The tyres on your car take the brunt of the dirt, grime, and damage when you’re driving along rocky countryside roads and residential areas.

But we often focus more on how clean our car’s bodywork looks than on our tyres. If everything else is shiny and fresh, muddy tyres are going to put a damper on the whole appearance of your car.

That’s why we’ve put together a quick and simple guide to giving your car tyres a good scrub, so you don’t have to put up with dirty wheels much longer.

Not up for the task yourself? We provide a full mobile valet service, so you can enjoy a professional car wash from home.

Key takeaways

• Always clean tyres when they’re cool, not straight after driving.
• Rinse away loose mud, grit, and brake dust before scrubbing.
• Use a tyre-safe cleaner or mild car shampoo, not harsh household chemicals.
• Clean one tyre at a time so that any products don’t dry onto the rubber.
• Use a separate brush and cloth for tyres to avoid spreading grime onto paintwork.
• Only apply tyre dressing to the tyre wall, never the tread.
• Check for damage, uneven wear, and tread depth while you’re cleaning.

Why should you clean your car tyres regularly?

Car tyres collect more dirt and grime than we think, since they’re constantly in contact with road grime, brake dust, mud, oil residue, salt, and general muck.

Over time, your tyres will end up looking very worn, dull, or patchy, especially if you use your car every day and for long journeys. Giving them a proper clean every few weeks will uplift the entire appearance of your car, especially after you’ve cleaned the bodywork, glass and alloys.

More importantly, it’ll help your tyres stay in better condition for longer and make sure that their general condition is safe for the road. Cleaning your tyres regularly gives you a chance to look for problems that could develop into something worse, such as:

• Cracking
• Bulges
• Small cuts
• Nails or sharp objects
• Uneven tread wear
• Stones stuck in the grooves
• Low tread depth

We recommend cleaning your tyres more often in the Autumn and Winter months, when your car tyres are under more stress due to harsher weather conditions.

What you need to clean your tyres

Before you start scrubbing at your tyres, make sure you’ve got the following tools and products:

• Bucket of warm water
• Car shampoo or tyre-safe cleaner
• Hose or pressure washer on a safe setting
• Stiff tyre brush
• Softer wheel brush
• Microfibre cloths
• Drying towel
• Tyre dressing or tyre shine (optional)
• Applicator pad (optional)

A step-by-step guide to cleaning car tyres

Cleaning your tyres at home doesn’t have to be a complicated, all-day job.

As long as you get the right tools and you put some work into it, your tyres will come out looking close to brand new, and the freshness will last longer. So, here’s how to clean your car tyres in a few simple steps:

1. Make sure the tyres are cool

Before you do anything, make sure that the tyres aren’t hot after a drive or from sitting in the sun.

Hot rubber can cause the products to dry too quickly, causing streaks or making it harder to rinse any cleaning products off the tyres.

It’s best to park your car on flat ground and in a shady area, away from a main road where other vehicles could come along and splash mud over the vehicle.

2. Rinse away any loose dirt

Start by giving the tyres a thorough rinse with clean water to remove loose mud, grit, brake dust, and road dirt from the surface.

This will remove any stones and other hard materials that could damage the tyres as you work the cleaning product into the surface. Work around the full tyre, including the sidewall, tread area, and the edge where the tyre meets the wheel.

If you’re using a pressure washer, keep the nozzle at a sensible distance and use a wider spray setting rather than a narrow, aggressive jet.

3. Apply a tyre-safe cleaner

Apply a tyre-safe cleaner to the sidewalls of your tyres to help remove heavy stains, brown patches, or freshen up old tyre-dressing covers on your wheels.

If you only want to give your tyres a gentle clean, then we suggest using a pH-neutral car shampoo and mixing it with warm water for a gentler yet effective result.

Always follow the instructions on the product, leaving the cleaner for the length of time it suggests. Be sure to let the cleaner dry onto the tyre, as this can leave residue behind.

4. Scrub the tyre wall

Then, using a stiff wire brush, scrub the sidewall of your tyres in small sections and in a circular motion to get to the areas where dirt, old dressing, and brown staining tend to build up.

As you work the brush around the tyre using firm, even pressure, you may notice the foam or runoff turning brown, which is what you want, as it means the cleaner is lifting grime and residue from the rubber.

Focus more on the areas of your tyres with raised lettering, grooves, and textured patterns, as dirt is most likely to get stuck there.

5. Carefully clean the tread

While the tread doesn’t need to be shiny, it’s worth giving it a clean to get rid of mud, small stones, and debris from the grooves.

When doing so, check your tyres for anything unusual, such as nails, cuts, cracks, bulges, or uneven wear along the tyre, so you can catch the problem early and have it repaired.

6. Rinse and dry your tyres

Once you’ve scrubbed the tyre, rinse it well with clean water, making sure all cleaner, dirt, and foam are removed from the sidewall, tread and the edge of your wheels.

After rinsing, dry the tyre with a clean microfibre cloth or drying towel to prevent water marks or prepare your tyres for a new dressing.

Ideally, use a separate towel for tyres and wheels rather than using the same one on your paintwork.

How do you make tyres black again?

Are your tyres looking a little dull as the black colour starts to fade? There’s a simple fix for that: adding a new tyre dressing.

Once you’ve thoroughly cleaned your tyres and made sure they’re dry all around, you can apply a tyre dressing for a darker finish, giving them that fresh, black look after a car wash. Some dressings create a glossy, wet-look shine, while others leave a more natural satin finish, so add a satin dressing if you want something more subtle.

Apply the dressing only to the tyre wall, not the tread, using an applicator pad and spreading the product evenly around the sidewall.

A thin layer is usually enough, as too much product can leave the tyre looking greasy and may flick onto the paintwork once you start driving. After applying it, wipe away any excess with a clean microfibre cloth for a neater finish.

Can you use washing-up liquid to clean your tyres?

Technically, using washing-up liquid as a last resort if you can’t access a tyre cleaner is okay, but only in small quantities.

Washing-up liquid can help lift surface dirt, grease, and road grime, but since it’s designed for dishes, not automotive rubber or wheels, it won’t work as well, and your tyres won’t stay clean for as long.

Washing-up liquid can also be quite strong as a degreaser, so it can strip away existing tyre dressing, waxes, or protective coatings on nearby wheels and paintwork. So, for a one-off clean, a small amount of washing-up liquid diluted in warm water is unlikely to cause a major problem, but only if you rinse it away thoroughly.

Book in a professional clean with Car Cleaning Experts

If you’ve got no time on your hands to clean your car tyres, or you’re not up for doing the task yourself, we offer professional car cleans and valets here at Car Cleaning Experts.

Better yet, we come directly to you, so you can sit at home or carry on working at the office while we clean your car outside. Less disruption and less hassle to your day! Just contact us to get booked in.