6 Alternative Uses For Car Wax

The list of things that car owners are recommended to do to keep their vehicles on the road, looking good, and running at peak capacity can feel a bit overwhelming. There are, however, several things that a car owner can do at home to help ensure their vehicle remains in good condition for as long as they own it. While many folks tend to focus on under the hood upkeep for their cars, in terms of exterior aesthetics, properly washing your car can ensure it continues to shine like the day you drove it off the lot.

So too can the application of car wax, but it's not recommended you coat your vehicle up every time you wash it down. For that reason, some car owners may have more car wax than they know what to do with. So, it might be of interest to know that you can utilize car wax to aid in endeavors other than shining up your car and protecting it from the elements. Here are five alternative uses you can try today.

Given that car wax's overall purpose is, in part, to help protect your vehicle's surface from the potentially corrosive effect of water, it should come as no surprise that the substance can be useful in areas of your home where moisture can be problematic. That, of course, includes your bathroom, where water and heat from the shower and sink regularly contribute to the creation of a steamed-over mirror, making it hard to primp or shave. You could simply wait out the steam, but it can take more time than you care to sacrifice for the fog to fade from the mirror. You could also try to wipe the fog away, but if you've ever taken that approach, you know that often only leads to a wet, blurry mess.

However, if you've got a can of car wax around, you can take the steamy mirror almost completely out of the equation. All you need to do is apply a coat of wax to a clean dry mirror, let it set, and then buff it off. Once you've coated the surface with wax, the steam should bead up and roll away before it accumulates, just as liquids do on a waxed automobile surface. 

Speaking of bathroom surfaces that are difficult to keep looking fresh and clean, say hello to that pesky little faucet adorning your bathroom sink. Yes, at its best, that little fixture is a standout decorative feature in your bathroom. But it can be truly difficult to keep that tiny little feature looking shiny in an environment where the accumulation of steam is not only an everyday thing, but soapy water, shaving gunk, and toothpaste spatter come into play on a regular basis. 

Sadly, car wax will not be able to fully prevent messes caused by toothpaste and shaving splatter, so you'll still need to promptly wipe those things from your faucet to keep it looking clean. As for the water spots that tend to accompany the normal, everyday splashing that cannot be avoided in the bathroom, a coat of wax can help you wipe them away, and keep them from coming back.

Yes, the solution to that problem can be as easy as coating that faucet with wax and wiping it away after it's dry, just as you would with an automobile. It is, however, not a permanent solution, and just as you would with a car, you'll need to reapply the wax with some regularity to keep the fixture looking good. As an added bonus, the same approach can also help prevent water spots and the buildup of mildew on shower doors, making car wax an essential bathroom cleaning tool.  

Like the bathroom, keeping a kitchen clean can, at times, seem like an insurmountable task. We are not about to sugar coat the fact by claiming that a dash of car wax can solve all of your kitchen cleaning woes. Even with all the technological advances we've made as a species, scrubbing up after you make dinner is still very much a dig in and get your hands dirty sort of job.

However, car wax can help you maintain the cleanliness of some kitchen surfaces after you clean them up. Yes, that includes any non-wooden surfaces in the area, including countertops, stovetops, and even that hard-to-keep-clean backsplash behind your sink and stove.

On top of that, a coat of car wax can not only help you shine up the stainless steel surfaces in your kitchen, but also keep them free of smudges and fingerprints thereafter. As with the rest of the surfaces in your kitchen, you will, of course, need to give those stainless steel surfaces a good touch up using dish soap, warm water, and clean towels before you apply the car wax. Once you've got the stove, refrigerator, and any other stainless steel appliances clean, a coat of car wax should make it considerably easier to keep them shiny and fingerprint free moving forward.  

The primary purpose of car wax is, obviously, to help protect the surface of your vehicle from damaging elements like sun, rain, and snow, making it an essential car cleaning tool to have stored away in your garage. But it can perform yet another essential service for your vehicle — one that will be of particular interest to folks who like to display their world view, or just a clever catchphrase with bumper stickers.

While bumper stickers can be loads of fun, and even be helpful in alerting fellow travelers that you've got a new driver behind the wheel, the messy, sticky residue they leave behind when removing them can be particularly frustrating. For that reason, many bumper sticker lovers are switching to magnetized adornments instead of those that use adhesives, as they can be added and removed to a vehicle without fear of leftover gunk.

However, adhesives are arguably still the easiest way for most manufacturers to produce bumper stickers in mass. So, if adhesive stickers are the only bumper adornments boasting the phrase that sums up your view of the world, you'll be glad to know that if you rub a little car wax on a clean bumper surface before you apply a sticker. It should not only still stick, but peel off with no mess when you need to remove it.

Your car is not the only item in your possession that is susceptible to the damaging effects of rain, snow, wind, and sun. In fact, your home is likely far more exposed to the various issues caused by those elements, and it's obviously a lot harder to protect something the size of your home from their damaging effects.

That's particularly true of any exposed metal features that might be adorning the property, such as lighting fixtures, door handles, and brass door knockers, among other things. When left to the elements, such metal adornments are indeed prone to the sort of corrosion that produces rust, which can eventually cause irreversible damage to items that are meant to be eye-catching decorative fixtures.

To be clear, once rusting begins, car wax cannot reverse the process. The same is, of course, true of your automobile, though you may be able to remove existing rust with a little help from another garage essential, WD-40. Whether you've opted to remove existing rust, or have undamaged metal fixtures you'd prefer to keep in good shape, you may well be able to preserve their sheen, or keep them from further tarnishing with the regular application of car wax. And if you love your home as much as you love your car, taking such an easy preventative measure is a no-brainer.

If you live in a climate that is prone to extreme weather events or frequent heavy snow, odds are you've already equipped your vehicle with some sort of clear coat protectant. Even though your vehicle will be better protected from elements like snow and ice, you'll still have to clear your driveway of both before you can take your car out. For most citizens, that work is undertaken with a snow shovel, and it's not a task many look forward to. But once you've built your snowmen, made your snow angels, and had yourself a snowball fight, it is time to get to work.

As with most of the other issues on this list, car wax is not a fix-all, as it cannot prevent snow from collecting on your driveway or magically remove the task of shoveling from your to-do list. However, it might make the task a little bit easier, as applying a coat or two of car wax to your metal or plastic shovel head should prevent snow from sticking while you are shoveling. Even a small bit of help will be welcomed by those who dread digging out the driveway when it snows.