Winter’s here, so . . . no more car washing, right? Far from it. With all the snow and sand that gets thrown onto roads to improve driving conditions, it’s critical to wash your car regularly throughout the colder months. You may know how to wash your car, but do you know how to wash your car in the cold? We’ll give you a few pointers in this blog post.
How to Wash Your Car in the Cold
Read Before You Wipe
Despite Hollywood still making movies with scenes of people washing their beloved cars in their driveways, reality is very different today. Check your local by-laws before you wash your car at home.
Even if your city or township doesn’t expressly forbid car washing, it may prohibit dumping chemicals into sewers, and washing your vehicle will release a myriad of chemicals. Read up before you start wiping down.
Can It Be Too Cold to Wash with Water?
In short, yes. It’s best to wash your car when the temperature is above freezing and while the sun is shining so all droplets dry. But if you’re in a cold spell, and those clouds won’t stop rolling in, you can get by washing your car in temperatures as low as -20˚C.
But that doesn’t sound very comfortable for you, does it? Instead, use a waterless cleaning product while keeping your car in a heated garage. Just ensure you have plenty of clean cloths on hand. You don’t want to risk pushing dirt around and scratching the paint.
How to Clean Your Car When It’s Cold
Instead of giving you full instructions on how to clean your car, we’ll focus on what you need to do differently from when you clean your car during the warmer months.
1.Blast the heat. This will help with drying everything as you wash. (Ensure you have excellent ventilation, since you’ll have the motor on.)
2.Make sure to wear several layers. At least the outer layer should be waterproof. If one layer gets wet, replace it if possible, but at least remove it. No clean car is worth a case of hypothermia.
3.Starting at the top, remove any lingering snow with a snow brush.
4.Scrape off any remaining ice with a plastic ice scraper. Do not use metal.
5.Wash your car’s exterior in small sections, using only warm water, never hot. Dry immediately with clean towels. You want to prevent ice from forming and potentially damaging components.
6.Open your windows about an inch. The heat inside the car will help dry the seals around the windows.
7.Clean your wheels well, getting into holes and crevices. They take a real beating from the salt and sand.
8.Wipe your windows with a proper window cleaner to dissolve and remove all dirt. A homemade vinegar solution can damage the seals around your windows.
9.Give your car’s undercarriage a powerful rinse. This is where long-term damage can occur when salt and sand mixed with snow, slush, and ice get splashed up like winter cake batter.
10.If it’s well below freezing outside, dry off your car as much as possible.
There Is Such a Thing as Too Cold
Yes, a clean car is important in the winter: road salt can cause a good deal of damage to a vehicle. But this is Canada, home of weeklong cold snaps where temperatures dip below -30˚C, making it unsafe for you to wash your vehicle.
So, aim for the warmer side of winter when planning your car washes, no matter your car’s condition. That will help you get through the season safely with your vehicle in better condition and all your fingers intact.
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