Why is it important to wash your car in winter?

Keeping your car clean in winter will prolong its life. Wash your car in winter to prevent rust under the car and prevent ice from getting on the windshield.

The child is cold outside. And if you live in a snowy area of ​​the country, chances are your car looks a little beat up these days. Low temperatures and roads covered in salt and muddy snow can make your car unrecognizable. Washing your car in the dead of winter can seem counterproductive as it will just get dirty again once you hit the road.

And your neighbors might think you're crazy if they see you outside with a bucket of water and a hose. But if they are honest with themselves, they will understand that you are doing the right thing.

Road salt, snow, and moisture can cause rust on a car, and once rust starts, it's hard to stop. Rust can appear anywhere - under paint, under a car where there is bare metal, and in nooks and crannies that you didn't even know existed.

Rust is like a rash on the skin. You put some cream on the infected area, it helps, but then it shows up somewhere else. It seems their cycle never ends. Rust works in much the same way. This compromises the integrity of the car and over time can corrode the car body, rot the exhaust system, brake lines, brake calipers and gas lines. Rust on the frame is especially dangerous, because while driving a car, pieces can break off from it and cause injury to other motorists.

To avoid the deadly combination of road salt, sand and moisture, you might think it's best to leave your car in your driveway all winter to protect it from the elements. Will this strategy extend the life of your car?

The good news is that by keeping it off the road, you don't expose it to road salt and sand. It's always good. However, will severe frosts and snow affect it?

Ray Magliozzi, host of National Public Radio's Car Talk, is indifferent to leaving your car in the parking lot all winter. “If it's an older car, you'll find things don't work either. That’s because they were ready to break anyway,” says Magliozzi. “If your muffler falls off when you first get behind the wheel, it still had to happen. It's just that you parked it two days or a week before it was supposed to fall and put off [the problem] for two months."

He says that if you plan to park your car for the winter, clean out the area around the exhaust pipe and driver's door and let the engine run for ten minutes or so every week to keep the fluids flowing. When you first get behind the wheel of a car, it may be difficult at first, but then everything will smooth out. Tires, for example, can make some bumps, but they will smooth out after 20-100 miles of driving. In the long run, the car doesn't know if it's hot or cold outside. Let him work once a week, and by spring everything should be in order.

Protect your car

Why waste time and energy winterizing your car if you can't stop salt and manure buildup? The answer is actually quite simple: economics. Caring for a car now means it will last longer and retain its value when traded in.

When the weather starts to turn cold, thoroughly wash and wax your car. Adding a layer of wax is important because it adds an extra layer of protection between your car and road debris.

When cleaning your car, pay attention to the areas behind the wheels, side panels, and front grille, which are the main places where road salt accumulates (and where rust can start).

Preparing a car for winter is not difficult and not expensive. It just takes some time and elbow grease.

Wash your car more often

As soon as it snows, you need to wash your car as often as possible. Maybe as often as every other week.

If you plan to wash your car at home, take a few five-liter buckets and fill them with warm water. Use soap made specifically for cars, not dishwashing detergent, as many people do. Dishwashing soap can wash away the wax you applied so hard and, more importantly, the transparent protective layer applied by the manufacturer.

Using warm water to rinse your car will not only warm your hands, it will also remove road grime.

Another option is drive-in car washes with electric jets. A powerful jet will not only clean the top of the car, but will also help wash the bottom, knocking down large pieces of salt and slush that accumulate.

If you decide to use a pressure washer, spray water into every nook and cranny you can find, because salt and road grime lurk everywhere.

You should avoid washing when the temperature is below freezing because the water will immediately freeze and you will be riding around in a popsicle. It will be especially difficult to remove ice from windows if you wash your car at temperatures below 32 degrees.

Instead, choose a day when the temperature is moderate (i.e. may be around 30 or below 40 degrees). Washing on a warm day ensures that the power windows don't freeze and your defrosters don't have to work twice as long to defrost the windows.

If you want to wash your car in freezing weather or just below freezing, drive it around the block a few times before you start warming up the hood and turn the heater on to maximum heat to warm up the interior of the car. These two things will keep the water from freezing during the wash.

Plan to get wet while washing. Wear protective clothing that repels water, boots, waterproof gloves, and a hat. If you can't find waterproof gloves, try buying a cheap pair of regular winter gloves and covering them with one or two layers of latex gloves. Put an elastic band around your wrists so that water does not seep inside.

During the winter, some people swap out cloth mats for rubber ones. When you get in and out (especially on the driver's side), you're exposed to salt, snow, sand, and moisture, which can seep through both cloth mats and floorboards and cause rust. Custom made rubber mats can be found online.

Finally, "cleaning" your car doesn't start and end with the exterior and underbody. Washer fluid or water may freeze in the reservoir or on the windshield while driving.

While you're winterizing your car, drain your windshield wiper fluid and replace it with an anti-icing fluid like Prestone or Rain-X, both of which can handle -25 degrees below zero.

AvtoTachki mechanics can test and optimize your vehicle's windscreen wiper and washer system to ensure your windshield stays clean and free of rain, mud, sleet or snow all winter long. They can also show you where snow and ice like to hide so you know where to look when washing your car in the winter.