How to wash your car during the hot days of summer is rather straight forward. However, things change as the temperature starts dropping. When it’s freezing outside and any moisture quickly turns to ice, how to properly clean your vehicle can be less clear. To help you solve this problem, below are five winter car washing tips to keep in mind.
Don’t Use Hot Water
You’re probably used to washing your car with hot water. Hot water gets things the most clean after all, right? However, under freezing temperatures, hot water can be dangerous for glass. It could cause any of the small cracks in your windows to expand into bigger and more serious cracks. Instead, use mildly warm water.
Use an Enclosed Area
If you are washing your car during the winter, it’s probably best to not do so outside. Doing so will prevent the elements from having a negative effect your wash job. Car washing inside a garage will also help protect you from the nastiest Mother Nature has to offer such as wind chill. Better yet, you should maybe leave your winter car washing to professional indoor car washes if you can spare the few extra dollars.
Use a Good Sealant or Wax
Something you should certainly put on your car during the winter months is a quality sealant or wax. After being applied, the wax and sealant will help repel a lot of the snow and dirty slush you will encounter during the winter months. It will also help better protect your vehicle between washes.
Leave Classic Cars in the Garage
One thing you should keep in mind is that the paint-jobs on classic cars from 50 to 100 years ago are much different than the more advanced chemical paint used on modern cars. Washing and then driving those classic car paint-jobs out into freezing temperatures can do some havoc to that antique paint. Instead, leave your classic cars in the garage and take out a newer model during the winter.
Use a Pressure Washer
During the winter, your car comes into contact with a lot of nasty things that can be bad for your paint-job and the metal underneath. This includes road salt, slush, dirt, grime, snow, sleet, and more. Overall, it’s best to use a pressure washer to quickly clear all of this away as thoroughly as possible.
The worst thing you can do during the winter is not wash your car. In fact, due to all the nasty things your car can come into contact with on a winter road, washing it during the winter is perhaps even more important than during the summer. While it can be a bit more difficult to wash it during the winter, it’s well worth the effort.
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