Topic: How Often Do you Wash Your Vehicle During Winter

[RunsinLight]

How Often Do you Wash Your Vehicle During Winter

[No H2O]

Never.

[The Mighty Duck]

Only when I can no longer see out of it.

I don't like those automatic ones (used a Petrocan glide one last time, didn't work very well at all) and it's too cold to do it by hand. I try and stop by a wand wash every once in a while, but I prefer to bring my own bucket, and they frown on that in winter because they're always lined up.

[RunsinLight]

Never.

I've started wondering if this a better way. Do you do this because the salt needs moisture to rust?

[ovr50]

About every week or so, we have a good wand wash about 10 mins from my house, and, if you at dinnertime or evening, often not very busy. That's for the M3, the Highlander gets done every 2 weeks or so, same place. I use a credit card thingy with prepaid time on it.

The old Honda hasn't been washed yet this winter.

[Railton]

About every week or so, we have a good wand wash about 10 mins from my house, and, if you at dinnertime or evening, often not very busy. That's for the M3, the Highlander gets done every 2 weeks or so, same place. I use a credit card thingy with prepaid time on it.

The old Honda hasn't been washed yet this winter.

The old Honda must feel like a 3rd dog in a two person household...
Railton

[ovr50]

About every week or so, we have a good wand wash about 10 mins from my house, and, if you at dinnertime or evening, often not very busy. That's for the M3, the Highlander gets done every 2 weeks or so, same place. I use a credit card thingy with prepaid time on it.

The old Honda hasn't been washed yet this winter.

The old Honda must feel like a 3rd dog in a two person household...
Railton

Ya, it's not getting a lot of use this winter, as it has been so snowless and mild. We are now in about week #4 of virtually no new snow, always above 0C in the day, and dry roads. Winters here are not as bad as east of the Rockies, but this is a soft one, even for Kelowna. I plan to sell the Honda in April when the insurance expires. It'll be good for a kid with a new license, and friends of my wife's have already asked for it.

[Arthur Dent]

Never.

+1

The current Chrysler has never been washed in my ownership 

I did clean the inside though.

[rrocket]

At least once a week, when we gas up.  The "beater" cars rarely get washed..once a month, maybe.  If it's very cold out side, we'll go to the places where they hand dry.  If not we go to Sunoco Touchless, we have microfiber cloths in the car and wipe the door jambs off ourselves.

[sailor723]

Really depends on the weather for me. More often if the daytime temps get up around 0....less if they stay down under -10.

[Careener]

Once a month max. I did wash it after our trip to Tremblant due to the amount of sludge from sand/salt etc. It's salty all over again.

[Ice]

Less than once a month.  It is too cold and it gets all dirty again anyways.  As soon as we get one of those thaws where the daytime high is 5... then I break out the buckets and do a quick rinse.  Then it may not get washed again for a while.

[huota]

I try to hand wash our car at least once every two weeks. The ex-lease sometimes went months without being washed, and I rarely bothered hand washing it.

I was turned off using the automatic places after hearing that they recycle the water. I fully understand the environmental point of view, but they have taken samples of the water in Sweden in the winter time and found large amounts of "salt" (sodium) in it. Somehow the idea of having your car take a salt shower does not appeal to me.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Spring.

Maybe once over Winter if the temp is +5dC or higher and I feel like it / have time. Wouldn't wash in negative temperatures. And I only go to the coin-op or in the driveway, never been through an auto wash in my own car, just mesmerized by the action going through with others

[jamie1]

Try to do the Acura once a week. I'm lucky I can take to the shop and take my time. I can clean the inside and outside. The Ram 50 has yet to be washed this year. Including summer.

[Mitlov]

We just sold our Tacoma, and I just reflected on it, and we washed it once in three years.

I wash my Jetta about every 1-2 months.

[No H2O]

Never.

I've started wondering if this a better way. Do you do this because the salt needs moisture to rust?

That is exactly the reason.

I also do not park indoors, even if it only slightly above freezing in the garage. The worst thing you can do is park in a heated garage.

The colder things are, the slower reactions take place.

I also Krown my Honda CR-V myself and use 6 mil plastic doubled up under my pants savers. Eleven winters later, my carpets still look like day one and they've never been shampooed.

The CR-V might get washed 5 times during the summer; the Porsche will get washed far more often.

[Seafoam]

^ I agree. It can't be good spraying water in every nook and cranny if the temperature stays below freezing for most of the time. The water can contract and expand opening areas to further rust. I tend to let the rust proofing do its  job. In the summer that's  a different story.

[vdk]

I can't stand it when the car turns silver...

[Seafoam]

I can't stand it when the car turns silver...

Yeah I know what you mean, mine is now  tu tone.
  If I parked my car in a field next to some cows they would probably lick it.
The spring can't come quick enough.