Washing after snow and salt

[Mamba]

My car is a daily driver and this is the first full winter I will have it. I read somewhere that washing it too often in winter after snow and salt have gone into the road is bad.  Reasoning is that dry salt won't corrode your paint, but salt in a liquid will eat through the clear and rust your car.  This person apparently had washed down his car very often in the winter and a few years into it, rust would be easily visible as it had eaten some metal from the inside out from sitting salt water in crevices.  Thoughts?  Should i limit washing to once a month or wipe down without a full wash more often?

[Rich]

HUH?  I've never heard that in my 67 years of life.  I wash my car in the winter, but I also dry it, not leave it wet. But now that Adam's has come out with the Rinseless Car Wash it should make it a lot easier. Check it out on the sales page and watch the videos. It definitely will be what I'm using this winter instead of freezing my buns off with a hose and an icy driveway!

[Mamba]

its the first time i heard of it too, I was wondering if it was true.  I'm going to try the rinseless wash now but in the case I take it to a coin-op, I wanted to check if I should not go too often.  If you think about it, it makes sense, you can't dry what you can't see. I at least don't have an air dryer or master blaster/leaf blower 

Edited December 6, 2013 by Mamba

[Kingsford]

Why would you wash your car anyways when there is a ton of salt on the road? It'll be dirty as soon as it comes out of the garage. Just my $0.02. I always look at the weather and roads before I wash my truck in any season.

[Mamba]

Why would you wash your car anyways when there is a ton of salt on the road? It'll be dirty as soon as it comes out of the garage. Just my $0.02. I always look at the weather and roads before I wash my truck in any season.

 

I don't have a garage. I wouldn't wash my car for possibly 2 months if I wait for salt to go away. Last time i did that with my previous car I had some clear coat damage above my rear wheels

[Chewy]

I washed my G8 after every storm for 4 years and I'm sure some here who have seen it would agree that it still looks as good or better than new.  

 

I use a coin op and ONLY use straight water.  The sooner you get that stuff off the better.  I do NOT dry it however. 

 

Also, I find it interesting when I read these things.  Since he didn't have a vehicle that he NEVER washed after storms, who's to say that what he did caused more issues than doing nothing?  

 

I'll stick to regular spray downs on my new DD and use RW when I get back to the garage and crank up the heat.  

Chris

[THE Mook]

I washed my G8 after every storm for 4 years and I'm sure some here who have seen it would agree that it still looks as good or better than new.  

 

I use a coin op and ONLY use straight water.  The sooner you get that stuff off the better.  I do NOT dry it however. 

 

Also, I find it interesting when I read these things.  Since he didn't have a vehicle that he NEVER washed after storms, who's to say that what he did caused more issues than doing nothing?  

 

I'll stick to regular spray downs on my new DD and use RW when I get back to the garage and crank up the heat.  

Chris

 

This.  Nice post.

[Mamba]

I washed my G8 after every storm for 4 years and I'm sure some here who have seen it would agree that it still looks as good or better than new.  

 

I use a coin op and ONLY use straight water.  The sooner you get that stuff off the better.  I do NOT dry it however. 

 

Also, I find it interesting when I read these things.  Since he didn't have a vehicle that he NEVER washed after storms, who's to say that what he did caused more issues than doing nothing?  

 

I'll stick to regular spray downs on my new DD and use RW when I get back to the garage and crank up the heat.  

Chris

 

because he got a new car and stopped washing it so often in the winter and it didn't rust after.  I'll have to search for the post again, but if memory serves me right he had asked a professor he was friends with and he told him the science behind it.  And to your point, if doing nothing would be worse, wouldn't all/most cars rust like his did? assuming most don't wash cars as lovingly as we do in the forum

Edited December 6, 2013 by Mamba

[Chewy]

The problem with the thought behind this is that the "salt" or in most cases magnesium or calcium chloride is sitting on the car and it's never truly dry.  The moisture in the air unless it's VERY cold, is enough to keep it wet.  Find out what product is used in your area.  Some states use rock salt too.  All three are naturally occurring products. 

 

Copied and pasted from: http://www.prestigedeicer.com/index_files/Page1515.html

 

 

The Issue of Corrosion

In the evaluation of de-icing products, agencies do indeed consider the corrosion rate of the products.  Stringent specifications have been established that require corrosion inhibitors be added before a product will be approved for use.  The industry standard for most ice melting products states that the product must be at least 70% less corrosive than standard rock salt.  The early requirements for corrosion inhibitors were primarily geared to prevent corrosion within the highway infrastructure, primarily bridges and elevated structures.  This was due to the fact that the infrastructure is expensive and difficult to replace.  Washington State has used magnesium chloride with corrosion inhibitors longer than most other agencies.  Their studies of core samples from roadway and bridges prove the positive impact of the corrosion inhibitors.  Conservatively, maintenance personnel with the state of Washington estimate from 20% to 50% increases in life expectancy of bridges due to the use of inhibited magnesium chloride.

 

Much has been said about corrosion to vehicles.  There have been numerous complaints regarding the cosmetic affect to chrome as well as wiring of vehicles.  First, let’s understand that the use of any chloride de-icing product (sodium, calcium, or magnesium) will increase the occurrence of rust. Yet do not forget to compare vehicles in states where corrosion inhibited magnesium chloride is used to those vehicles where rock salt is the primary product (much of the Eastern and Midwestern parts of our country).  Also, do not forget that the magnesium chloride, or any de-icing product for matter, is used to make roads safer for travel.  Washing the vehicle more often will resolve the vast majority of the vehicle corrosion issues, and this is hardly a high price to pay for safer roads and far less accidents and resultant damage claims.  With that said, the leading de-icing manufacturers are diligently working to continually improve the performance of the corrosion inhibitors.

 

There has also been considerable discussion regarding the impact to the environment and human health of the corrosion inhibitors themselves.  To set the record straight, most of the current corrosion inhibitors used in de-icing products are patented and proprietary.  As such, they are designed and highly engineered compounds.  In the development of such inhibitors, more consideration is given to the environmental impact of the product than the actual corrosion inhibiting performance.  In fact, most of the corrosion inhibitors used today are designed using food grade materials.  The same products you find in soft drinks, cosmetics, and shampoo, are used in the corrosion inhibitors.

 

[Chris@Adams]

I have never heard that either, I always keep the salt washed off my DD. If nothing else I go through the car wash and hose it off. And like Rich said we have a extra tool now RW to help out....... 

[Chewy]

I just called a HUGE manufacturer of ice melt "Ossian" which is located in my hometown and talked to him as I was also ordering a pallet of ice melt anyway.  

 

Most states use sodium chloride known also as rock salt due to the size of the chunks.  It's treated with beet juice which is a corrosion reducer and also reduces the temp in which the product works.  In this case the product works down to -15ºF.

 

Several states have outlawed the use of Mag Chloride.  Iowa, Ill, and Washington is all I caught as he rambled them off...  lol  

 

Chris

[tophat595]

This is a new one to me also, having lived in MN most of my life I have dealt with a few winter seasons… My thought has always been to get that salt off as soon as possible, the main concern would be flushing it out of the undercarriage since thats where most will sit for the longest. My 04 caddy while not out every day during winter gets washed every few days all winter with a strong spray underneath, prev owner drove all winter and still no rust underneath… My 97 monte just now started to rust but that may have to do with a bad repaint a few weeks after it was purchased and my mother not taking great care of it, but for a MN car with those issues and 224,000 miles I can't complain……. I don't know all the scientific things about it but from experience I would have to say at the least get to a coin op or whatever and get the underside sprayed down good for a DD at the least once a week if not more if you can.

[dnjaa]

It is my understanding that since car washes recycle the water and there is no way to filter calcium, that you are coating your car with the very salt you want to remove by going to a car wash in a snow belt state.