How to properly clean car tyres

It’s important that we look after and maintain our car tyres. After all, they’re the only part of the car that’s in contact with the road. Having clean, dressed tyres, frames the alloy wheels, which also enhances the overall look of the vehicle.

Cleaning and properly dressing car tyres will help to increase their longevity. Tyre dressings like the Gloss Fuel Conditioning Tyre Serum help protect the rubber from UV damage and lock in oils and other chemicals which keep the compound supple.

In this article, we look at how to clean car tyres at home, using basic tools, and just a few readily available automotive cleaning chemicals.

Best tools and products to clean car tyres? 

To clean your dirty car tyres safely and effectively, we recommend you use the following tools and products:

• Microfibre Towels
• Firm Bristled Tyre Brush
• All Purpose Cleaner (APC) or
• Citrus Fuelled Pre-Wash or
• Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner
• Conditioning Tyre Serum
• Tyre Dressing Applicator
• Pressure Washer or
• Garden Hose
  

How to clean car tyres – In 8 Easy Steps

STEP 1: Let your tyres and wheels cool down

It’s never a good idea to clean a car that’s just been driven. Brakes, tyres and other sensitive components could still be extremely hot. Cooling them too quickly with water from your hose or pressure washer could damage them. Applying car cleaning chemicals to hot surfaces could have unexpected results, like staining or chemical etching. Once all surfaces are cool to the touch, it’s safe to clean your car tyres – and the rest of your car too!

STEP 2: Inspect the condition of your car tyres

Before you clean your car tyres, it’s worth taking a few minutes to fully inspect your vehicle’s tyres. Specifically, you’re looking for damage to the sidewall, including bulges in the sidewall of the car tyres. Also look for signs of under or over inflation and check the remaining tread depth. Inspect each car tyre carefully before any cleaning takes place.

PRO TIP: Your tyres are arguably the most important safety item on your car. Inspect them regularly and never drive on damaged tyres.

Damaged tyres may require a different approach when it comes to the products and techniques used in the tyre cleaning process. Serious damage, like a bulge or ‘egg’ on the sidewall may indicate that the tyre is damaged beyond repair and is unsafe to drive on. Tyres with serious damage should be replaced immediately.

A gouged, nicked or cut sidewall will require further inspection to ascertain the depth of the damage. If the damage is minor and superficial, you should be safe to commence cleaning your car tyres.

PRO TIP: Old tyres are dangerous. Consider replacing tyres which are more than seven years old.

STEP 3: Pre-rinse your car tyres

Following careful inspection, begin cleaning your car tyres with a thorough pre-rinse. The best tool for this job is a pressure washer. Pre-rinsing with a pressure washer will help to clean mud off car tyres, as well as removing road salt and general road grime.

If your pressure washer has a fan nozzle or cone nozzle, use this to cut through the dirt on the sidewall. Work from top dead centre in a clockwise direction, then when you reach 12 o’clock, go back around counter-clockwise. Take your time, let the high pressure water lift and remove all the dirt that it can. Where possible, angle the jet of water at 45° to reduce the risk of damage to the wheel face or tyre sidewall.

STEP 4: Apply Wheel & Tyre Cleaner, Citrus Fuelled Pre-Wash or APC

Once the pre-rinse is complete, the best way to clean car tyres is to apply your chosen tyre cleaning chemical directly to the tyre’s sidewall. If using a dedicated tyre cleaner, follow the manufacturers instructions. If using an APC or citrus pre-wash, dilute accordingly and apply liberally, coating as much of the sidewall as possible.

When cleaning your car tyres with a dedicated Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner, allow the product to dwell for a few minutes. Rubber is a porous material and will naturally absorb some of the chemical. This is ok as the agitation in the next step will help to remove both ingrained dirt and any absorbed tyre cleaner.

Whichever tyre cleaner you choose to use, where possible, try to avoid cleaning your car tyres in strong, direct sunlight. Cleaning your car tyres in strong sun and high temperatures will cause the tyre cleaner to dry out too quickly. This will reduce its cleaning ability and may mean using more product.

If you have no choice but to clean your car tyres in direct sunlight, or high temperatures, check out our guide on the best way to clean your car in the sun for tips on how to deal with this situation.

STEP 5: Scrub your car tyres

The best brush to clean car tyres is a dedicated stiff bristled tyre brush. So grab your preferred tyre brush and start scrubbing! Don’t be shy, get stuck in and use plenty of elbow grease.

You may notice at this stage that the tyre cleaner foams up and turns brown. This is normal and indicates that the chemical is doing its job, removing dirt, grime and any previously applied tyre dressing.

PRO TIP: Try to avoid the tyre brush coming into contact with the alloy wheels.

Tyre brushes should never be used on the face of the alloy wheel. Doing so could scratch the finish of the wheel, or even damage the lacquer on the wheel. For an in-depth guide on how to safely clean your alloy wheels, check out our article on this very subject.

If you’re worried about the possibility of accidentally damaging your alloy wheels with a tyre brush, you could use a microfibre towel instead. The micro fibres that make up the pile of the towel do a surprisingly good job of removing dirt from porous rubber surfaces. We recommend that you use an old microfibre towel that will never be used for anything else. This will reduce the possibility of cross-contamination with any other part of your car.

STEP 6: Rinse and repeat

After contact cleaning your car tyres with a tyre brush or microfibre towel, rinse the tyre. Use the exact rinse method we described in step 3. Apply more tyre cleaner and scrub your car tyres again. Keep rinsing and cleaning until the tyre cleaner foam stops turning brown.

If you haven’t previously cleaned your tyres, a typical daily driven car may need two or three cleaning cycles until the foam stops browning:

1. Apply tyre cleaner
2. Scrub tyres
3. Rinse tyres
   

Once the foam stops browning, your tyres should be clean, free from mud, road salt, road grime and old tyre dressing.

STEP 7: Dry your vehicle’s tyres

After one final rinse, you can dry your car tyres using a dedicated microfibre towel, hot air car dryer or leaf blower. If you’re ‘old skool’ you can let your car tyres air dry. When dry, you should see that the tyres have a uniform, matt black finish. Once your car tyres are clean and dry, you can more to the final step.

STEP 8: Apply a water based tyre dressing

The final step in the best way to clean car tyres is to apply a safe, conditioning water based tyre dressing like Gloss Fuel Conditioning Tyre Serum. A good quality tyre dressing will enhance the tyre protect it from:

• UV damage
• Drying and cracking
• Repels dirt and grime
• Darkens and enhances the look of the tyre
  

Some enthusiasts like a high-gloss wet look for their tyres, whilst others prefer a dark satin look. If you prefer the satin, OEM look of a new tyre, then a single coat of Conditioning Tyre Serum will suffice. If you prefer a glossier look, then apply two coats, allowing time for the first coat to dry.

PRO TIP: Avoid solvent based tyre dressings as prolonged use can damage rubber.

Solvent based tyre dressings can offer an even deeper wet-look but we don’t recommend using these products. Solvent based tyre dressings can damage tyres over time as these chemicals react with the natural oils in the rubber. These adverse reactions can cause premature ageing of the tyre as they degrade the composition of the rubber.

How often should I clean my tyres?

Every time you wash your car, clean your car tyres and wheels first. Check out our complete step-by-step guide on how to safely clean your wheels. Once you’ve cleaned your wheels and tyres, you can then move on to safely clean your car using the two bucket method.

How long does tyre dressing last?

Water based tyre dressings typically last a week or two at most. During harsh winter months, you might be lucky to get a week of durability. Your own tyre dressing’s durability will depend on a range of factors:

• Miles driven during a typical week
• Prevailing weather conditions
• Temperature and road conditions
• Type of road surfaces driven on
  

Regardless of durability, it is still worthwhile applying a tyre dressing as even temporary, sacrificial protection and shine is better than none at all.

Can you pressure wash car tyres?

Yes. Pressure washing your car tyres is a great way to remove heavy soiling, mud, road salt and general road grime which builds up over time. Be careful not to use too high a pressure setting, and don’t get too close with your pressure washer lance.

Do tyre cleaners damage tyres?

No. Dedicated Wheel & Tyre Cleaner, automotive APCs (All Purpose Cleaners) and Citrus Pre-Washes will not damage your car tyres. These products are designed and formulated to safely clean automotive rubber compounds, as well as other materials like plastic trim. We do not recommend using household products to clean your car tyres.

PRO TIP: Only use automotive specific products to clean your car tyres.

What is the best tyre cleaner?

We’re often asked ‘what is the best tyre cleaner?’ or ‘what to use to clean car tyres?’. There are a number of different products on the market, some specifically aimed at tyre cleaning, others marketed as wheel and tyre cleaners.

In our experience a good quality APC or Citrus Pre-Wash can be as effective as any dedicated tyre cleaner. However if your car is regularly maintained, the convenience of a safe, non-caustic, ready-to-use foaming Citrus Wheel & Tyre Cleaner might be more appropriate.

All Purpose Cleaners (APC) and Citrus Pre-Washes are often sold as concentrates allowing you to dilute the chemical according to your needs. Case in point - The Gloss Fuel Citrus Fuelled Pre-Wash is a concentrate, allowing you to dilute accordingly.

If your tyres are relatively clean and regularly maintained, then a lower strength dilution will suffice. If your tyres are old, unloved and browning, then a high strength formula will help rejuvenate them.

Can automated car washes damage tyres?

Yes. Automated car washes can damage your tyres. Automated car washes can damage your car. If you’re serious about maintaining the condition of your car, its paintwork, and it’s wheels and tyres, never, ever use automated car washes.

The harsh, spinning brushes and cleaning mops will scratch your paintwork and can damage your tyres. The harsh chemicals used in many automated car washes are not good for rubber seals, weather strips or car tyres.

PRO TIP: NEVER, EVER use automated car washes. Each time you do, a detailer cries.

Conclusion

The best way to clean car tyres is to use the correct tyre cleaners, with the correct tyre cleaning tools. If you follow our easy 8 step process, you’ll have clean car tyres, which can be dressed with a safe, protective water based tyre dressing.

You now know ‘how do you clean dirty tyres’ and the tips contained in this how-to-guide will help you to maintain both the condition and look of your car tyres. Why not combine our ‘Best Way To Clean Car tyres’ guide with your alloy wheel cleaning method and make it a part of your regular car washing process.