Does Clorox or Bleach Damage Car Paint? (Answered)

The last time I used Clorox, a chemical ingredient, to wash my car, I got some scratches on my car’s paint. It was pathetic to find the damaged car’s paint for a bit of mistake.

Then I realized why people advise not to use chemicals or any strong detergent to wash the car.

It’s wise to buy car-friendly cleaner or soap and use them accordingly. If you don’t have any budget constraints, you can go to the car wash shop and ask them to wash the entire car without damaging the car paint.

Does Clorox or bleach damage car paint?

Clorox and bleach damage car paint because of their strong chemical ingredients. They are safe for indoor or hard surfaces but not suitable for car paint. They have chemical reactions which try to go through the paint and deep clean the surface. That’s why bleach is avoidable.

Clorox is also a bleach solution that can ruin car paint. It has strong chemical bonding, which is unsuitable for paint or any sensitive surface. If you want to clean the car deep, use something suitable; any chemical product harmful to your car paint.

Clorox liquid bleach:

Clorox liquid bleach also damages the car paint since it’s a chemical liquid; you should avoid using it to clean the car.

Clorox brand makes some bleach products and names them Clorox instead of bleach. The Clorox liquid bleach is one of them.

If you use it on your car paint, it will ruin the paint ingredients and fade away the original color. You will get pale and colorless paint on the car. Besides, after using the Clorox liquid several times, you will find the damaged paint all over the car.

Clorox wipes:

To clean the interior or house surfaces, you can use the Clorox wipes and get the clean surface within a while.

But it is not suitable for car paint. The Clorox wipes also have the beach and other chemical ingredients, which make them unsafe to the paint.

You will discolor the paint if you wipe the dust off the car paint using Clorox wipes.

Moreover, the chemical bonding of the paint will be disclosed, and you cannot put them together. So, it’s highly recommended not to use the Clorox wipes on car paint.

Does bleach take off car paint or stain car paint?

Bleach can take off car paint or stain car paint. You will notice a typical incident because the bleach contains strong chemicals. This chemical is not safe for sensitive surfaces, including car paint.

Therefore, when you use bleach on car paint and scrub on the paint, there is a high chance of taking off the car paint.

You will get stains on car paint by using bleach. If you scrub with bleach on the car paint, be sure to get some stains on there. It will damage the paint ingredients and remove them as well. Therefore, it’s better not to use any bleach on car paint.

Does chlorine damage car paint?

Chlorine is the chemical part of bleach. It plays a role in damaging the car paint with its harsh nature, and we use chlorine-made bleach in our household chores to clean the hard surface.

But it is not safe for car paint. If you use it to deep clean the car surface, the chlorine will damage the car paint within a while. It is a harsh chemical that you can’t apply to car paint. It will fade the color and remove some paint with its chemical reaction.

What does bleach do to your car and car paint?

Bleach does the damages to your car and car paint. You should always try to avoid bleaching when washing your car. Otherwise, you will damage the paint.

Damage to the finishing:

Your car might have a shiny look along with an excellent finish paint. If you get dust and debris over the paint, you may go for a deep clean and mistakenly use bleach.

Do you know what happens then? The bleach will show a chemical reaction for which the shining look will go away.

It will damage the finish and turn it pale. Moreover, the bleach will ruin the excellent paint finish, and you can’t repaint it either. It will look uneven.

Stain:

If you scrub the bleach on car paint, it will leave stains that you can’t remove entirely.

Those stains will be permanent, and you have to repaint that area to cover the stain. Mainly, bleach has chemical ingredients, namely chlorine.

It is harmful to paint a car. You must avoid using chlorine on any sensitive surface to avoid unwanted incidents. 

Remove Paint:

The worst part of using bleach on car paint is here. Bleach can successfully remove the dried paint if you continuously use bleach to wash or clean the car surface. It is not safe in any way.

That’s why you should not use bleach on the car paint unless you want to repaint the entire car. You can use other safe ingredients or soap to deep clean the car’s surface.

Can you spray bleach on your car?

You should not spray bleach on your car. It will damage the color and ruin the paint’s ingredients. Typically, we spray bleach on a hard surface to deep clean that area. But the case is different here.

You can’t spray bleach on your car because of the car paint. Bleach is an abrasive cleaner; therefore, it will damage the car paint by ruining the radiant look. It will also give stains to the paint, which you can’t repair or remove.

Can I use bleach to clean my car?

You cannot use bleach to clean your car because it will damage the entire paint and discolor the finishing. You should use the regular non-abrasive cleaner for your vehicle for deep cleaning.

If you use bleach, it will remove the paint and scratches on the car paint. So, it will be better to use car-safe detergent or soap to clean the car paint instead of using bleach.

What to use instead of bleach for your car?

Hundreds of options are there to use instead of bleach for your car. We will talk about a few of the most effective products to clean the car safely.

Baby Soap:

You might wonder why we add baby soap to our list to clean the car. How does it go with it? Baby soap is non-toxic and is a safe cleaner. It doesn’t have that much chemical to destroy the car paint.

Liquid Soap:

Another gentle way to clean the car paint is liquid soap. It doesn’t have any harsh chemicals that damage the car paint. You can mix the liquid soap with warm water and use it on the car paint too deep clean it.

Laundry Detergent:

You can use laundry detergent to clean your car instead of bleach. It is also a great cleaning material that is not harsh or unsafe to the car paint. You can deep clean the car paint through the laundry detergent.

Hair Conditioner:

Do you ever try a hair conditioner to clean the car paint? Or deep clean the car? It seems weird, but it is effective.

The hair conditioner has all mild chemical and natural ingredients to soften the paint and make it vivid; therefore, you can safely clean your car using a hair conditioner.

Can you use bleach on car interior, leather seats, and carpets?

You cannot use bleach on the car interior, leather seats, and carpets. It will leave some scratches on the surfaces. Mainly if you use bleach on leather seats, you will get small stains over them and lose the smoothness.

Besides, bleach is also not suitable for the carpets of the car. It stains on the mat, so you cannot use the bleach on the carpet as well. The same goes for the car interior.

You should use mild soap to clean the leather and car interior and clean the interior surfaces with car soap or detergent. Bleach is not a suitable product in this regard.

Can you use bleach on car windows?

Finally, we have something positive to say about the bleach. You can use bleach on car windows. It will be fine and not create any issues. You should be careful using bleach, and using gloves is a must.

If your windshield or the windows are unclear and there is a lot of dirt, you can put on your gloves and start cleaning off the glass. It will deep clean the surface without doing any harm to it.

Final thoughts

Harsh chemicals can damage car paint. You should clean your car with a power wash and friendly detergent or liquid soap because the bleach and Clorox damage the car paint and ruin the entire structure. You should never apply Clorox or bleach; instead, try baby soap.