Preventing Salt Damage on Your Car

Car Maintenance: Salt Damage and Your Car

Winter is in full swing and we are happy to see the plows busy clearing and salting the roads. It’s important to remember, however, that while salt is good on slick roads, it’s very bad on our cars.

We live in a state where it snows, and with the snow comes salt and damage to your interior carpets, floor mats and the outside of your vehicle too.

Road salt is used to create a lower freezing temperature on road surfaces, leading to less ice on roadways. While this salt can save countless lives during snowstorms, it could also shorten the life of your car.

Salt is corrosive and, after time, it can eat away the paint on your vehicle, lead to rusting problems on the frame and even damage to the undercarriage.

Common salt, sodium chloride, is the primary deicing chemical used, with up to 12 million tons used in the United States each year. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) reports that it uses an average of 950,000 tons of salt annually.

When salt is on the road, washing your car is a major factor in battling corrosion and maintaining the value of your car. Salt that remains on a vehicle surface and undercarriage for any length of time can damage your car’s clear finish and promote rust.

While some people regularly wash their cars, others choose to wait until spring. Salt is activated by heat, so the corrosive effects speed up when the weather is warmer. We recommend washing your car at least once a week.

For more information, go to our website. I’m Lauren Fix, The Car Coach.

Courtesy of Time Warner Cable News
Aired: 2/03/2014

Special Thanks to Buffalo Car Care: www.bccdetailing.com