Can You Use Regular Car Soap in a Foam Cannon: What You Need to Know!
If you own a foam cannon, you may wonder what kind of car soap to use with it. Moreover, can you use regular car soap in a foam cannon? The answer is yes, you can use any type of car soap, including a regular one, in a foam cannon.
The only major difference that you will see while using a regular car soap in a foam cannon instead of a proper one is the amount of foam generated. In the case of regular car soap, it would be less compared to other special foam cannon soaps.
Foam cannons are extremely useful for cleaning your car. Yet, you may face confusion regarding which soap to put in a foam cannon. To help you out, this article will cover everything related to putting regular car soap in a foam cannon. So, without any further ado, let’s get into it!
Can You Put Any Soap in the Foam Cannon?
Yes, you can make use of any soap in a foam cannon. However, remember that the type of soap you use affects the amount of foam produced. Now, the amount and type of foam or suds produced decide the effectiveness of washing your car.
So, even if you can, should you simply use any soap in the foam cannon? The answer is no, you should look out for the correct soap formula to give the best cleaning session to your vehicle.
Hence, to make the most of your car-washing experience, there are certain things you should look out for, in the soap for your foam cannon. These things include:
- Look For A Soap Having The Right pH
It is necessary that you always look for a soap that is more on the ‘neutral’ side. Hence, it should have a pH near 7. Anything less than it is considered acidic and may cause damage to your car’s paint and overall appearance. Anything that’s totally on the basic side may not work effectively either.
Hence, the lower the pH, the more harm a soap can do to your vehicle. So, even if you can put any type of soap in a foam cannon, make sure you opt only for a neutral one having a pH of around 7.
- Go For a Soap Having The Right Foamy Formula
Apart from pH, make sure that you go for soaps that foam well, both quality-wise and quantity-wise. This will help in cleaning your car more thoroughly compared to soaps that don’t foam very much.
It is because foam and suds help in cleaning away dirt, grease, and other impurities. So, if you go for a soap that produces firm foam, then it can help in clearing out these impurities and deep cleanse your car.
Depending on the above two factors, get a car soap that can work with a foam cannon and also give you the best results.
How Do You Make Homemade Foam Car Wash?
If you don’t want to buy a car wash from outside, you can create one easily, right at your home! This homemade foam car wash will have the perfect pH and formulation to give you the best foam and suds.
What You Require:
For preparing a homemade foam car wash, you require:
- 1/4th cup of baking soda or white vinegar
- 1/4th cup of dishwashing soap or hair conditioner or baby shampoo
- Warm water, as per your requirements
- Bucket
Once you have the ingredients, follow the below-mentioned steps.
The Process of Making Homemade Foam Car Wash:
Step 1: Mix Baking Soda and Dishwashing Soap
In this step, you need to take a bucket. Then, in that bucket, add both baking soda and dishwashing soap.
Step 2: Mix It With Warm Water
Once you have inserted baking soda and dishwashing soap, consider adding warm water to the bucket till it fills. Then, mix the entire mixture so that the baking soda and dishwashing soap get incorporated properly
Step 3: Use the Homemade Car Soap Mixture
Once the soapy mixture is prepared, you can then use it as a car soap in a foam cannon or even without it!
Different Type of Home Products and Their Effect On Car Cleaning
As mentioned above, you can either make use of baking soda or white vinegar. Moreover, in the place of dishwashing soap, you can also make use of baby shampoo or conditioner. However, how can you decide which one is the best for car cleaning?
For this, let’s compare the different home products and their effect on car cleaning.
- Dishwashing Soap
You may already know that dishwashing soap can help in removing grease stains from utensils. Hence, it also makes it easier to remove grease, dirt, oil, etc. from your car’s surface.
The one major drawback in the case of dishwashing soap is that in the long run, it may harm your car’s paint due to the abrasives present in it. Hence, if you use dishwashing soap, then it may leave marks on your car. You can only remove these by polishing.
- Hand Soap
Hand soap is the ultimate alternative to use as a car soap if you don’t have anything at home. Hand soap can do the usual job of removing the dirt on the surface of the car. However, keep in mind that hand soap won’t be able to remove oily and greasy dirt.
Hence, hand soap isn’t as effective as the other options, like dishwashing soap.
- Baby Shampoo
You can definitely use baby shampoo as car soap due to its gentle formulation. In fact, baby shampoo is considered extremely effective for removing bird droppings from windows, and other car surfaces. Moreover, as it is gentle, you don’t have to worry about rough marks on the car.
One major drawback here is that due to the gentle formulation, baby shampoo won’t help in removing stubborn and tough stains.
- Conditioner
If you want a product that can protect your car’s paint while also removing all the dirt and dust from it, then go for a conditioner.
A conditioner contains a substance known as ‘lanolin’. This substance is known to remove dirt, grease, and oil. Moreover, it also adds a great shine to your car.
One more unique benefit of using a hair conditioner as car soap is that it can repel rain. Hence, it can help in protecting the paint and surface of your car.
- Baking Soda
Lastly, baking soda is one of the most common products that are used as cleaning supplies. It is because baking soda can essentially dissolve dirt, grease, and dust, into water. Thus, it can help in cleaning your car entirely.
One drawback here is that you need to dilute baking soda with warm water. If you don’t, then it may cause damage to the car’s paint.
So, depending on your requirements, you can choose any of the above products available at home, for making a homemade car soap.
Can You Use Dawn in a Foam Cannon?
Dawn is a kind of dishwashing soap that many people use for washing their cars. However, can you use Dawn in a foam cannon, and is it good enough?
The answer is yes, you may use Dawn in a foam cannon. However, there are certain pros and cons of using Dawn for cleaning your car. Let’s take a look at them.
Pros of Using Dawn in a Foam Cannon:
If you are using Dawn in a foam cannon, then you’ll get certain benefits such as:
- A Lot of Foam!
One of the best things about using Dawn in a foam cannon is that it produces quite a lot of foam. Hence, it can certainly clean away dirt, dust, and debris.
- Inexpensive and Easily Available
Usually, proper car soaps for foam cannons may get a little high on cost, especially if you want to clean your car daily.
However, Dawn is a dishwashing soap that is easily available and also, is an inexpensive option for many car lovers out there.
Cons of Using Dawn in a Foam Cannon:
While there are some benefits to using Dawn as a foam cannon, there are some major limitations too that you should know.
- Foam Isn’t Firm
Even if Dawn produces a lot of foam, it isn’t firm or the best kind of foam. Hence, you can expect to get mediocre results if you use Dawn in a foam cannon as it won’t clean away stubborn dirt and grease marks.
- May Strip Away The Wax And Paint
If you use Dawn too much for cleaning your car, then it can have an adverse effect on the car’s wax and paint.
As Dawn is a dishwashing liquid, it contains abrasives. These abrasives are rough enough to strip away both the car’s wax and paint. Hence, in the long run, it can do more damage to your car than good.
So, in the end, the choice is yours on whether you should use Dawn in a foam cannon or not.
Can You Use a Foam Cannon With a Regular Hose?
Yes, it is possible to use a foam cannon with a regular hose. But, you also need to keep in mind that usually foam guns are better suited for a regular hose whereas a foam cannon is usually for pressure washers.
Hence, if you want to use a foam cannon with a regular hose, you may have to get a garden hose foam cannon. Such a type of foam cannon can be attached to a regular hose easily.
Foam Cannon With Pressure Washer Vs. Foam Cannon With Regular Hose
To understand which one is better for washing your car, whether it is a pressure washer or a regular hose, we need to check the differences.
- Flexibility and Ease in Usage
When it comes to flexibility, and ease in usage, then you can definitely go for a regular hose over a pressure washer.
With a regular hose, you wouldn’t have to worry about the connections that are required in a pressure washer. Hence, using a foam cannon with a regular hose is much easier and time-saving compared to a pressure washer!
- Efficiency
Undoubtedly, using a foam cannon with a pressure washer is more efficient compared to a water hose.
It is because due to the increased pressure in the pressure washer, the foam comes out to be much firmer. This can help in the efficient cleaning of your car.
On the other hand, a regular hose doesn’t offer extra pressure, due to which the foam isn’t as thick and firm as seen in the case of a pressure washer.
So, if you want deep cleaning of your car, then opt for a foam cannon with a pressure washer.
- Water Usage
If you are conscious about using or wasting water, then here’s what you need to know.
In the case of using a foam cannon with a pressure washer, you can save up to 80% of the water while getting powerful performance! However, when it comes to using a garden or regular hose with foam cannon, then you may use up more water compared to a pressure washer.
- Affordability
Lastly, if you already own a foam cannon and a regular water hose, then you wouldn’t have to spend money on anything. Hence, this is an affordable option.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a pressure washer, then first, you may have to buy one. It usually costs between $300 to $600 and thus, becomes an expensive option.
So, consider the above factors and finally, decide whether you want to use a foam cannon with a regular hose or with a pressure washer.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, there are many regular car soaps that you can use with a foam cannon but keep in mind that not all of them have the same efficiency. Some might simply clean the surface dirt and dust whereas some soaps will help in deep-cleansing your car.
If you’re not into commercial car soaps, you can also prepare one right at your home with our suggested method above!
