Poll - Storing Car Care Products

[sleepyhead]

Where you do store your car care products...In the garage or in the house? Although I would love to leave everything in the garage, I store my stuff in the house because I'm afraid that temperatures might fall too low in the winter to be good for the various waxes, polishes, wheel and engine cleaning products, etc. that I have.

Does anyone have any information on temperature low's and high's that your average car car products should be stored at?

-J.

 

[Aurora40]

I keep mine in the house. If they get too cold or hot it will affect their performance and their lifespan. I've spent a lot on car care products, and have enough that they have to last a while. So I play it safe and keep them in the basement where it's cool and not humid.

 

[slapshot]

I leave all of my stuff in the garage. Here in FL, I don't worry about freezing.

 

[Aurora40]

How hot does your garage get, though? In the summer here, when I pull a car in after driving (or heaven forbid two cars!) my garage temps can soar up into the 90's and probably over 100 from the heat of the cars. Some paste waxes can melt at temps around 100F or so due to the solvents and softeners in them to allow them to be applied.

If your garage doesn't get that hot, no worries, but your stuff will last longer at 65-75F than at 50-90F.

 

[JJS]

I keep mine in the house. If they get too cold or hot it will affect their performance and their lifespan. I've spent a lot on car care products, and have enough that they have to last a while. So I play it safe and keep them in the basement where it's cool and not humid.

ditto

 

[LittleRedFlatBack]

Car care products

How hot does your garage get, though? In the summer here, when I pull a car in after driving (or heaven forbid two cars!) my garage temps can soar up into the 90's and probably over 100 from the heat of the cars. Some paste waxes can melt at temps around 100F or so due to the solvents and softeners in them to allow them to be applied.

If your garage doesn't get that hot, no worries, but your stuff will last longer at 65-75F than at 50-90F.

Wow! I never thought about that Aurora40. I might start bringing them inside during the heat of the summer. The garage does get to cooking in the summertime.

Thanks for the advice,
Dennis

 

[Aurora40]

Wow! I never thought about that Aurora40. I might start bringing them inside during the heat of the summer. The garage does get to cooking in the summertime.

Thanks for the advice,
Dennis

Sure thing! Car care product costs can add up quick, so it's a shame to toss stuff that got messed up by heat/cold. I actually try to order products in the spring/fall so they don't get too hot or cold while in the back of some UPS truck on the way to my house!

It'll take me a long time to use all this up, so it's gotta be stored to last:

 

[Baron138]

I usually keep all my car care supplies in the garage during the "nice" months. Around November, I bring them into the house. About April they go back outside to the garage.

 

[sleepyhead]

No one has really offered any information as to the question of 'what temperature ranges products should ideally be stored at (high's and low's). I was able to find this bit of information on the Zaino website and figured I'd share it for all the Zaino users out there:

A 70° room temperature is best for the longevity of Zaino products. Due to the optical additives used, extreme heat or cold can result in a decrease in gloss-enhancing properties.

As far as other major brands, I haven't found anything yet...

-J.

 

[Aurora40]

From Meguiar's FAQ:

21. What is the shelf life of Meguiar's products?

You can typically expect Meguiar's surface care formulations to retain their full effectiveness for three to five years, as long as the container has been sealed tightly, and has not been frozen.

Always shake Meguiar's liquid products well before using, especially if they have been sitting for an extended period of time.

They don't mention temps here, but have recommended room temps being safest on their forum. I think as long as you avoid extremes you'll do pretty well.

 

[RonJ]

Living in Ontario Canada, it gets fresh in the winter. Since I don't heat the shop when I'm not using it, everything would freeze solid!!

I got myself an old fridge, disconnected the compressor etc and wired the light switch so the light would be on all the time.

With a 40 watt long life bulb in the fridge, which is on all the time, the temperature in the bottom is around 70' and up in the freezer section it's around 55'. This is when it's below zero F outside!!

All my car cleaning stuff is in the fridge along with spray oils, paints, silicones, various sprays, Loctite, gasket maker, etc etc.

I'm wishing I had a bigger fridge!!!!!

Ron ...

 

[mylotcat]

I usually keep all my car care supplies in the garage during the "nice" months. Around November, I bring them into the house. About April they go back outside to the garage.

That's what I do too .

 

[81kix]

Thanks for the information on product care, very interesting.

 

[Jays Z06]

Usually, in the garage....when winter comes along, or a little before...they go in our furnace room so nothing freezes.

 

[MM-C5]

From Meguiar's FAQ:


They don't mention temps here, but have recommended room temps being safest on their forum. I think as long as you avoid extremes you'll do pretty well.

Here is a response to a note I sent to Meguiar’s.

---On 2005-09-18 16:45:51 You Wrote Us---
I have a gallon of Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo & Conditioner which is less than 6 months old and is a little over 1/2 used. For some time, I have been noticing that the "high sudsing formula" is producing less and less suds.

Today, I got virtually no suds at all and none that would last over 2-3 minutes in the bucket.

This product is stored out of the sun, but in the garage.

I purchased it for the high suds factor and am pretty unhappy with what has begun to happen. I hate to throw this much shampoo away, but if it isn't going to do what it is advertised to do, what alternatives do I have?

Could you please share some advice?

Thank you.

From: Jose Torres @ meguiars.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2005 3:23 PM
Subject: re: Your Customer Feedback

Dear Tom,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us. I am sorry to hear about the experience that you had with this product. As you may know our products do come back with a satisfaction guarantee. If you are ever unsatisfied with a product you may return it to us with for a full refund.

While this is our standard policy, if you would like to exchange it for a different product or have it replaced, fax a copy of the purchase receipt or product label to (949) 251-1296, and I will gladly send you out a replacement.

We kindly ask that (in the future) you send any product that you are not satisfied with back to us and we will refund you or replace the product for you.

As for tips on storage; try keeping the car wash in a cool dry place such as an indoor cupboard to ensure product stability. Any place that is humid, or hot, or gets too cold will reduce the shelf life of the product.

Thank you for your support of our products.
Respectfully,
Jose Torres

Perhaps I should have known to keep the product in the house, but there is nothing on the label that indicates storage conditions other than a “do not freeze” statement.

Washing liquid isn't that expensive but the NXT wax is something I would not want to have deteriorate because it was stored improperly.

Tom

 

[gmjunkie]

I leave all of my stuff in the garage. Here in FL, I don't worry about freezing.

You know what thay say about FL, Frostproof is Not frostproof anymore!! and That's not far from Largo!! junk!!

 

[MM-C5]

Junk -

You probably meant Clearwater and the distance is:
Total Est. Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes Total Est. Distance: 96.93 miles

Tom

 

[gmjunkie]

Junk -

You probably meant Clearwater and the distance is:
Total Est. Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes Total Est. Distance: 96.93 miles

Tom

Well isn't Largo by Clearwater?? I used to Blast over from Vero on 60 Didn't think it was that far, ain't anything out there but Gator's and redneck's!!Yer Right Frostproof is east of Lake Wales before Yeehaw Juct. (More Redneck's) But I'v seen Snow in Vero before!! junk!!

 

[MM-C5]

Well isn't Largo by Clearwater?? I used to Blast over from Vero on 60 Didn't think it was that far, ain't anything out there but Gator's and redneck's!!Yer Right Frostproof is east of Lake Wales before Yeehaw Juct. (More Redneck's) But I'v seen Snow in Vero before!! junk!!

You aren't far off Junk. Clearwater is N of Largo and you are REALLY right about the rednecks in Yeehaw!

As for snow, we lived in St Pete in 1986 and actually saw snow fluries during the Christmas holidays!

T