We all enjoy looking at our cars when they’re clean and shiny and rust free. But what happens when time, along with road salt, slowly destroys your car. With the winter months of the year comes snow and ice which can be more damaging to your car than you realize.
Salt: The Car Killer
Although the roads may get covered in ice and snow throughout winter, we’ve figured out ways to keep the roads safe. Beet juice, vinegar, and salt are all easy solutions to defeat the ice problem during winter. Unfortunately, after driving on heavily salted roads for extended periods, our cars can slowly begin to rust and deteriorate.
Although salt doesn’t seem that bad, salt easily destroys the vinyl, aluminum, plastic, and steel parts that make up your car [1]. In the best case scenarios, your car will have spots of rust caused by salt. In the worst case scenarios, parts of your car will rot through while you’re driving, causing you to have an accident, costing you money and perhaps a life.
Prevention is Better Than a Cure
Fortunately salt doesn’t have to be a threat. You can easily take care of any problems salt might cause before it happens with these three steps.
Wax Your Car
Wax provides a protective shield against outer elements. Giving your car a fresh coat of wax can prevent any corrosion throughout the winter months.
Wash Your Car
You should wash your car as soon as possible after driving on salted roads. But some people suggest washing your car every ten days to two weeks [2] if you don’t feel like washing your car every day. While washing, make sure you clean the undercarriage of the car, where the most salt build up will be. This will remove all of the salt from your car’s body and lengthen its life.
Watch the Carpet
Salt doesn’t stop its destructive tendencies once it enters your car. Letting your salt covered shoes drip onto your car’s interior will only result in a more worn and weathered carpet in a shorter period. Try putting rubber foot mats down during the winter months to catch the salty water and prevent excessive damage.
Notes:
- ^Preston, Benjamin. “Wash Your Car to Keep Rust Away.” N. Y. Times, 12 Mar. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/automobiles/wash-your-car-to-keep-rust-away.html. (go back ↩)
- ^“How To Clean Road Salt Off Your Car: Tips, Tricks and Help.” Mercedes-Benz Raleigh Blog, 26 Feb. 2015, blog.mercedesbenzraleigh.com/how-to-clean-road-salt-off-your-car-tips-tricks-and-help. (go back ↩)
