Accumulator
Well-known member
While I really like my Daimer steamer, and am pretty fanatical about my undercarriages, I don`t use the steamer for that once in a blue moon.
Steam Cleaner
- Thread starter ShakingHorizons
- Start date
While I really like my Daimer steamer, and am pretty fanatical about my undercarriages, I don`t use the steamer for that once in a blue moon.
When you say fanatical, do you have a multi step process for each part of the undercarriage and clean each bit with different product ? 
or do you give er with the steamer and pressure wash it.?
Do you oil spray your undercarriage on the daily driver ?
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or do you give er with the steamer and pressure wash it.?Do you oil spray your undercarriage on the daily driver ?
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Accumulator
Well-known member
When you say fanatical, do you have a multi step process for each part of the undercarriage and clean each bit with different product ?
They never get that dirty between washes, though I do use my undercar-wand just because it rinses large areas quickly. These days I clean my undercarriages with the same sorta-strong shampoo mix that I use for wheels/wells. It is a multi-step process though, lots of time spent on the creeper with different types of wash media...and yeah, I do that at almost every wash, occasionally skipping in the summer if I`m only washing off dust and the undercarriage hasn`t gotten dirty.
No. Just keeping things clean under there has been enough to prevent rust issues on all but one vehicle- the Mazda MPV that rusted out in numerous places from the inside..found out later that it was related to the build process. Rustproofing the MPV might`ve kept it from rusting, might not have...but it wouldn`t have been clean enough for me to enjoy having..if only because I don`t see how anybody can spot things like minor fluid leaks or the start of components wearing out. It`d take one *VERY* meticulous job of rustproofing to keep the stuff off of places where I don`t want it and AFAIK the best rustproofing products "creep" and it`d be hard to avoid getting the stuff on my wash/dry media.
E.g., the Tahoe has surface rust on the frame and some suspension bits (as I replace stuff I paint the new pieces), but it never gets significantly worse and the oil spray would be way too messy (had it on other vehicles).
E.g.#2, the `93 Audi has been mostly a Winter Beater its whole life (and the original owner didn`t know from carcare), but I just cleaned it up once and 845ed the underside and that was that.
As long as I wash the salt off before things start getting significantly worse, it`s just not an issue. But hey..that`s just *my* regimen on my vehicles working out for *me*. !YMMV! and all that.
So how do you wash your undercarriage in the winter months?
I was considering just using the coin op washes in the cold months to rid of the undercarriage salt.
I`ll be LPSing my undercarriage next month at some point as the car is still brand new and hasn`t seen salt.
I just straight up don`t have that kind of time and devotion lol. Not on the daily.
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I was considering just using the coin op washes in the cold months to rid of the undercarriage salt.
I`ll be LPSing my undercarriage next month at some point as the car is still brand new and hasn`t seen salt.
I just straight up don`t have that kind of time and devotion lol. Not on the daily.
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Raymoche
New member
Striker, have you consider just grabbing 2 sprinklers and placing them under your car, then fire it up for 5 or 10 minutes (however long you want) when its not freezing out? Works well, cheap, and effortless, and will dissolve 95% if not 100% of the salt. It would be amazing if you have warm water access for your sprinkler water supply.
locate both on the cars length centerline, then position one just behind front axle and one just in front of the rear axle. Although this wont help if you are pressed for time.. or don`t have access to a yard/hose/space. Whatever salt left is easy enough to just rinse off during regular washes.
I just notice that the 20% off applies to steamers.. so tempted but just got done avoiding a catastrophe with the wife. cant buy. lol
I was looking at the mytee 1500.
locate both on the cars length centerline, then position one just behind front axle and one just in front of the rear axle. Although this wont help if you are pressed for time.. or don`t have access to a yard/hose/space. Whatever salt left is easy enough to just rinse off during regular washes.
I just notice that the 20% off applies to steamers.. so tempted but just got done avoiding a catastrophe with the wife. cant buy. lol
I was looking at the mytee 1500.
Raymoche
New member
Damn sorry, I didn`t know you are in Canada, I am in NYC and the winters have been real mild the last 2 years.... my cousin from Toronto was here last year and laughed at our winters lol!
ShakingHorizons
New member
Having used the VX5000 previously when I was working at a detail shop, I would definitely take it over the Mytee.
Guess I need to pony up $800 and purchase what I know works well.
Zelfiris
New member
I`m in Toronto and this is what I do every winter. I go spray down my car every 2 weeks. When temp is above 0 degrees Celsius, I make sure to spray the under carriage same day.
ShakingHorizons
New member
Do you feel that .5L was enough water to complete your job? When I used the VX5000 (3.5L) I never ran out. For half the price of the VX5000, the BRIO sounds like a viable option.
Do you do the same as me and just spray it down with water? I try and stay away from the soap those places have.
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Accumulator
Well-known member
Climate-controlled shop. I guess I`m spoiled but I`ve prioritized having that since I was a young guy.
I put `em up on jacks and stands (not needed with Tahoe) and slide under with a creeper after rinsing the worst off with the undercar wand.
Just as an aside, with most of our vehicles getting a bit elderly I find that the final work under there lends itself to a thorough inspection of the mechanicals. I`ve spotted just *so* many things that were the first indications of needed service, my mechanics have quit bothering to say "good thing you spotted that when you did.." and now they *expect* for me to find looming issues long before they would. If you look at every square inch of the underside and engine compartment regularly even a layman can learn to spot when something`s not right.
That`d be a lot better than nothing, but *I* would worry about it missing areas that might retain salt. I`m thinking specifically of *your* car...there`s a reason why I will *NEVER* drive the Crown Vic in the salt
Ford`s build-quality ticks me off, but OTOH their vehicles don`t cost what the Audis do either.The original owner of my `93 Audi ran it through a relatively decent carwash regularly and always got the undercarriage spray. But the brake/fuel lines still rusted out from salt exposure and cost me a fortune to have fabricated. They *must* be carefully cleaned with long-bristle brushes to get all the salt off and doing some of that simply takes a lot of doing.
You might find that addictive
While you`re under there, look for any places where Ford might not have really painted things in a decent way and take care of those before it sees salt. Understood and perfectly sensible. Part of why I do it is that my wife and I don`t want to replace the current vehicles (we like *exactly* what we have and doubt we could find better examples). For me, overkilling stuff like this is better than buying "disposable cars" like I used to...don`t like today`s stuff and the older vehicles we do like are always pretty trashed. At other points in time we just bought/used/sold the disposables without getting all invested in their upkeep and that aproach *did* have a lot going for it (I still think about just leasing a bottom-rung VW and not being at all Autopian about it).
I`ve never used my 1500C`s soap injection, just water.
Just FWIW, I don`t do too many marathon sessions with my steamer, but I would *NOT* want to be without the continuous fill. I`ve had the stop-to-fill types and it was much more of an issue for me than I`d expected. Won`t be that way for everybody, but it turned out to be critical for me.
I hear ya on Ford quality. The fiesta is at Ford as we speak getting its hatch repainted under warranty!
The fiesta has a lot of covers under neath. Being such a small car, even the exhaust shields cover a good portion of the car.
I`ll be removing the plastic fender liners on the front and the carpeted ones in the back and getting some oil under there too.
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The fiesta has a lot of covers under neath. Being such a small car, even the exhaust shields cover a good portion of the car.
I`ll be removing the plastic fender liners on the front and the carpeted ones in the back and getting some oil under there too.
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zmcgovern45
New member
The tank is on the small side, but it has continuous operation during fill, so you don`t have to shut the machine off... just pour more water in and keep going.
As I understand it, there is a pump that transfers water from the fill tank to the boiler as needed unlike the cheaper units that require you to stop, turn the machine off, wait for it to cool, fill it up, wait for it to heat up, then keep working... when your water is low, you just open the lid, fill it up, and keep on going without ever shutting the machine off or waiting for it to cool down.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Striker- Glad you`re taking the preventative measures!
zmcgovern45- You ever think you`re somehow getting lower performance with the continuous fill? I`ve never thought it was an issue with mine, always figured it was just a way for others to make a feature sound like a bug.
zmcgovern45- You ever think you`re somehow getting lower performance with the continuous fill? I`ve never thought it was an issue with mine, always figured it was just a way for others to make a feature sound like a bug.
zmcgovern45
New member
I don`t see the downside to it, but what would your concerns be?
RaysWay
Autopia Specialist
Ya I would love a steamer with continuous refill. My MR-100 warns against overfilling the unit. The problem is...after a detail I don`t know exactly how much is left in the tank. In some cases, I`ve started to use the steamer and about 5 minutes later it`s empty. Then I have to turn off the machine...wait for it to cool...refill....wait for it to heat back up....and start working again. My next steamer will have continuous refill.
Accumulator
Well-known member
The idea, put forth by companies that don`t offer the continuous fill, is that it somehow diminishes performance. Forget the details of their argument (inability to attain higher pressures? or maybe.. requires a too-small boiler?) didn`t really pay attention as I simply wanted/needed to be freed from the "wait until it cools down" which was more of an issue than I`d expected.
zmcgovern45
New member
Well I have pretty limited use with my machine so far, but for now I see no downside. There is a pump which transfers liquid from the fill reservoir to the boiler on demand. From the time you turn the unit on (from being cool) to the time you have steam is under 5 minutes, so I doubt it is completely filling the boiler, or perhaps it has a tiny boiler, and only makes steam as needed. I noticed if I run the machine without letting off the trigger for many minutes, the pressure may drop some as indicated by the digital gauge, but it goes right back up when I let off the trigger for a minute to wipe something down.
As you mentioned, it is a significantly cheaper option compared to the ever popular VX5000. I couldn`t justify the cost of a VX5000 or other higher end units with how little work I actually do that could benefit from a steamer, so I am extremely pleased so far with the drastic performance benefit vs. the cheap unit I had prior to the Reliable BRIO.