Armor All Cleaning Wipes Make Automotive Care Easy
Written: Feb 08 '05 (Updated Feb 08 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to use; Good cleaning job
Cons: No UV protection; Price is somewhat high; Pungent odor
The Bottom Line: These wipes come in handy for automotive cleaning, but they smell rather bad and the cost of $4 for 25 wipes is a little steep.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Armor All Cleaning Wipes |
Armor All is a name synonymous with automotive care. This Oakland California- based company produces all sorts of cleaning and protection products to help keep your car looking like new. One of the company’s many easy to use products is Armor All Cleaning Wipes, a cloth- type wipe that is great for quick cleanup jobs in your car or truck.
Basic Facts about This Product:
These wipes come in a plastic container with a pop- up dispenser, similar to a box of tissues. When you first purchase the package, you must unscrew the top and feed the corner of the center sheet through the dispenser. Once this is done, you replace the cap and pull the wipe through the opening on the dispenser. From this point forward (assuming you have inserted the first wipe correctly), the remaining wipes will gradually pull themselves up through the opening. You should never have to unscrew the cap again.
Armor All cleaning wipes measure 7 inches by 9 inches (17.7 cm by 22.8 cm), come 25 to a package (45 count containers are also available, but a little harder to find), and they are joined together with a small perforation. As you pull the cloths out of the plastic container, you will have to tear off a wipe. The wipes are white in color and pre-moistened with special cleaning agents that produce a very pungent smell, like a mixture of ammonia, alcohol, and other chemicals. A little research reveals that the fluid used with these wipes is made with propylene glycol ether along with isopropanol and surfactants.
How to Use:
Using these wipes is simple. You just open the pop- up top, remove a wipe, and start to apply the cloth wipe to the surfaces inside your automobile. You can use these wipes on vinyl surfaces, dashboards, and fabric. The wipes pickup dirt, dust, and particles and, with some added elbow grease, they can also be used to scrub away minor stains. Armor All does not recommend using these wipes on glass, painted surfaces, or leather.
Customer Service:
Armor All can be reached for comments and questions by either calling the toll- free line, 800-222-7784, or by visiting the on- line web site, armorall.com. I have found that most basic questions are easily answerable within the web site, but if you have a more complex question, you will have to call the support line.
Final Thoughts:
Armor All cleaning wipes offer a simple, one- step method for wiping up messes and keeping your car looking clean and presentable. I have been using these wipes off and on for many years and they have always performed well at eliminating dust, crumbs, and grime from my car’s dashboard, console, and other surfaces.
Where I tend to need the most frequent cleaning is on my center console. I use the cup holders, CD holders, and other openings on the console for temporary storage of food, spare change, beverages, and all sorts of other things. Because of this, my console ranks second to my car floors for the amount of grime that is present at any one time. With these wipes, I can quickly eliminate food crumbs, dust, and other miscellaneous particles to help keep the area looking like new.
When you use Armor All cleaning wipes, you will likely notice that it leaves some suds behind as you wipe. When I first experienced this many years ago, I got the false impression that there was too much cleaning fluid present and I would have to wipe up the excess with a dry cloth or paper towel. This isn’t the case. The suds fade away in a very short time after you use the wipes, leaving no trace of residue. There is nothing else to do- no rinsing or extra wiping- after you use the wipes. You just throw them away and go about your day.
Armor All doesn’t recommend using these wipes on glass surfaces, painted surfaces, or leather. When I first discovered that they couldn’t be used on glass, it made me a little curious. The fluid seemed safe enough for use on glass and it smells a lot like glass cleaner. So, I decided to experiment and use the wipes on glass anyway. What resulted wasn’t bad- the wipes really did a nice job on cleaning the glass surface. But there was a slight haze left behind. I had to look closely to see it, but it was there. It didn’t really interfere with my ability to look through the glass so it was only a minor issue but I can understand now why Armor recommends against this.
These wipes can be used on carpeting and fabric surfaces but I have had mixed results when I have used them for cleaning these areas. Armor All cleaning wipes perform well on smooth, flat surfaces because the moist cloth quickly grabs particles and won’t let them go. But on carpet and fabric, the cloth has a more difficult time picking up dirt and particles. One of my greatest problems is pet hair clinging to my cloth seats and carpeting. And these cleaning wipes do not perform very well in removing the hair. The reason is because pet hair is very clingy itself and this makes it more difficult for the cloth to “pull” it off a porous surface.
Besides the pungent smell, another thing that some consumers will not like about this product is the fact that it contains no UV protectant. Also, while it does cleanup messes, it doesn’t leave a sparkling shine behind. The surface will be clean and will look much better than before, but it won’t have a glistening shine like some consumers prefer. Before we criticize, however, we need to remember that this is intended as a cleaning wipe and nothing more. If you want lots of shine and/or UV protection, you will need to purchase another Armor All product. The company has plenty of products for these and other purposes, so don’t worry.
Overall, Armor All cleaning wipes make a nice addition to your automobile’s cleaning agents and devices. These cloths are easy to use and they pickup dirt and grime with little effort. They are superior to using a wet rag and while the smell is pungent, it fades away to an acceptable level after a very short time. These aren’t “super wipes”, capable of cleaning, waxing, and protecting against the harmful rays of the sun in one easy step. But they are good at what they do; the type of product every automobile owner should have stashed in his/her vehicle for quick and easy cleaning.
Recommended:
Yes
Ease of Application: Good; takes little time to apply
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