How to Clean Your UTV
A utility terrain vehicle is a versatile machine you can drive just about anywhere. While it’s fun to take it on backroads and trails to test its limits, it can make your UTV dirty and gross. When it comes to how to clean your UTV, you may have some questions on where to start. Let’s take a look at the basic steps to take to help bring your vehicle back to like new condition after a rough ride.
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Scrape the gunk: If you went riding through mud, chances are that it's now caked on the sides of your ride. Dried mud can be a pain to get off because simply spraying it with water usually won’t be enough. This is where a reliable scraper comes in handy. A mud scraper is made for removing built-up gunk from your UTV without messing up the paint or leaving behind any marks.
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Use the right soap for the job: Another thing most people misunderstand about cleaning this dirty vehicle type is the soap aspect. When it comes to how to clean your UTV, the right soap is everything. Since you need to be able to cut through mud, dirt, grease, and grime, the soap needs to be a bit more than your typical car wash solution. Make sure you use a cleaner like a UTV or ATV wash, or even a bike wash since they will have a more concentrated solution to get rid of all the gunk without messing up the paint job underneath the gunk.
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Start scrubbing: Make sure you don’t use an abrasive scrub on your ride. While a UTV is bound to get scratches over time, you want to protect the paint job from careless mistakes as much as possible. A good idea is to use a scrubber mitt similar to your car for this step and put some time and elbow grease into getting the surface of your UTV clean. You can also go back and use the scraper in especially hard to clean areas to get some more gunk off if needed.
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Rinse with a pressure washer: A typical hose is fine for your car, but your UTV is usually a dirtier breed and needs a little extra help getting clean. It is usually safe to rinse your UTV with a pressure washer set on the lowest setting when going over areas with paint or graphics to avoid issues. Best of all, a pressure washer can be used to clean the harder to reach nooks and crannies of a UTV which just makes it easier all around than a typical hose.
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Apply wax: Applying wax helps to protect the paint job of your vehicle. Make sure you use a UTV or at least an off-road wax since it will offer better protection than your standard car wax. This will help the UTV look great while also adding a thin layer of protection during your next ride.
