One of the worst things you need is a bird poop on your well-cleaned car! Well, that’s inevitable if you park your car outdoors or under a tree. The good news is, you are not alone as it is bound to happen for every car owner, at some point in time. And it is also likely to happen more often than you’d like.
So, does this mean you can leave the stain on your car because it is anyway going to happen again? Well, no and for two reasons. Firstly, it impacts the overall look and beauty of your car and reflects badly on the owner. Second and more importantly, bird poop is acidic, and this means, there is a possibility to ruin your paintwork for good.
So, here are some things you can do to get rid of bird poop stains on your car.
Remove Them Early
Bird poop is easy to remove when they are fresh. All that you need is a cloth and some water to clean the bird poop when it is fresh. So, if you happen to come near your car just after your bird has pooped, you’re in luck! Just wipe it down with a piece of cloth and there will be no stain at all.
Cleaning Products
It is never a good idea to rub the poop stain too hard with a dry cloth, as the friction can cause the car paint to come off. This is because many common birds eat gravel to help digest the food they eat. So, small pieces of gravel get mixed with their poop. This is why it can scratch your car paint when rubbed too hard.
Instead, you can use a wide range of cleaning products to remove bird poop stain from your car. Also, you can opt to make a good cleaner at home, without going in for the store-bought ones that tend to be expensive and some of them even chemical-laden.
Here are some ideas to make a home cleaning product that is ideal for removing bird poop stains.
No Salt Seltzer Water
A good option to get rid of bird poop stains is to use no salt seltzer water. The ingredients you will need to make this cleaning product are:
- No salt seltzer water
- Good polishing compound
- Car Wax
- Scratch remover
Start by carrying a bottle of no salt seltzer water with you at all times. As soon as you see a bird poop stain, spray some of this no salt seltzer water on the stain and gently remove it with a cloth. This no-salt seltzer water will dislodge the stain and will make it easy to remove it. All that you have to do is open the bottle and make a spout with your thumb. Shake it well and spray on the stained area.
For some reason, if the poop stain has been in a place for a long time, you need more than seltzer water. Go for a good polishing compound or a scratch remover. Gently scratch out the stains and in the process, ensure that there is minimal impact on the paintwork. Once you’re done, give a good coating of wax on that area to cover up the scratches.
Detail Spray and Microfiber Cloth
If the stains are deep and dry, seltzer water will not help. Also, scratching will only further damage the paintwork on your car. In such a case use a detail spray and microfiber cloth.
You will need the following ingredients:
- A few teaspoons of milk
- Bird muck wipes
- Detailing spray
- Quick wax
- Microfiber towel
First off, spray some milk on the stain to remove the impact of its acidic properties. Milk will help to prevent any further damage to your paintwork as well.
Next, apply a liberal amount of wax or detail spray on your microfiber cloth. Both these substances reduce the friction that can be present between the bird poop and car paint. Remember, birds eat a variety of stones, nuts, seeds, and other hard materials. These materials tend to get mixed with the poop, so if you try to remove it directly, the paint on your car will get scratched. This is why pour some of these items on to the cloth to reduce the friction.
Now place the wet side of the cloth on the poop and pour some water on it. The amount of water depends on the area and age of bird poop stain. A rule of thumb is, the water should be enough to wet the cloth, but it should not stream down the car.
Give a few seconds for the water to soak into the microfiber cloth. Then, gently lift off the cloth and you’ll find the bird poop stuck on the underside of the cloth. No wiping is necessary.
Repeat this process a few times if you are unable to get the bird poop stain off in just one go.
Finally, after the poop has been completely removed, add some detail spray to the area or even some wax and rub with a clean microfiber cloth to remove even the traces.
You can use one of the two cleaning methods, depending on the age of the stain and its intensity. Either way, the goal is to ensure that the paintwork is not affected in any way.
One aspect to keep in mind here. If the poop stain has already damaged your car paint, your best option is to head to the nearest auto store or hardware shop and buy the products that will remove the marks. Home-made cleaning products will not work in this case.
So far, we have seen the impact of bird stains on the car paint. Let us now quickly see what you can do if you find bird poop stains on the windshields or wipers.
Just like paint, it is never a good idea to scratch off and remove the bird poop stain on your windshield, as this is sure to leave some scratch marks behind. Instead, you can follow this process.
- Take a piece of cloth, preferably a microfiber cloth and dampen it with water or soda. Either of the two would work. In fact, you can even choose any other liquid too, but make sure it is diluted enough to ensure that the chemicals present in it do not have a reverse effect on the windshield.
- Put the damp cloth over the stained area and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes. This is a fairly good time to loosen out the stains, so it can be wiped off easily.
- But don’t scratch them off yet. After about 15 minutes, gently life the cloth with your finger and see if the poop is stuck to your cloth. If not, you can dampen the cloth and place it again on the stain for another 15 minutes. Alternately, you can consider spraying the liquid you are using directly on the stain.
- After a few minutes, wipe off the stain gently. Make sure not to scrub any part of the stain. If the stains are still present, apply the damp cloth or spray liquid on it again and again until the poop stain gets loose enough, so you can gently wipe it off with a cloth.
- Once you are done removing the stain, wash the entire area with water. This process ensures that there are no chemicals or dust remaining in that area. If you like, you can even wipe down the entire windshield with a clean cloth to prevent streaks or other marks from the liquid. Another choice is to use windscreen wipers with some of the windscreen liquid sprayed on it.
With these steps, you can definitely remove all the poop stains on different parts of your car, regardless of how dry or old they are. This is not a difficult process, but one that could take some time, depending on the age of the stain.
Before heading to clean the dried stain, make sure you have sufficient time and be ready to repeat the same process, especially the spraying and placing damp cloth processes, a few times. This is the best way to ensure that there are no scratch marks on your car’s paintwork or windshield.
To conclude, removing a bird poop stain is not as simple as it may seem because the poop tends to have small pieces of gravel, nuts, and seeds mixed into it, thereby giving it a hard texture. When you try to scrape it off, it will impact your car’s paint and windshields, and this is why the above-mentioned steps can help to gently remove the stains without causing any further damage to your car’s exterior area.
When you follow these steps, you will find no trace of the poop stain. In fact, you may not even be able to identify its exact location a few hours later!
Sources:
- How to remove bird poop on car paint without having to touch it – Cleanipedia
- How To Recover The Car Paint Damage From Bird Droppings – Car from Japan
