I've heard that you shouldn't use dishwashing liquid. What can you use?

Most household cleaners are very caustic and/or have a high surficant content. Some had a base that will leave a residue. The best thing to use is a soap designed for auto washing. They are very mild and have a minimum chealate/surficant content, and rinse well in cold water.

Some dishwashing detergent will strip wax and leave a residue that is almost impossible to rinse off. Unless you are planning to repaint the car and want to strip it clean, avoid this soap on the finish.

If you are cleaning parts, on the other hand, dishwashing or laundry detergent does a very good job of stripping greasy deposits and oil film. Just plan to rinse thoruoghly and don't expect the surface to remain shiney when it dries.

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Later,
Vader
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"No matter how hard you try you can't stop us now..."
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Get a good car wash liquid. I recommend Zip Wax, by Turtle Wax. It's cheap and leaves a good, one step shine.

Thanks guys, but I'm a little low on cash right now. That's why I was looking for something around the house that would be safe to use on the car, but Vader made it sound like there isn't really anything around the house that would be safe. So it looks like I'll just be using plain old water for now.

Sorry to say this dude but you sound pretty poor.

you can get car wash soap cheaper then dawn.Your better off to use only water then any dish soap.

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~mike~86 IROC-Z