Motoring expert shares how he cleans his alloy wheels in minutes with some of the latest tech

Keeping cars clean is both a pleasure and a chore. For some people it's a therapeutic way to spend a Sunday morning, but for others it's a job we'd rather not have to face.

Whichever camp you fall into, you'll know it's important to keep cars clean, and there's nothing more rewarding than taking a step back and admiring a shiny motor once it's been given some TLC.

Please don't judge me, but I have four vehicles on my driveway, so as much as I enjoy getting out the bucket and sponge, getting my fleet clean is a long task, and one I often don't have time for.

However, I'm very particular about keeping my cars' wheels clean. Brake dust can bake on to alloy wheels and it can take a lot of work to get them back to shiny metal once they've gone too far.

The trouble is, cleaning wheels can be a complicated and messy chore. One of my cars has lots of spokes on its wheels, while the wife's car just seems to puther brake dust all over itself, and the wheels are permanently dirty.

Thankfully, though, there are some products on the market that make cleaning wheels an absolute doddle. I mean it, I can pop out and bring a set of alloys back from the brink in 10 minutes. Even the dirtiest rims can be a quick and easy project if you've got the right kit.

So I'm going to share the items I've tried and tested that help me keep my wheels looking shiny, and I'll include links in case you want to try them yourself.

1. A good chemical cleaner

The absolute foundation of any wheel-cleaning routine should be a good chemical cleaner. These are relatively new products, but I promise they'll change the way you wash your wheels.

It's pretty powerful stuff, so you might want to use a pair of gloves, but you simply spray the chemical on, wait for it to change colour as the chemical reacts with the brake dust, then hose it off.

If your wheels are really dirty you could use a brush to give the chemical a helping hand but, for regular cleans, it really is just a spray-on, spray-off job.

The difference you'll see when you spray the chemical off is remarkable, and you'll be amazed at how quick the job is.

A good chemical, like this Demon Wheels solution, can be had for less than a tenner, but my preferred chemical is "Dragon's Blood", which I can buy in bigger, concentrated quantities, and I’ve found it to be incredibly effective at tackling brake dust.

2. A decent spray bottle

Many of the chemical cleaners you’ll find on the market come with trigger sprays, and that’s fine, but they can be laborious. I don’t know if it’s just me but, after you’ve pulled that trigger a few dozen times, it can really make your fingers ache.

One of the best devices I’ve found to get around this problem is a cheap and simple gardener’s spray bottle. They cost less than a tenner, and you just pump them up before using them, and they’ll dispense the liquid at the press of a button, until the pressure runs out.

It’s been such a great labour saver for me, and I’ll never go back to the trigger sprays again.

3. Wheel cleaning brushes

While a good chemical cleaner will happily banish brake dust without any contact, it's often worth giving it a bit of a scrub. Especially if your wheels are very dirty, or if you've let the brake dust build up.

And there's no real reason not to use a cheap, soft-bristled paintbrush from your nearest pound shop, but to do the job properly, you might want to consider investing in a decent set of dedicated car cleaning brushes.

This is the set I bought, because it includes a wide variety of sizes and types of brushes, which caters well for my variety of wheel types.

But this cheap set on Amazon comes with all most people will need, and even includes a wash mitt. I also spotted this set, which contains just about everything you need to clean the whole car, for not a lot of money. What a bargain.

4. When it's time to rinse off...

There's nothing really wrong with just using a hosepipe to rinse off your wheels, once you've bathed them in the chemical for five minutes. But a jetwash is a better idea, you'll be surprised how much of it tucks away in the nooks and crannies.

A decent, basic jetwash can be had for around £50, and you can buy a reasonable cordless one for half that. But I've been testing a new product that has absolutely transformed my wheel-cleaning routine.

The Karcher OC 3 is a foldable, portable bucket and jetwash all in one, and it's one of my new favourite gadgets.

I have a motorhome, which is usually parked out of reach of my hosepipe, so a portable washing solution is vital for me, and this is just such a joy to use.

You fold out the silicon sides to create a eight-litre water container, and press a button on the base to kick it into life. With a quiet buzz, the built-in motor and battery start pumping the water out of the bucket, through a thin hose, and a little handheld nozzle sprays the water over your wheels.

It's not exactly powerful enough to blast the algae off your patio, but with five bar of pressure, it's plenty for rinsing off a car. And it's surprising how long four litres of water lasts.

What I really like about it, though, is its versatility. It's not just useful for my wheels, it's also handy for washing off the dog after a muddy walk. Or I can spray down my mountain bike after a ride. My wife also uses it to clean her rugby boots.

The rechargeable battery lasts ages, and it folds down small enough to fit behind a car seat, or in even the smallest of boots.

This means, that all I really need to do when I go out to clean my wheels, is grab some chemical cleaner, a brush, and fill up the Karcher OC 3, and the job is done in around 10 minutes. Including washing things down and putting them away again.

If only every car cleaning chore was this simple.