Keeping your tyres and wheels clean is one of the easiest ways to keep your car looking good. It’s important from both an aesthetic and safety perspective, and doing it yourself is rewarding and not too time-consuming.

In this guide, we’ll explain all there is to know about cleaning your wheels and tyres, including best practices, benefits and pitfalls.

Equipment Needed To Clean Wheels and Tyres?

• Specialist wheel cleaner - usually sold in a spray bottle, this special cleaning solution breaks down the solidified brake dust
• Wheel cleaning brush - a medium-soft bristled narrow brush, used to clean in between the spokes
• Tyre cleaning brush - to clean the tyre sidewalls, a medium-soft bristled hand brush would also work
• Pressure washer or hose with spray attachment - for loosening dirt and rinsing
• Bucket

Optional:

• Tyre sealant or dressing - to add shine to the tyres

How to Clean Your Wheels and Tyres

1. Gather all your cleaning supplies listed above - I only ever wash the wheels whilst doing the rest of the car, so I prepare the full detailing kit before starting on the wheels
2. Ensure the wheels are cool - don’t clean them immediately after driving your car
3. Loosen dirt with a pressure washer or hose - I always give the wheel arches a good spray down too, to reduce the build-up of dirt that can eventually cause issues
4. Spray wheel cleaner liberally on the alloys - follow the manufacturer's guide for exact instruction
5. Wait for the cleaner to react - Wheel cleaning sprays contain a chemical that reacts with the brake dust and other dirt, helping to remove them without needing as much scrubbing
6. Scrub with a wheel brush, ensuring to get between all the spokes from every angle
7. Gently scrub the tyre sidewall with the soft brush, ensuring any grime in the crevice between the tyre and alloy is removed
8. Rinse with water, if brake dust and grime still remain, repeat step 3

Top tip: If you have multi-spoke alloy wheels, move the car a few feet and check again before putting away the cleaning gear. It’s easy to miss a spot of dirt on a hidden face in between a spoke, and it’s very frustrating finding out once you’ve packed everything away!

How to Apply Tyre Shine or Tyre Dressing

1. Once you’ve cleaned your wheels and the rest of the car, dry everything with microfibre towels, this prevents water from dripping onto the tyres and ruining the application of the dressing
2. Use a tyre dressing spray or paste as per the instructions, this usually involves applying some to a microfibre cloth and rubbing into the tyre sidewall all the wall around, there’s no need to apply any to the tread, as this will wear off as soon as you drive, and will contaminate the cloth with dirt
3. Wait for the product to dry, and remove any excess that has got onto the alloy wheel

Why You Should Be Cleaning Your Wheels Cleaning your wheels yourself has some clear benefits:

1. It saves you money - whilst the equipment has a cost, after a few cleans, you’ll be saving money when compared to paying a detailing company to do it.
2. It gives you a chance to inspect your tyres and wheels. Tyres can pick up cuts, gashes and bulges from normal use, but these can sometimes be dangerous. Washing your wheels and tyres gives you a chance to properly inspect them.
3. Regularly cleaning your tyres means they don’t have a chance to build up a thick layer of dirt, meaning each clean takes less time.
4. It improves the look of your car. This is great for both when trying to sell or part exchange your car, but also just generally improves its look.

Pro Tips When Cleaning Wheels and Tyres

Whether cleaning your wheels, bodywork or interior, there is always something to learn, these are the common mistakes to avoid:

1. Using too much wheel cleaner: Proper wheel cleaning solution is expensive, so overspray on the tyres, or using too much serves only to cost more. For the best results do two or three washes if necessary, using liberal but not excessive amounts of solution.
2. Cleaning the wheels when hot: If you've just driven your car at high speeds, or for a long period of time, there’s a good chance the brakes and wheels will be hot. This will complicate the use of the cleaning solution, so wait for them to be cool before starting.
3. Cleaning the wheels last: Whilst some people actually prefer it, I always find that wheel cleaning is a dirty job, with the bristles flicking dirty, potent wheel cleaner onto the bodywork (and your arms), so I do it before cleaning the bodywork. 
4. Inadequate rinsing: Wheel cleaner is quite an aggressive degreaser, so it’s crucial to rinse it off thoroughly rather than leaving it to eat away at your wheel's paint.

How to Keep Safe When Cleaning Wheels and Tyres

1. Be careful when using wheel cleaning products, if any come into contact with your eyes or broken skin consult the product label. Wear gloves to prevent the wheel cleaner from touching your skin.
2. Don’t touch your brakes or wheels shortly after driving, they can be easily hot enough to burn your skin.
3. Brake dust is extremely hazardous to health, don’t use compressed air or anything similar to remove the dust.

Tyre and Wheel Cleaning FAQs

Do I need to use tyre shine?

No, tyre shine is not essential, but it’s great for achieving that showroom fresh look, giving the rubber a gloss black finish as if they were brand new. 

Can I use WD-40 to clean tyres?

Whilst it would probably work, WD-40 is not the best product to use to clean tyres or wheels, as it contains solvents that could harm the paint finish. I would recommend a dedicated tyre and wheel cleaner.

How often should you clean your wheels and tyres?

There’s no set time period you should follow, but it’s best to clean them every time you clean the rest of the car. Regular cleaning makes it easier to clean them in the future, preventing the build-up of brake dust and grime.

What is the black stuff on my wheels?

If your alloys are silver in colour, you may notice the wheels obtaining a black residue, this is brake dust from your brake pads wearing down and road grime.

Noticed You Need New Tyres?

If whilst cleaning your tyres, you’ve noticed cuts, abrasions or that the tread is too low, you will need to replace your tyres. Split the cost of new tyres into monthly payments at 1,000s of trusted repairers across the country.

Author - Joseph Law

Joseph has been writing about cars for over seven years and writing for Bumper for over two, blending his passion for automobiles with a talent for storytelling.

Joseph has written about engineering and cars for Autozilla, Komaspec, and several engineering manufacturers. When he's not writing or tinkering with one of his five cars, Joseph dreams of owning an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.