The winter is one of the worst times to drive, as many drivers throughout America would agree. Not only are the snowy and icy conditions dangerous, but they also wreak havoc on your vehicle. If you are looking to improve your vehicle’s defense against winter conditions, you also need to be thinking about road salt.
Road salt is notorious for destroying paint jobs, increasing rust, and corroding vehicle components. If you’re not actively putting steps in place to defend your vehicle against road salt, you may find that your vehicle is much more damaged by the end of the winter than it was at the beginning.
The last thing you want is to enter spring with a vehicle that needs a ton of repairs. By taking the right steps throughout winter, you can eliminate the chance of high-priced repairs.
Protecting The Interior
When thinking of road salt damage, many people tend to think of the vehicle’s exterior when the interior is one area that tends to be more subject to damage than anywhere else. People getting into the vehicle will track the road salt in which accumulates on their boots. The best way to remedy the road salt from ruining the interior is by investing in rubber mats. Rubber mats are going to be great because the salt will be able to wash off easily. You can quickly get a custom-fit rubber mat for your vehicle, or you can buy something generic.
Protecting The Exterior
One of the best ways to prevent salt damage is by waxing the paint on your vehicle’s exterior. If you take your vehicle to a maintenance specialist, they will have some other tactics that they may use to protect your vehicle from salt. As the underside of your vehicle will also be subject to salt damage, they may have a remedy that involves spraying the underside with a unique coating.
As you will be driving throughout the winter, you should often try and get the maintenance check-ups several times so that the specialist can check up on the wax’s state and make sure that the road salt is not doing damage. Through continuous maintenance, you can prevent serious damage from occurring and prevent a deep hole from boring itself in your wallet.
Regular Washing
By taking your vehicle to be washed regularly, you can remove the salt accumulated throughout the day. You may choose to spray your car down with warm water at the end of the day, or you can do this once a week or once a month. If you park your vehicle in your garage, that is a great way to let the salt and ice melt off before putting it through the same conditions the next day. If you live in an area where it is extremely cold, you may want to wait for warmer days before spraying your vehicle with water as you do not want it to freeze. Through washing, you can effectively remove salt quickly before it has a chance to corrode the metal and cause extreme damage.
For all your vehicle maintenance needs and tips for road-salt protection, contact McKinney Motor Company today.
