There’s no shortage of car wash soaps on store shelves—and, to be honest, not a lot of difference between the top choices. So we looked for a good soap that’s also a good value, and Meguiar’s Gold Class Car Wash is about as safe a bet as you can find. Gold Class is reasonably priced and widely available, and after using it for years, we’ve found that it does a good job of lubricating the surface to help lift off dirt, bird poo, and other crud. The Gold Class wash is also recommended by a number of pro detailers, such as Darren Priest of Best Auto Detailing Tips, who writes that it’s a quality product at an economical price. It’s also consistently cited as one of the top car wash soaps among enthusiasts, and it gets very high ratings on Amazon and other retailer websites, including Walmart, Advance Auto Parts, and Autogeek.

Some car wash soaps include a wax, but we don’t really see the point because the solution won’t be on the paint long enough to do much good before you rinse it off. We think it’s better to apply a good wax separately to make sure the paint gets real protection.

If you need to conserve water (thinking of you, Californians), Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine produced good results for us, and it’s highly rated across more than a thousand Amazon reviews. The company recommends mixing 1 ounce of the soap into 2 gallons of water, and in our experience we’ve found that’s just enough to wash a sedan or small SUV. Go around the vehicle, working on one section at a time. First, use a wash mitt dipped in the solution to clean the surface; then, use a microfiber towel to dry it. This method does take longer, and you may have to wash a section more than once or scrub a little harder to get all the gunk off. You can find many spray-on formulas that claim to be “waterless” washes, but we’ve found the Optimum cleaner to be easier to use overall and less likely to cause scratches by rubbing dirt into the paint.

While some pro detailers we talked to said they would use an inexpensive dish detergent, such as Dawn, or an all-purpose cleaner, like La’s Totally Awesome, others worried that the grease-removing chemicals of these types of cleaners could be too harsh on a car’s finish, possibly stripping off the paint’s protective wax like, well, bacon grease off a skillet. We recommend using a dedicated car wash soap, which is formulated to wash the surface dirt and grime off of a vehicle without hurting the protective coating.

After trying several different wash mitts, we recommend the Relentless Drive Ultimate Car Wash Mitt. In contrast to traditional mitts, this Amazon best seller is made of soft, fluffy pile “noodles” that absorb lots of water and provide plenty of nooks and crannies to trap dirt particles. It’s also easier to get into tight spaces than a typical lambswool mitt. And like most microfiber mitts, it’s machine washable. Although similar mitts are available, the Relentless Drive has earned very high ratings across more than 1,600 Amazon customer reviews, without the many low ratings related to poor-quality construction that some competitors have received.

Wirecutter has tested dozens of different garden hoses since 2015, and the Dramm ColorStorm Premium Rubber Hose (50ft) is the most lightweight, flexible, and kink-resistant one we’ve found. Unlike a hefty hose like the Continental Commercial Grade Rubber Hose (50ft) (our also-great pick), the ColorStorm is elevated into a higher tier of hose thanks to a number of things it does better than the rest, starting with its couplings. With big, flat facets for a wrench to grab, the crush-proof nickel-plated couplings are a stark contrast to the knurled round grip you find on cheaper hoses.

After testing several nozzle models, we recommend the Gilmour Full Size Zinc Pistol. Cast from solid zinc, this inexpensive nozzle feels solidly built and has a great spray pattern. We easily moderated the spray, depending on what we were doing, by squeezing the trigger harder or softer. Pull the trigger back a lot, and you get a strong, steady stream for blasting off dirt and gunk. Pull it a little, and you get a wide, fine mist. In contrast, other models we tested—most of which were two to three times as expensive—were flawed by too many complicated spray patterns, which means more parts and more chances for failure.

Although you now have several waffle-weave towels from which to choose, we recommend Meguiar’s Water Magnet Drying Towel. We’ve gotten good results from it over several years of car washing, and it has earned very high ratings from more than 2,500 Amazon customers. It’s also inexpensive and capable of absorbing lots of water—it claims to hold twice as much water as a terry towel. You can also fold this 22-by-30-inch towel into quadrants or eighths to make it easier to use.

Another alternative recommended by Ryan Conde, a detailing hobbyist who moderates several online forums, is The Rag Company’s Eagle Edgeless towels. Conde told us, “They’re so soft, you’ll want to wrap your infant child in them.”

After testing several glass cleaners, we recommend Sprayway Glass Cleaner, which is inexpensive and widely available. It worked well for cleaning the glass of our cars, leaving behind neither streaks nor smears. One Wirecutter editor has also long used Sprayway for cleaning the glass of picture frames for hanging in an art gallery. We got good results from Stoner’s Invisible Glass and Meguiar’s Perfect Clarity Glass Cleaner, but both of those are more expensive than the Sprayway cleaner. We saw more streaking with Chemical Guys Signature Series Glass Cleaner.

For stuck-on grime—such as tar and asphalt, dried bugs, or tree sap—we recommend Stoner Car Care Tarminator, a potent degreaser that’s recommended by more pro detailers than other bug-and-tar removers we’ve seen. On some nasty adhered-on gunk on our own cars, we found it quicker and more effective than similar cleaners we tried. We sprayed it on, let it sit for about a minute, wiped it with a microfiber towel, and hosed it off, and it did a good job. The company recommends that you not use it on clear-coat plastic trim like the kind on bumpers, however, as the formula is strong enough to potentially cause the plastic to haze over time.

A good backup is Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover. We’ve used this cleaner a lot over the years and found it to be effective; it also claims to be safe for use on plastic. Ryan Conde, an avid detailing hobbyist who moderates several forums on the subject, also recommended Turtle Wax, although he warned that it could be too abrasive for some paint jobs. Either cleaner could require some extended soaking or a bit of elbow grease for debris that’s particularly hard to remove.

Of the several wheel cleaners we tested, our favorite is the Eagle One A2Z All Wheel & Tire Cleaner because it offers the best balance of price and performance. After spraying it on the wheels and letting it sit for a few minutes, we could see the dirt and grease running off. Then, we rinsed the wheels with a hose to remove the cleaner and residual grime. We still recommend scrubbing with a brush or wiping with a cloth to finish the job, but this advice holds true for every wheel cleaner we tested. The Eagle One cleaner is typically one of the least expensive options, although prices vary. We also got good results with CarGuys Premium Wheel Cleaner and Griot’s Garage Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner, but at the time we tested, both of those cost about twice as much as the Eagle One cleaner.

For removing dirt, globs of dead bugs, or bird poo when a hose isn’t handy, we’ve found Meguiar’s Quik Detailer to be an effective and inexpensive choice. A few sprays of the detailer and a wipe with a microfiber or terry-cloth towel quickly and easily cleans it off, even leaving a nice shine behind. In an interview with Car Talk (PDF), pro detailer Greg Yoke recommends Quik Detailer for exterior detailing. It gets a very high rating from Amazon customers. And back when our autos editor worked for the car-enthusiast magazine Motor Trend, he typically used Quik Detailer to rapidly prep filthy cars for photography on the road. Although you can find several spray-on detailers, we recommend Meguiar’s because it’s one of the least expensive and most readily available options, yet it gives us consistently good results.