‘I thought I was being a nice girlfriend’: Woman power washes boyfriend’s car as a surprise. It backfires

A girlfriend thought she was doing her boyfriend a favor when she decided to power wash his car. But no good deed goes unpunished: Instead of cleaning the car, the woman was actually ripping the topcoat of paint from its exterior. 

And to make matters worse, the woman said she didn’t realize this until it was too late. 

In two separate TikTok videos, Katie Summers (@katiesummer2108) explained her predicament. In short, she said she wanted to “be a nice girlfriend” and power wash her boyfriend’s car. She said she “wanted to make it look extra nice.” 

“I thought, ‘If I make it extra shiny by the time he gets home, he’d be really happy,’” she added. “I thought I was being a nice girlfriend.” Her videos have a combined 17 million views.

What happens when you power wash a car? 

According to Soapy Joe’s, a power or pressure washer can cause damage to a car if the device isn’t used properly. “A pressure washer can cause damage to your car’s paint, trim, or delicate parts,” it noted. “High-pressure water can strip away protective coatings and even force water into vulnerable areas, leading to rust or electrical issues.”

That’s exactly what happened to Summers’ boyfriend’s car—though Summers seemingly failed to realize this. 

 “I can’t tell if this is the dirt coming off or not,” she said. “It kind of looks clean once I’ve done it.”

Summer showed viewers the right side of the car, which she hadn’t yet power washed—compared with the front of the car, which she had blasted with the power washer at its highest setting. Indeed, viewers can see that she ended up stripping layers of paint from the car.

“Can someone who knows a lot about cars tell me if this is meant to happen or not?” Summer asked viewers. 

She then demonstrated using the power washer on the car—again. Another large piece of the car’s exterior paint came flying off with it. 

“It kind of looks clean if I get the first layer off,” she said. “Either way, something’s gone wrong.”

How are viewers responding? 

Despite Summers’ wish to be “nice” to her boyfriend, viewers warned that she was damaging to his car. 

“You took the protective coating off the car,” one person wrote. 

“DON’T TOUCH IT ANYMORE,” another said. 

“You’re taking the paint off,” a third viewer added. 

Other viewers confessed that they couldn’t tell whether this was staged.

“I can’t work out what’s real and what’s a skit anymore,” one viewer said. 

“I hope you’re joking,” another wrote. 

@katiesummer2108 HELP ???? Someone that knows about cars let me know if this is right #cars #powerwashing ♬ original sound - katie Summer

“There’s no way this is a genuine question,” a third person added. 

The Daily Dot has reached out to Summers via TikTok comment.

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