my wife still uses it for the balcony too.

nyca

Lawn blowers are not actually car dryers. For one, they don't heat the air, a real car dryer does. And real ones filter the air as well, which means you won't be accelerating unfiltered air onto your paint surface. The real ones are expensive, and I think many of them require upgraded electrical to run.

Shogunade

Definitely get a blower. With your coating the water will slide right off saving you time and effort. For the water that didnt come off, just dab with a plush MF towel. This is the way.

Tobeit

well, that might be true but is also lots of marketing language to make you pay for it. A blower sucks in the air from where the handle is (not close to the ground) and I doubt much sand gets in there (assuming you wash your car not standing in a sandpit but on concrete). If you must, you can always add a thin filter layer but doubt it’s needed. Heated air - nice I guess (in the cold?)but never had an issue not getting my car dry w/o it. Certainly a professionally installed car blower is nice but that is not for possible for him at the condo and honestly not needed in my mind. A cheap blower sure beats wiping it clean, which I find much more concerning than the potential of blowing rocks at the car with the blower.

nyca

Well, you can get a lower cost blower with just a filter - but its corded. This one gets good reviews, especially at that price point.

Drew46

I bought a dedicated car blower and it is much slower than a good drying towel and nit that much more effective unless you are absolutely **** about getting every last drop if water fro every nook. So, if I were bringing my car to a show (or even a cars and coffee near by) it might be worth it. But for a typical wash I find myself reaching for the towels.

Deerfield

Thinking this RYOBI 40V 120 MPH 550 CFM Cordless Battery Blower With 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger RY40LB01K - The Home Depot

In a perfect word with a garage - would strive for more perfect methods but perhaps beggars can be choosers in my scenario -

por356

Did the leaf blower at first, and felt it did a decent job, but popped for Adam's blower and it does a much better job drying. Still can't believe how long it takes to blow out all the water that collects in and around the P O R S C H E lettering.

Ikone

I bought the most powerful blower E-Go makes and it's nice but I'm going to get a CR Spotless water deionizer. I think it would be a better investment for you. You'll save time by not having to dry. The blower works, but it takes about as long as hand drying and water is still left dripping from some crevices. Look at the portable CR Spotless solutions. My car is also ceramic coated and PPF'd. You don't want water spots on ceramic. It is a pain to get out.

null

I just bought and used a blower for the first time:

I had to do a late night wash and took the car to a 24-hour coin-op car wash bay. The car was ceramic coated a few weeks ago.

My first thoughts were that the blower was fantastic. It got pretty much all the water off the car, to the point where I didn't need to do much more.

On the flip side, the thing was LOUD. I felt terrible because there was a residential area near the car wash bay. I thought the chance of someone opening a window and throwing a brick at me to be quite high. I will be wearing my shooting ear protection when I use the blower.

Also (and this might just be the particular model I bought), it's heavy. Not a big deal, but mine's too heavy to efficiently use with one hand.

I also used it on a truck that was not ceramic coated, and which is more of a regular use kind of car that never got any detailing / waxing love. The blower didn't do crap (as Tobeit suggests, above). Was worse than worthless, and offered no benefit - just created more noise and work.


So yeah, I'd say it makes a big difference for drying time / appearance, IF your car has a good ceramic coat on it.

Can't speak to pollen removal.

I can't compare to any other units, but this is the one I got, FWIW...:

https://clean-garage.com/ego-blower-...-short-nozzle/