How Often Should I Wash My Car in the Winter?
When you live in New England, you know how harsh winters can be on your vehicle. When the roads get icy, cities will cover them with salt and sand. Then, when you drive, the salt and sand are stuck to your car. Without proper care during the winter, the salt can stick around until May or June. Do you want to risk oxidizing your undercarriage and letting your car get damaged? At Q Car Care, we have the answers for you.
Wash your car every two weeks.
The best way to keep your car clean is to make sure it’s washed every two weeks, or more often. This prevents multiple layers of the salt from building up. After all, a single round through a touch-free carwash won’t get rid of a thick crust of salt, so why would you let it build up in the first place?
Some people avoid washing their car during cold weather because of the cold itself. After all, most car washes don’t completely dry the car, so doesn’t the leftover moisture freeze? The answer is no—your car is warm enough that freezing won’t occur, or won’t have any impact on how the vehicle runs.
Make sure you wash the undercarriage.
A car wash isn’t just to make your vehicle shine like new. You want to make sure the dirt and salt are actually washed away—so be sure the undercarriage is cleaned. This can be tricky at touch-free carwashes. The top option will offer so many buzzwords like “triple foam action” that don’t mean anything, while the cheapest option won’t have that important undercarriage wash. Choose carefully.
Avoid touch-free carwashes.
If you want to be confident your car is getting the care it needs during the winter, make sure it’s hand washed. This ensures that the underside is given attention and salt isn’t left behind. There’s also a simple fact that many touch-free carwashes are closed in New England winters because there’s a risk of freezing water lines. If a water pipe bursts in an automatic car wash and your vehicle happens to enter, there’s a serious risk of thousands of dollars of damage to your car.
Throughout the winter, you want to try to ensure your car is washed every two weeks. For maximum effect, time your washes for the third day after a snowstorm, when there isn’t much salt on the road—so your car won’t be ruined as soon as you drive away from a wash. Make sure you head to a place that will wash your car by hand, like Q Car Care. Contact us today to learn what we can do for you, and get your first wash scheduled today.
