Did Your Car Get Gross This Winter? Follow These Expert Spring Cleaning Tips
Along with spring cleaning your home, doing things like flipping your mattress and making every surface sparkle, it’s also a great time to look after your car. Depending on where you live and how many miles you cover, winter can wreak varying levels of havoc on your vehicle.
I can’t discount that being proactive and washing your car every time you venture out in the snow is ideal to rid your vehicle of snow and other detritus. However, I admit this is the real world, and braving the cold to keep your vehicle clean can sometimes take a back seat. As a new Pennsylvania resident, I can confirm that washing your car in freezing temps is far from enjoyable, especially when the water freezes to your car before you can dry it off.
Here are five best practices to prepare your vehicle for beautiful spring drives and higher temps.
#1: Start with a squeaky clean exterior.
Weirdly enough, snow and ice alone aren’t too bad on your paint, it’s actually the road salt that does the most damage. Along with being a tasty snack, salt not only accelerates the rust process on your vehicle but also acts as an abrasive as it skims the underside of your car while you drive. The most common spots affected by winter-induced corrosion include your brake rotors, exhaust components, and even electrical connectors—most components that are easily exposed to the ground below.
Many of the tools I use to rid our vehicles of snow and ice can also risk damaging the paint. Scrapers and particularly brushes can easily damage your clearcoat. That’s why I personally use a snow broom with a foam head to clear away snow and minimize the risk of scratching up my paint.
#2: Next up: cleaning your interior.
Your interior takes a surprising amount of abuse during the colder months. Winter crud like salt, snow, and ice will happily cling to your footwear, and track into your floor mats. This can lead to accelerated wear and generally unsightliness with dirt and grime everywhere. Thankfully there’s almost no chance that it will start or accelerate rust—as it would with the exterior of your vehicle.
I recommend buying a set of rubber floor mats if you regularly deal with extreme winter conditions like these. They’re super easy to keep clean—I’ll powerwash mine, but they can also be scrubbed down—and are a relatively inexpensive way to upgrade your interior. Weathertech is a highly reputable brand, but I'd also recommend looking to see if your vehicle’s manufacturer makes a set for your car. They'll look better, plus they’ll fit perfectly.
#3: Swap out those snow tires.
Winter conditions often mean popping a set of winter tires on your vehicle to cope with the cold and slippy conditions. While these are great for keeping you pointed in the right direction in the cold, snow, and ice, they struggle in warmer conditions; these tires not only use a much softer rubber compound (to stay pliable in lower temperatures) but also feature tread patterns optimized for attracting snow. If you look at your winter tires you’ll notice tons of slits in the tread called sipes—these are used to “grab” snow. Contrary to what you might think, snow grips snow better than rubber.
So I recommend swapping back to summer tires back when the temperatures start to climb. I recommend getting a spare set of “beater” wheels for your winter tires to live on. Not only will it keep your main set of wheels nice, but it will also save you time and money next time you have to swap. If you’re handy with floor jacks, jack stands, and an impact driver, you can save money by swapping wheels back and forth yourself—just be sure to label where the wheels need to go. In certain areas and scenarios, you can get away with all-season tires, which can live on your vehicle 365 days a year.
#4: Get a quick service.
It’s a good idea to give some of the components sheltered under your wheel wells a once over while you have the wheels off the car. I'd recommend targeting wheel hubs, wheel bearings, springs & dampers, tie rod ends, ball joints, control arms, and especially the bushings. Thankfully, if you don’t know what you’re looking for or looking at, it’s relatively inexpensive to have a professional check for signs of life.
If you don’t know what to look for, it’s a good idea to consult an expert mechanic that you trust, or even have a dealership take a look. For context, my local Volkswagen dealership recently charged me a couple hundred dollars for a multi-point inspection on my daily driver. While that might sound steep for some, that’s peace of mind that I’ll have for the rest of the year—or at least until next winter.
#5: Stay on top of maintenance.
As a passing bit of advice, staying on top of maintenance keeps your vehicle safe to drive and save you money in the long run. While getting your car into the shop might feel like a drag, I highly recommend not putting it off. Your mom or dad probably told you to look after your car and it will look after you. And they were absolutely right.
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