Armor All Wash Mitt – Product Review

If you’re anything like us then you’ll be washing your classic. A lot. It’s a simple premise really; if we have something nice then we look after it, that’s just how we were brought up. From that first push bike to the latest daily driver, project car or pristine classic. Keeping your car clean not only shows a pride of ownership but also helps keep the dreaded rust at bay. A clean classic is a happy classic, as they say. Well, we don’t know who ‘they’ are or if they even say that but whatever the case, the products we choose to achieve our cleaning goals matter greatly. None more so than a good wash mitt, but they also vastly vary in type, quality and price.

Get yours here. Actually, at less than £5 grab a couple.

One of the most important pieces of cleaning kit, in our opinion, is a good wash mitt. Forget your myriad soaps, waxes, and polishes, (we’ll get to all of those in due course) the humble wash mitt is the workhorse of the cleaning arsenal. Quietly going about its job with little fanfare it can really make the difference when it comes to thoroughly clean, scratch free bodywork. Unlike a sponge that has the innate ability to trap dirt, a decent wash mitt keeps those nasty, scratchy particles at its base, leaving the face free to do its job without causing any scratching or swirling to your car’s paintwork. One of our previous mitts was past its best and after re-visiting our Basic, Better, Best article regarding wash mitts we thought we’d give the Armor All mitt a try. At less than a fiver it was definitely worth a punt.

The Product

Armor All are an American company and have been in business since the early ’60s. With such a long history in the cleaning game it’s safe to assume that they know a thing or two when it comes to making cars shine. They have an extensive range of exterior and interior cleaning products, of which the Armor All 2 in 1 Microfibre Noodle Wash Mitt, to give it its full name, fits neatly into, alongside various other cloths, towels and pads. The Armor All mitt features two distinct surfaces. One side can be used to gently clean a vehicle’s paintwork utilising microfibre noodles that lift and remove dirt and grime from the surface, while the other incorporates a microfibre mesh which is ideal for shifting more stubborn grime such as dead bugs and tar residue.

The Test

Having recently travelled over 400 miles across the Channel in inclement weather our test subject was certainly due a bath. To say the thing was filthy would be an understatement. From driving through torrential rain, muddy back roads from too much tractor action and a recent deluge of Saharan sand making it’s way north and depositing itself on everything in sight our trusty Volvo 940 Turbo estate was crying out for some soap and water. It’s not a small car either so would be the perfect baptism of fire for our new mitt.

The Result

With the hose plumbed in and two buckets ready for washing and rinsing we set to it. The first thing we noticed was how comfortable the thing was on our hand and the elastic wrist band fits snugly. You really have to yank the thing to get it off which is good as that means it stays put rather than potentially falling off onto the dirty floor. We were also impressed by just how spongey it is. The mitt, despite its somewhat diminutive size, holds a lot of water which reduces the amount of return bucket trips that need to be made. Its small size does mean that it can get into tighter spaces than a larger mitt would allow and we never had to swap to anything else to get in all the nooks and crannies.

The mesh side is a great addition and made short work of the high bug-splat areas such as the wing mirrors, headlights and front splitter and is a very welcome addition. In the past we have used a spray that breaks down such detritus but that just wasn’t necessary with the Armor All mitt and the thing cleaned everything from the bodywork with ease. Being bright orange it was easy to see when it needed to be rinsed and the end result was a perfectly clean car.

The Verdict – 5 out of 5

The Armor All 2 in 1 Microfibre Noodle Wash Mitt is all you can really ask for in a mitt and it does a perfectly good job of cleaning bodywork, glass and everything in between. Its dual surfaces make it a versatile option and it soaks up soapy water as good as any sponge. Time will tell if the wrist band will retain its elasticity but so far it’s holding up well. At under five quid it’s an absolute bargain and we’re struggling to think why anyone would pay more when it does exactly what it needs to do, and does it incredibly well. It can be machine washed as well which will extend it’s usable life considerably.