DIY - Do It Yourself

[rennigade]

Yes, please do! Washing your own car is awful for the environment and lousy for your car's finish, too. Doing so is banned in many areas due to drought restrictions and ground water contamination concerns. Many HOAs don't allow it either. Unless you truly can't afford it, take your car to a commercial car wash when it's dirty. It's better for the car and it's better for the earth.

I never heard of it being bad for your finish. The only way I could see that is if you're using disgusting sponges full of grit. That could leave a lot of micro scratches if not deep scratches.

My dad washes his vehicles multiple times a week. I think he's nuts but his vehicles finish never looked bad.

In terms of water usage. How long are people spraying their vehicles? We're on a well but I would estimate I use no more than 15 gallons a car. I may wash car once a week in the warmer months. I don't even waste my time at a car wash. It doesn't do nearly as good as job as hand washing.

[disneysteve]

I never heard of it being bad for your finish. The only way I could see that is if you're using disgusting sponges full of grit. That could leave a lot of micro scratches if not deep scratches.

My dad washes his vehicles multiple times a week. I think he's nuts but his vehicles finish never looked bad.

In terms of water usage. How long are people spraying their vehicles? We're on a well but I would estimate I use no more than 15 gallons a car. I may wash car once a week in the warmer months. I don't even waste my time at a car wash. It doesn't do nearly as good as job as hand washing.

I think it is the micro scratches that are the issue. I know a lot of car enthusiasts will only go to the 100% touchless car washes so there are no brushes or anything actually coming in contact with the car.

The environmental thing is partly the water usage (which is why car washing is banned or restricted when there are drought issues) and partly due to the ground water contamination from the soap and grime getting washed off of the car and getting into the storm drains. Commercial car washes filter and recycle the water.

If you use 15 gallons per wash and you do that weekly for 6 months out of the year, that's about 400 gallons for one car. There are about 300 million cars in the US. If everyone used 400 gallons/year, that's 120 billion gallons/year.

[ua_guy]

There's no disagreement from me that commercial car washes use less water per wash. But I do disagree that it's better for the vehicle's finish overall. Maybe compared to a kid scrubbing mom's car with an old t-shirt or the kitchen sponge. Commercial washes use very aggressive and borderline caustic chemicals to clean. They over-agitate with abrasive brushes, and they don't fully clean things like alloy wheels. Most people consider a car to be a disposable item, I get that. Not my cars though, it's a point of pride. I can spot a machine-washed car a mile away

[disneysteve]

There's no disagreement from me that commercial car washes use less water per wash. But I do disagree that it's better for the vehicle's finish overall. Maybe compared to a kid scrubbing mom's car with an old t-shirt or the kitchen sponge. Commercial washes use very aggressive and borderline caustic chemicals to clean. They over-agitate with abrasive brushes, and they don't fully clean things like alloy wheels. Most people consider a car to be a disposable item, I get that. Not my cars though, it's a point of pride. I can spot a machine-washed car a mile away

As I said, many people
swear by the touchless car washes. No brushes at all.

[kork13]

I'm not at all handy, and picking up a wrench or saw is about as intimidating to me as bullfighting. It's just not at all my thing. I'll take on very (very) simple projects, but at the first sign of me not having the tools or know-how or time to do something right.... I'm calling somebody for help. Not very high on the machismo scale I guess.

That said, my best money-saving DIY is cooking, which will reliably save >70% of food costs vs. eating out.

I guess I'm different than most, I rarely wash my car. Perhaps only once every few months, basically when it becomes particularly dirty with collected dust/dirt. I rely more on driving through the rain to clean it off than through the carwash. I'm not terribly concerned by what my car looks like, as long as it runs well & is comfortable/enjoyable to drive.

[QuarterMillionMan]

This thread got me thinking that almost every aspect of my life is DIY. Paying for services are very costly & time consuming.

1) make my own coffee w/just an auto-drip (not a fancy Expresso or Keurig). Often driving past Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts I see a long line of cars waiting on the street to get into the drive-thru and I shake my head (SMH).
2) make my own fruit smoothies daily for lunch during my work day (work from home) w/kale or spinach, frozen blueberries & strawberries, vitamins, flax seeds or chia seeds, no fat frozen yogurt, etc. Once I used a 2 for 1 coupon at Jamba Juice and paid $7, so $3.50 each.
3) self-directed investing
4) created my own will & revocable trust using software
5) print my own greeting cards (ie, birthday cards, Christmas cards, Thank you cards, sympathy cards, etc)
6) used a passport photo app to take a selfie for my passport card and passport book photo. This photo has strict guidelines to be acceptable for use and costs $15 at CVS, Walgreens, or USPS, etc.
7) I own Invicta mens diver's wrist watches and the wrist band uses a special tool to adjust the length which I fix myself. I love a nicely fitted wrist watch and hate it loose where it spins the dial face away from view or I've seen some people wear wrist watches which looks like a loose bracelet which would drive me nuts, lol.
8) Grooming and I shave daily my beard & mustache area. I used to grow a mustache but it takes a lot of work to trim but the gray and dying it black became a hassle so I cut it off daily. I see guys with neatly shaved Fu Man Chu's or other creative beards or mustaches and often wonder how much they pay a barber and it must be burdensome to upkeep. I never could figure out trimming my ear brows. Some people have such nicely trimmed eye brows which I try to mimic but never can get it looking right, lol.
9) I won the war against a rat infestation but at one point was going to summon a professional pest control but my persistence paid off and at the moment they are gone or maybe they just went to my neighbor's apartment, lol. I heard her scream once and thought she probably got startled by one, lol. But I'm ready for them should they return.
10) completed my master's thesis on my own. Other students paid for proofreading and other people to help them write their's but I wanted no part of paying someone else to meddle.
11) taxes which I'll do my own soon using Free Tax USA which isn't exactly free because I pay for the upgraded service but still cheaper than paying a tax preparer who will probably use the same software.

[riverwed070707]

Another money-saving DIY tip: If you have a job to do that requires some pricey tool that you don't own, and you don't really anticipate ever needing again, many hardware stores rent tools. Another even cheaper option (free) is to post a message in your town's Facebook group to see if anyone will lend you the item.

I don't think all locations do it but our local ReStore has a tool lending library. You pay $25-100/year (sliding scale depending on income) and once you're a member, you can borrow anything you want for free for as long as you need it. They have floor sanders to scaffolding and paint sprayers to lawn and garden tools and everything in between. One rental/year easily covers the cost over renting from a big box store.

[ua_guy]

As I said, many people
swear by the touchless car washes. No brushes at all.

Touchless uses even more aggressive chemicals which break down rubber, plastics, and clear coat. I can talk car detailing all day

I think the caveat to anything DIY is to know when to call a professional. As much "good" as Youtube and self-tutorials do for us, there are a lot of people who can get in over their heads simply because they don't know what they don't know. When you factor in time and expertise, sometimes calling a professional is the way to go if that particular skill isn't part of one's day job.

I'm probably in the market for a lawn tractor this year. That's the next evolution in my DIY property-upkeep adventures. 2.5+ hours with a push mower and walking around a huge gravel lot spraying weeds is just taking too much time and it's too hard on me anymore. I need something that can mow, spray/spread, plow, and rake.

[Fishindude77]

Yes, please do! Washing your own car is awful for the environment and lousy for your car's finish, too. Doing so is banned in many areas due to drought restrictions and ground water contamination concerns. Many HOAs don't allow it either. Unless you truly can't afford it, take your car to a commercial car wash when it's dirty. It's better for the car and it's better for the earth.

I think you are way off here.
Commercial car washes are much harder on a cars finish due to the harsh chemicals they use and the rotating scrub brushes used in many of them. They only have your car in there for a few seconds so it requires some pretty heavy duty chemical to immediately start breaking down the dirt which is damaging your finish at the same time. Use nothing but an automatic car wash for a long time and the finish damage will become evident. You have to hand wash, wax and detail to get it back looking good. You'll never see people putting show cars through automatic car washes.

Regarding environmental damage I disagree as well. Most home owners use a mild soap such as dish soap when they wash their car, it runs off the driveway, does no damage and helps the lawn grow. You've seen the commercials, they wash ducks with this stuff. I can't speak for the gallons used by hand -vs- automatic, but unless you've done some studies it would be hard to say who is using more water. We happen to live in a pretty water rich area where watering lawns, gardens, irrigating and washing cars outside is the norm. Our water comes from our own well, not municipal. I could certainly see people getting upset about it in water starved areas.

Going further with the environmental argument, a mechanized car wash also uses tons of electrical energy to run lights (all night), pumps, motors, etc., and lots of natural gas to run their massive hot water heaters. All of those things take an environmental toll, as opposed to the guy outdoors in his driveway on a nice day.

My family owned a commercial car wash for many years and I have nothing against them, used one today actually. Ever clean up the sediment pits in one of those wash bays? I have and can tell you some nasty stuff comes out of those, gets dumped in the dumpster and winds up in the landfill. The electrical and gas bills to run such a place are crazy, particularly in winter when use is heavy. It's much more costly to use a car wash than do it yourself. What keeps car washes in business is the fact that it's quick and easy.

[jenn_jenn]

People pay for just about every service and rarely DIY. Instacart delivers their groceries. Grubhub delivers their Starbucks, McD's or Chinese food. Mani/pedi got to pay for that or hair cuts. Heck pay a dog walker to take Fido to poop in the neighbor's yard. Oh no car is dirty pay for a car wash $8.

Ack I somehow managed to hit every item on your list today with the exception of our dog walker who is scheduled for tomorrow.

We have a dog walker on the days my husband are both in office since we are away from the house for 12+ hours. I wouldn’t consider that a splurge, just responsible pet ownership.

PSA for Chase Saphire members, you get a free InstaCart membership + a $15 monthly statement credit. When combined with coupons, it can be cheaper than shopping in person.

When it comes to house projects DIY, my best tip is know your limits but also don’t be afraid to try new things because everything is fixable. As DisneySteve mentioned, YouTube is a great resource.

Probably less relevant for most on here but I love my Cricut. I have a bachelorette party next month and made custom sweatshirts shirts for all the girls that would normally cost $40+ for $10 each. I spent a total of $20 on custom jean jacket for the bride that sells for $70 on Etsy. I used it for several of the other party favors as well.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Green Forest prices which is near me. Sometimes I see a line of cars on the road waiting to get inside. I can fill up my bucket and be done with it in 10 minutes for free.

[disneysteve]

Green Forest prices which is near me. Sometimes I see a line of cars on the road waiting to get inside. I can fill up my bucket and be done with it in 10 minutes for free.

My car wash includes cleaning the wheels, washing the undercarriage, vacuuming the interior, washing the floor mats, cleaning the insides of the windows, wiping down the dash, etc. That would take me a lot more than 10 minutes. I’m happy to pay for that.

[rennigade]

My car wash includes cleaning the wheels, washing the undercarriage, vacuuming the interior, washing the floor mats, cleaning the insides of the windows, wiping down the dash, etc. That would take me a lot more than 10 minutes. I’m happy to pay for that.

I wouldn't trust those people to clean my vehicle. God knows what garbage their vacuums have been through or what crap is in the rags they're using. I'm also one of those people who doesn't trust someone making near minimum wage to change my oil. I paid for it once and it was a disaster. Never again. But yes, cleaning a car inside and out takes longer than 10 min.

[ua_guy]

DIY Thread is turning into car wash / car maintenance debate. lol.

I don't trust people to change my oil either, but I also have the knowledge, skill, and tools in order to do it correctly. Some people street-park or live at an apartment complex where they can't do that sort of thing. But if you are able to do it, it can be done very cheaply and easily in a home garage.

I'm not a fan of having other people clean my vehicle, either, but that's just a personal preference. I use very specific products, and clean towels, stuff that hasn't been in 50 other filthy cars, no harsh chemicals, no guy sliding down my seat bolster to smear a towel over everything, or using goo in place of better technique.

Most importantly, no freaking tire shine. I hate that stuff and it's terrible for the environment.

[Fishindude77]

I grew up in the construction industry and can pretty much build or repair about anything (leave electrical to the pros) and have lots of tools and equipment available, as well as a big shop to do the work. When younger, broke, and more agile, there wasn't much of anything I would hire out. These days I pick and choose the projects I want to take on and am fortunate to be able to hire out what I choose not to. Learning to build and fix stuff is an invaluable skill.

Something I really enjoy is growing food and harvesting wild fish, game and edibles as well as all the preparation and preservation skills for such. Don't know that we save much money in doing so, but knowing where your food comes from, how it was handled and taken care of is a good feeling.