Saline Streets and Yucky Seats

If you must travel the saline streets of Western Pennsylvania anytime between October and April, read on to help minimize the damage to your vehicle.

That long line at the car wash- worth it? In a word- yes. Road salt is the bane of ageing cars in any snowy climate. We do need this substance to help us get to work and school safely on those icy mornings but the damage it does to our vehicles is horrific. Salt causes major damage to the body of your vehicle and the undercarriage components unless you are diligent about removing deposits.

You can be proactive by sealing the undercarriage of your vehicle, paying close attention to the brake and fuel lines, as these are most susceptible for rust and corrosion and make your vehicle unsafe if they fail. You can buy a product to do this, or you can have it done professionally. You can and should also take your vehicle to the car wash as often as possible. Many car washes in the land of ice and snow offer undercarriage cleaning as well as traditional car washing. This is highly recommended by your manufacturer. Go ahead and find that manual from the factory swimming around your car. You may also notice in that book that manufacturers only warranty the exterior of your vehicle for an average of 12 months or 12,000 miles. Maintaining the environmental damage to your vehicle falls on your shoulders, including salt, dirt, bird poor, and other environmental factors (that tree in my front yard with the berries- sigh). That perspective make the car wash line at GetGo seem a little shorter, doesn’t it?

If you want to wash at home, go for it but it won’t be at thorough on the undercarriage. Please use soap made especially for car washing; dish soap strips your car's wax. Use a wash mitt or a sponge. If the vehicle is really salty, add a couple of tablespoons of baking soda to the wash water to help remove and neutralize the salt. Don't neglect to scrub all the rubber, trim, outside door seals, tires, and the wheel covers. One important area that many home washers neglect is the wheel wells- get that high powered hose nozzle out and ‘power wash’ inside those wheel wells as best as you can- then sit back and watch your car smile. One particular area that sees the most corrosion damage is just behind the wheel wells.

After a nice snow it seems that everyone has these fake mudguards made of ice. That is a salty icy deposit eating at your vehicles exterior and you need to chisel that off your car (carefully mind you- kicking it may not end well). If you have real mudguards, be sure to spray them off occasionally as they can hold salty deposits against your car as well.

Enter fantasyland for a bit: after a beach trip (which sounds amazing right now as the high temperature as I am writing this is 36) you should also give your car a nice bath. The biggest damage areas on beach-dwelling vehicles tend to be the hood, top, and rear deck of the car. Spray settles and dries, leaving a salt coating. Vinyl tops are especially susceptible to deterioration from exposure to salt and sun. Once the vinyl begins to break down, salt spray can accumulate underneath, and may go undetected until it has caused serious damage.

Once the snow and ice have come and you can’t find your car in the parking lot because it is an entirely different color- the same salty grimy gray as everyone else’s vehicle, which I shall dub Pittsburgh Grey from here on out- wait for that nice day and head to the car wash. The line may be long but it is absolutely worth the wait.

As for the interior of your car, here are a few tips to help with the wintertime yuckies. Salt stains are not cute, they don’t give your car ‘character’, and they never help your trade in value. Clean them like you would your couch or carpets at home. Regular carpet shampoos and steam cleaner attachments work wonderfully. You are also welcome to call a professional detailer that is up to you, your budget, and your priorities. For stubborn salt stains a mixture water and vinegar (a 1:1 ratio works well) applied directly to the stains should do the trick. I cannot recommend rubber floor mats highly enough. You manufacturer makes ones that fit your vehicle specifically but there are also generic ones you can find at auto parts and home stores locally.

Hopefully you have learned something from spending a few minutes with me. If you haven’t learned anything, I hope I have at least motivated you to find your real paint color. My car is definitely sporting Pittsburgh Gray right now and it isn’t pretty.