How To Clean Bugs Off Car With Dryer Sheets

Topic: Cleaned off bugs with dryer sheet, now I have a mess

Posted By: viajante on 07/22/11 04:51pm Just got back from a long trip and had tons of bugs. I decided to try the advice of using a wet dryer sheet to get the bugs off. It took the bugs off, but now I have some milky white spots and runs on the paint. I have tried several things to get it off, with no success.

Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Posted By: TAS on 07/22/11 04:57pm Those musta been milk bugs! [emoticon]

j/k I've used dryer sheets on mine before and never had a mess like that. I wonder if it's a reaction to some sort of wax or spray you had on there?

Todd
15 Ram Megacab 3500 4x4 SRW
18 Street Glide Special
13 Harley Fatboy Lo (gone)
94 Harley FLSTC
98 TJ w/ a few mods
18 Momentum 351M

Posted By: J-Rooster on 07/22/11 05:10pm

viajante wrote:

Just got back from a long trip and had tons of bugs. I decided to try the advice of using a wet dryer sheet to get the bugs off. It took the bugs off, but now I have some milky white spots and runs on the paint. I have tried several things to get it off, with no success.

Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

First of all Dave I like your coach it appears to be very nice. I can't help you on dryer sheets! I used them one time as advice on RV.Net from another poster to deter mice, and the mice used my dryer sheets for bedding. My wife showed me an article on the net about a guy who died of cancer and they claimed it was due to the use of a lot of dryer sheets. So I now just stay away from them. I use a bug spray made by the Turtle Wax people that seems to work really well.

Posted By: mojo41 on 07/22/11 05:21pm Use RAIN-X winshield washer fluid and the sponge with the netting.Works great for bug removal.No mess

Posted By: doc brown on 07/22/11 05:31pm Warm soapy water, that you normally wash your coach with. Just a note, I only use water (warm or cold) on a microfiber cloth to remove bugs and have never had a problem.

Steve,Kathy and Josh
Morpheus(Basenji)at Rainbow Bridge
2004 40' TSDP Country Coach Inspire DaVinci
350 Cummins, 3000 Allison
2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport S, Air Force One Braking, Blue Ox

Posted By: Pangaea Ron on 07/22/11 05:36pm Yes, that is a nice rig... It's the same year and model as ours that we just bought in December. I need to change my profile photo.

We just got back from 10 days at Sundew Campground at Bucks Lake just north of you. Beautiful, but a bit colder that we expected with snow still on the ground, and not much of a beach yet.

Do you have the 3M film on the front? We had a bit of rain going home, so the bugs came off mostly by themselves with the help of a soft long handled brush and water.

2008 Itasca SunCruiser 35L
2014 Honda AWD CR-V EX-L

Posted By: ScottG on 07/22/11 06:03pm Car polish? I always revert back to that to get stubborn stuff off.

Posted By: Sandia Man on 07/22/11 06:17pm Sorry to hear about your dilemna on such a nice rig but we never required anything more than just soap, water, and a soft brush and the bugs come right off. Heard about the dryer sheet solution from this forum but it always seemed like too much work when a simple wash works for us.

Posted By: cooper841 on 07/22/11 06:55pm had same problem left milky stain.just went over front with car wash soap and that was it gone.iam thinking it came from wax too.

Dana Cooper
Chipper(Lab)
2007 Fleetwood Fiesta LX
2003 Harley Fatboy mighty hauler lift
2010 Kia Soul

Posted By: Doug and Cassi Glass on 07/22/11 08:28pm I use dryer sheets and have a bottle of water and rag handy. Use the dryet sheet, squirt area with water and wipe with rag. Front of my Class A below windshield to bottom about 10 minutes.

If they are carginogenic I think everybody in USA would be dead since clothes are dried with them and then worn.

Posted By: dcbrewer on 07/23/11 11:22am I use a towel soaked in warm water, hold it on the bug guts for a few seconds and than just wipe them off. works for me and no mess and no paint damage.

Posted By: viajante on 07/25/11 05:19pm A lot of good information. However, does anyone have a good idea for removing this milky mess I now have. I have used car wash soap and polish to no avail.

Please .......... someone give me some advice about how to get this cr*p off.

Posted By: Seattle Steve on 07/25/11 05:29pm

viajante wrote:

A lot of good information. However, does anyone have a good idea for removing this milky mess I now have. I have used car wash soap and polish to no avail.

Please .......... someone give me some advice about how to get this cr*p off.

The first thing you need to do is determine if it is something on the surface that can be cleaned off, or if it is paint damage. If it is paint damage, then no amount of cleaning will fix it; it might even make it worse.

Posted By: Tom N on 07/23/11 09:03am FWIW, you're supposed to use "USED" dryer sheets!

-Tom

Sarver, PA/Crystal River, FL/Shelocta, PA · W3TLN · FMCA 335149 · Mystic Knights of the Sea
2005 Suncruiser 38R · W24 chassis, no chassis mods needed · 2013 Honda Accord EX-L · 2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L

Posted By: Clay L on 07/23/11 10:08am I used Dawn dish soap and water to get it off mine the one time I used dryer sheets.
They didn't work any better than RV wash and a nylon mesh scrubby pad anyway.

Clay (WA5NMR), Lee (Wife), Katie & Kelli (cats) Salli (dog).

Fixed domicile after 1 year of snowbirding and eleven years Full Timing in a 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N, Workhorse chassis, Honda Accord toad

Posted By: egh33 on 07/23/11 10:37am

TAS wrote:

Those musta been milk bugs! [emoticon] j/k I've used dryer sheets on mine before and never had a mess like that. I wonder if it's a reaction to some sort of wax or spray you had on there?

I use dryer sheets all the time to get the bugs off. However you have to wash the area again with soap & water and rinse well.

Posted By: 2oldman on 07/23/11 11:30am

dcbrewer wrote:

towel soaked in warm water, hold it on the bug guts for a few seconds and than just wipe them off.

x2. Water and a few minutes will take off most anything except grease.

Posted By: viajante on 07/22/11 09:17pm

cooper841 wrote:

had same problem left milky stain.just went over front with car wash soap and that was it gone.iam thinking it came from wax too.

I tried the car wash soap with Mr. Clean. Maybe I need something stronger. I'm wondering if I need to use some dish soap and strip everything off, then rewax the front.

The funny thing is that it only seems to have affected the painted metal surfaces. Where it is gel coated seems to be fine.

Posted By: FIRE UP on 07/22/11 11:00pm Ladies and Gents,
I thought I'd have seen it by now but not yet. I have to believe, I was real skeptical when I first learned of this method but, after trying it on my Honda Goldwing windshield, and all the painted parts on the front end, and it worked pretty darn nice, I started using it on my motorhome while camping after a days drive.

It's "Hydrogen Peroxide", yep, that same stuff you use on cuts and other applications. I put it in a large spray bottle with about 30% water and spray away. Windshield, rubber, paint, 3M mask, everything. It's cool to watch the little bug splats start foaming up all over the place. I spray the whole front end, let it sit for a minute, then give it another quick spray and start wiping off with a paper towel. They practically fall off.

Absolutely NO DAMAGE to ANY SURFACE what so ever. The guys in the Goldwing crowd have used it for years. Many of them really baby their rides and I figure if they used it and are happy with it, I'll certainly give a try. It works!
Scott

Scott and Karla
SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 GMC Sierra 1500 Ext Cab 4x4 Toad
2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing
KI60ND

Posted By: cooper841 on 07/23/11 04:52am

viajante wrote:

cooper841 wrote:

had same problem left milky stain.just went over front with car wash soap and that was it gone.iam thinking it came from wax too.

I tried the car wash soap with Mr. Clean. Maybe I need something stronger. I'm wondering if I need to use some dish soap and strip everything off, then rewax the front.

The funny thing is that it only seems to have affected the painted metal surfaces. Where it is gel coated seems to be fine.

i found it's better to wash off rt after you using the dryer sheet.small section at a time.hate to tell you but you will know have to ues dish washing soap to get rid milky film.then coat wax.seem to me the dryer sheets remove the waz anyway. good luck

Posted By: flhtse05 on 07/23/11 06:00am You can't let the soapy substance from the dryer sheet dry or it will milk up on you. Interesting with the Peroxide, never thought of that will have to try. I have used Bounce dryer sheets for a long time now and never had a problem