Best snow foams 2025
In a lather over which foam to use for cleaning your car? We put 20 products through their paces
Snow foam has gone from being a niche product for professional valeters to an everyday part of many motorists’ car-cleaning kit. It works in the same way as leaving dirty dishes in a sink to soak, by softening dirt and making it much easier to remove.
As snow foam’s popularity has increased, so has the number of products on offer, to the extent that our usual two-year review cycle can’t keep up. So in this mega test we have put 20 through our rigorous process.
We’ve chosen the most popular sizes, but if you use a lot of foam we’d advise buying in bulk to cut the cost per wash, especially if you order online. So which foams covered themselves in glory, and which were snow good?
How we tested
We modified the test slightly this year, by applying the products to our Fiat’s bodywork direct from a pressure washer’s snow foam lance, in carefully masked sections, so we could see the cleaning power and foam levels at the dilutions suggested by the maker’s instructions.
Once they had been left to dwell for five minutes, we rinsed them off using a normal hose’s pressure, and judged the cleaning performance. This was followed by a jet wash’s blast to gauge the level of dirt remaining.
Used - available now
2023 Kia
Sportage
29,792 milesAutomaticPetrol1.6L
Cash £23,000
2023 Hyundai
Tucson
27,364 milesAutomaticPetrol1.6L
Cash £24,500
2014 Vauxhall
Zafira
59,956 milesManualPetrol1.8L
Cash £4,500
2014 Mazda
3
97,442 milesManualPetrol2.0L
Cash £5,500Each foam was rated for its cleaning ability, ease of use and value for money per wash, based on 250ml of mixture per car.
Bilt-Hamber Touch-Less
- Price: around £9.95
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 17p
- Rating: 5 stars
- Contact: bilthamber.com
We have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Bilt-Hamber’s Touch-Less. We highly rate the cleaning power and value for money, but are frustrated by the baffling instructions that require at least 20 minutes to follow. We suspect many users won’t make the effort, so in addition to following the supplied directions to the letter, we also tried a mix using a simple 1:10 dilution. Both concentrations produced a clinging foam that cut through dirt noticeably better than most rivals here. The value is impressive, too, so Touch-Less takes the win.
CarPlan Polar White
- Price: around £11.99
- Size: 2.5 litres
- Cost per wash: 12p
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: mymotorworld.com
This is the first time we’ve tried Polar White, and we assumed it would be cheap and cheerful rather than particularly effective. But we were impressed by CarPlan’s snow foam. The smallest container available is 2.5 litres, yet it costs less than some rivals’ one-litre bottles. This, combined with a 1:9 mix ratio means the cost per wash is the lowest in this test. Despite the dilution and the slightly watery foam it creates, the bright orange, satsuma- scented liquid does the job well when it’s left to dwell on the car’s paintwork.
Halfords Advanced HP Snow Foam
- Price: around £13
- Size: 2.5 litres
- Cost per wash: 22p
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: halfords.com
Our previous winner has fallen down the rankings this year, mainly because its price has leapt up, removing one of the Halfords’ key advantages over the Bilt-Hamber and the bargain-priced newcomer from CarPlan. The snow foam has to be mixed at a 1:5 ratio, too, which means it doesn’t look as cost- effective on a per wash basis. On the positive side, you’re unlikely to need to pay for delivery, because it’s available in any Halfords store. Its cleaning power is impressive though, matching the top two competitors here, despite producing a thin foam.
Triplewax Vortex Blast
- Price: around £5.99
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 14p
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: mymotorworld.com
The Vortex Blast appears to be closely related to the second-placed CarPlan product in terms of its active ingredients and formulation, but it is a vivid pink colour and has a different candyfloss aroma. It’s the cheapest foam in this test and has an economical 1:9 dilution ratio, but is beaten for value by CarPlan. The Triplewax cleans just as well though, so it might make sense if you are an occasional user or short on shelf space.
Angelwax Fastfoam
- Price: around £12.95
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 32p
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: angelwax.co.uk
Despite the name, Angelwax’s Fastfoam is designed to be left to dwell for 10 minutes – the longest of any product in this test. The cleaning ability is on par with the Bilt-Hamber product, even at the suggested 1:9 dilution rate. The Angelwax only loses out on a higher placing due to the cost per wash. Buying a bigger five-litre bottle makes it much better value, at 15p per clean.
Squid Ink Froth
- Price: around £9.99
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 26p
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: squidinkdetailing.co.uk
We’ve previously tried Squid Ink’s alkaline Alka Froth, so were keen to try the less aggressive Froth, which is safe to use with wax coatings. It works out at a pricey 50p per wash at the maker’s suggested 1:9 dilution, but the foam it creates is too thick. We dialled the mix back to 1:19 and it was just right, cleaning just as well as at the lower ratio.
Hydro Snow
- Price: around £15.99
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 57p
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: hydrouk.co
This is designed to be used in our Product of the Year-winning manual foam sprayer. We tried it both in the Hydro sprayer and in a pressure-washer lance. Both created a thick blanket of ‘snow’, which faded fast but did a good job of dissolving dirt.The Hydro Snow misses out here mainly because of the high price, but getting it in a Hydro bundle deal will bring the cost down.
Autoglym Polar Blast
- Price: around £23.99
- Size: 2.5 litres
- Cost per wash: 40p
- Rating: 4 stars
- Contact: autoglym.com
The Polar Blast is designed to be used as part of a three-part cleaning process using Autoglym’s other Polar Products, which can also be delivered through a snow-foam lance.
It is effective at cleaning even on its own and produces a lovely layer of foam at the suggested 1:5 rate. But the Polar Blast is too expensive to be in with a chance of a win here.
Race Glaze Snow Foam
- Price: around £6
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 14p
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Contact: morethanpolish.com
The low purchase price initially looks to be offset by the small 500ml bottle, but the Race Glaze claws back an advantage with a very frugal 1:20 dilution rate, giving it one of the lowest cost-per-washes of any in this test. The initial foam has a fruity smell, but the aroma and suds fade fast. While the cleaning power is good, it’s not a match for the best products in this test.
GTECHNIQ W4 Citrus Foam
- Price: around £13.99
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 35p
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Contact: gtechniq.co.uk
Although the W4 liquid is surprisingly thick before it’s mixed, the watery foam it produces is an anticlimax. It creates a pleasant scent though, which is partly due to the natural citrus degreasing ingredients, which keep the foam pH neutral. This helped GTECHNIQ clean some of our dirt easily, but it struggled with dried-on debris.
Dodo Juice iFoam
- Price: around £17
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 28p
- Rating: 3 stars
- Contact: dodojuice.com
While it looks expensive, at £17 for a one-litre bottle, the Dodo Juice’s instructions suggest a dilution ratio of between 1:9 and 1:19 depending on how dirty your car is. We tried it at 1:14, which gave a reasonable cost per wash.The foam is thick, but isn’t pH neutral, so it will strip off wax coatings and may damage delicate trims.
Autobrite Magifoam
- Price: around £9.95
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 42p
- Rating: 3 stars
- Contact: autobritedirect.co.uk
The Magifoam’s instructions say you should pour two inches of the liquid into an Autobrite snow-foam lance. Given that this wasn’t available at the time of testing – and we’d imagine people will have their own already – we had to guess at the required dilution, settling on 1:5. This gave a reasonable result, but there were no outstanding scores.
Gyeon Q2M FOAM
- Price: around £17.50
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 73p
- Rating: 3 stars
- Contact: cleanandshiny.co.uk
We really liked the Gyeon – until we entered the costs into the spreadsheet and saw its overall score tumble. It’s had a price increase since we last tested it, too. When using the suggested 1:5 dilution ratio for Q2M FOAM, it works out at 73p per wash, which is simply too high to be offset by the dense foam created and the strong cleaning performance.
Car Gods Arctic Storm
- Price: around £10.99
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 55p
- Rating: 3 stars
- Contact: cargods.com
The satsuma-scented Arctic Storm has an artificial-smelling citrus aroma, and the neon orange liquid creates a watery white foam with fairly efficient cleaning power, even at the suggested 1:9 mix ratio. But it doesn’t do anything the similarly scented CarPlan can’t – and that costs less than a quarter of the price.
Duel Engage
- Price: £9.95
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: £1
- Rating: 3 stars
- Contact: duelautocare.co.uk
In our last test we tried Duel’s other snow foam, called Assault, so we were keen to sample the pH neutral and wax-friendly Engage. When mixed at the suggested dilution ratio of 1:4, it produced a satisfying covering of suds, which clung to the car for several minutes before fading. However, Duel Engage is simply much too expensive to do well in this test.
VP Snow Foam
- Price: around £7.95
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 36p
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: vp-uk.co.uk
Newcomer VP’s foam looks reasonable value for money, especially because it is formulated to be used at a 1:10 dilution rate. Rather than being pH neutral, it is strongly alkaline, meaning it needs to be treated with respect on coatings that have been applied to a car’s paintwork, as well as delicate materials. It didn’t clean well enough to make this caution worthwhile.
MacAllister Snow Foam
- Price: around £7.50
- Size: 1 litre
- Cost per wash: 19p
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: diy.com
This own-brand product from the B&Q chain is cheap to buy, especially if you pick it up with your other DIY materials rather than pay for postage. With a 1:9 dilution level for the odourless liquid, this foam is economical, too, and the instructions helpfully suggest the amount of capfuls needed to measure the mix. Yet the weak foam produced had a mediocre cleaning ability.
Liquidtech Snow Foam
- Price: around £9.99
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 50p
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: liquiduk.com
There is a lot to like about the Liquidtech Snow Foam. The squirty lid is easier to use with wet hands than a screw top, and the cherry scent is pleasant. The Liquidtech produces a respectable level of foam from the gun, too. But the cost per wash is high, and the actual cleaning performance is disappointing.
Infinity Wax Wipeout
- Price: around £8.99
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 41p
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: tetrosyl.com
We liked the Wipeout’s easy-to-use pop top, and the flexibility to vary the dilution based on the muckiness of the vehicle to be washed. We tried it at the suggested 5:1 ratio for a heavy soil, and the result was only middling. The company makes other foams with more bite, but they aren’t pH neutral and will strip wax coatings.
Diamondbrite Ceramic Blast
- Price: around£10.49
- Size: 500ml
- Cost per wash: 87p
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: diamondbrite.shop
The bottle claims the Diamondbrite is ‘super concentrated’, but it actually needs double the amount of the front runners in this test.That means you’ll end up paying a whopping 87p per wash. The cleaning performance was disappointing, too, so we hope that the ceramic ingredients may add unseen protection in the longer term.
Verdict
Bilt-Hamber’s Touch-Less is back on top. Look past the baffling instructions and it offers great cleaning at a low cost. Second place goes to a surprise newcomer: CarPlan’s Polar White. It doesn’t have quite the power of the Bilt-Hamber, but is unbeatable value for money. The final podium place goes to our previous champ, Halfords’ Advanced HP. It’s still a great product, but a price rise has hit its scores.
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