Written by Ryan GilmorePublished: 28 February 2023Updated: 5 February 2024
Washing your car involves tackling the grime with a quality selection of cleaning products, one of which should be the best pre-wash. This miracle chemical is designed to tackle the worst offending muck.
These chemical sprays work to soften and dislodge big bits of dirt, soaking them so they can be easily rinsed off with water. They are then broken down enough to be safely removed with a wash mitt. The reason for doing this is to prevent scratches as won’t need to use your wash mitt to tackle hardened contaminants that then may be dragged across the paintwork.
Pre-wash is both an umbrella term for a whole host of products you apply to your car before the shampooing process and a stand-alone product. Pre-wash includes snow foam, all-purpose cleaner (APC), insect and grime remover, traffic film remover and, rather confusingly, citrus pre-wash. For this article, we’re focusing on citrus-based pre-washes that are designed to be sprayed onto the car from a bottle and simply rinsed off with some water.
The best pre-washes at a glance:
Editor’s pick: ValetPRO Citrus Pre-Wash Cleaner – buy from Amazon
The best pre-wash for older cars: Car Gods Pre-Wash and All Purpose Car Cleaner – buy from Amazon
The best on a budget: Car Plan Pre-Wash Degreaser Spray – buy from Amazon
The best pre-wash for your car
A powerful alkaline cleaner that should shift muck and grime without stripping any applied paint protection, this pre-wash from ValetPRO also represents awesome value for money. The massive five-litre bottle needs to be diluted 1:8 with water which means you won't need to be economical with your application. Designed primarily for dealing with insects and road grime, this pre-wash should be applied to bodywork and wheels and left to dwell before being washed off. Those citrus oils help remove dirt effectively, expertly penetrating embedded contaminants and give the product a lovely smell.
Pros
- Great value for money
- Effective cleaner
Cons
- You'll need a spray bottle to apply it
| Volume <br> | 5000ml |
| Suitable for | Bodywork, wheels |
The best ready-to-use pre-wash
A big bottle of pre-wash is good and all, but it can be faff having to get a decent spray bottle and dilute everything. Sometimes a ready-to-use product is worth a punt simply for how easy it is to use. Of these, we're huge fans of Auto Finesse's Citrus Power. Primarily designed for use on bugs and grime, Citrus Power is a fantastic pre-wash that can help remove dirt without causing any damage to your paintwork. Spray it directly from the bottle and rinse it off for effective pre-treatment of your car. It's safe for use on pretty much any surface, including polished wheels, and it also doubles as a mild degreaser.
Pros
- Simple to use
- Perfect for insects and grime
Cons
- Not as good value for money
| Volume | 1000ml |
| Suitable for | Bodywork, engine bays |
While this isn't technically a pre-wash, it is infused with citrus oils and can easily work as one, preparing a car's exterior for cleaning. Gtechniq is an industry leader when it comes to innovation and this cleaner is packed with clever features. For a start, it's completely biodegradable, gentle on delicate trim and should clean without damaging any applied protection. The big benefit to this particular formula is that it can be used neat, or diluted for tackling softer areas like interior fabrics. The inclusion of citrus oils makes it a more effective cleaner against grease without making it overly harsh.
Pros
- Exceptional versatility
- Powerful degreaser
Cons
- Quick to use up
| Volume | 400ml |
| Suitable for | All surfaces (even fabrics) |
Muck on older cars can spell worry for water ingress and trapped moisture, perfect for speeding up rust and corrosion. Fight that and clean away these deposits with this pre-wash from Car Gods. Alongside the usual degreasing, this all-purpose pre-wash features rust inhibitors to keep rot at bay. It's suitable for use on paintwork, bare metal, plastic and carbon fibre and can be used to give areas you may ordinarily miss (like the fuel filler cap) a good clean.
Pros
- Top-rated cleaner
- Features corrosion inhibitors
Cons
- Not designed to be diluted
| Volume | 1000ml |
| Suitable for | Exterior surfaces |
The best pre-wash for tougher jobs
Price: £32.99
Price: £32.99
Tougher than a normal pre-wash, but still containing those all-important citrus oils, this 2.5-litre bottle of pre-wash (technically a traffic-film remover) will have the power to effectively degrease everything from engine bays to door jambs and paintwork. With a dilution ratio from 1:1 to 1:10 depending on the grime that needs tackling, it's an economical choice (making up to 25 litres of product) and wax and sealant safe.
Pros
- Excellent value for money
- Solid degreasing power
Cons
- It's a bigger bottle to store
| Volume | 2500ml |
| Suitable for | Exterior surfaces |
The best pre-wash on a budget
Price: £9.94
Price: £9.94
Alternative Retailers
Not the most advanced option on the market, but it's a cheap ready-to-use pre-wash that's perfect for prepping a really mucky car. This pre-wash degreaser from CarPlan is designed to dissolve road grime, bird poo, tree sap, muck and other stubborn contaminants with ease and without damaging the paintwork. It's also suitable for use on paintwork, glass, plastic and even shiny chrome.
Pros
- Powerful cleaner
- Cheap
Cons
- No extras
| Volume | 1000ml |
| Suitable for | All exterior surfaces |
What you need to know about pre-wash
What to look for in a good pre-wash?
Dilution – A very important thing to consider. Many pre-washes are designed to be diluted to suit your needs. This can range from strong degreasing right down to light dust removal depending on how much water you add. This makes even a small bottle exceptionally good value for money but does mean you’ll need to get busy with a spray bottle and measuring beaker. For dirtier jobs like removing grease and oil, a good degreaser should do the task.
On the other hand, ready-to-use examples are way more convenient and will still do the vast majority of tasks. You just won’t be getting as good bang for your buck.
Citrus oils – The central part of any good pre-wash is whether it contains citrus oils or not. These oils are excellent natural cleaners and make the product far more effective. They also give the product a nice orange scent too, very pleasant.
What’s better, snow foam or pre-wash?
It’s hard to come up with a definitive answer, but it is possible to compare the two. Pre-wash doesn’t require any extra kit to work properly, which makes it far more versatile.
It’s also a more effective cleaner. The chemicals within are stronger to make up for the fact it won’t cling as well to the paintwork. Finally, it’ll be far easier to rinse away before attacking the body with a wash mitt.
Snow foam on the other hand is gentler thanks to the longer dwell time, It also looks a lot cooler applied to a car, creating a nice thick blanket of foam. If you prefer everything in one bottle though, a good all-purpose cleaner might do the trick.
Ryan Gilmore is the Deputy Autos and Tools Editor for CAR, specialising in car cleaning and hand tools. With an MA in Automotive Journalism, when he’s not testing buckets he can be found looking at old Porsches.
Sign up to theParkers Newsletterto keep up to date with more of the latest reviews, news, and recommendations from the Parkers team.
Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this page, we never allow this to influence product selections –read why you should trust us.
