Occasional carwashes can protect your car, investment and clothes during McCullom Lake winter

Brushing up against your dirty

car during this one reason to

take your car to the carwash

this McCullom Lake winter.

But there are other reasons

that a carwash will help to

protect your vehicle.

It’s winter here in McCullom Lake as you rush out to the car determined not to be late for that important date. You don’t notice until you get to your destination but, as you rushed to the car, you brushed up against it. Now, as you get out of the car, you notice that there is a broad patch of dirt on your overcoat and skirt.

Over the course of a McCullom Lake winter, cars seem to take on a course coat of a semi-transparent grey. It’s actually a mix of residue from dried rain and snow, with a mix of dirt kicked up from the pavement, and roadsalt with a mix of other chemicals.

If you brush against that chemically charged coat of dirt, you comes off easily on whatever makes contact. For the lady rushing to her car above, this is what she discovers on her clothes – an unsightly mess. 

That’s a pretty good reason to bring your car through the carwash once in a while over the course of the winter. But it’s not the only reason.

Actually, when something brushes against the winter coating that has formed on your vehicle, there is the potential that it will cause fine scratches on the finish. That’s because the winter coating is made up of many particles of dried water, dirt, roadsalt and chemicals. 

It forms a grit that can work like sand paper. The particles are so fine that you may not see the scratches in most situations. But, under the right light, you may be amazed to see how much damage the winter coat can do.

Another factor is that the roadsalt and chemicals have the capacity to eat away at your car’s finish. And, if there is an existing scratch that extends through the painted finish, the roadsalt and chemicals have a place where they can go to work expanded on the damage.

The roadsalt and chemicals are corrosive and, given time, will permanently reduce the glossy finish of your vehicle. That finish is like a delicate shell that provides protection for everything that’s below it. As the protective shell is thinned or cracked by the elements, including that winter coating, it’s ability to protect the finish below is diminished.

When the shell is unable to fulfill its intended task, things like the ultra-violet rays of the sun, are better able to play havoc on the car’s finish. The paint my be more easily scratched and faded.

Protecting the car’s finish goes a long way to maintaining the value of the vehicle. And, keep in mind, as your car’s finish deteriorates, your car’s value fades, too.

There isn’t much you can do about what winter throws at you here in McCullom Lake but taking your car through the carwash once in a while can go a long way to protecting your car, your investment and keeping your clothes clean when you brush up against the car.