How Often Should You Wash Your Car in the Winter?

During the warm summer months, seeing a bucket, hose, and suds-filled vehicle is a given. Vehicle owners nationwide take pride in keeping their whips clean and fresh. Washing a vehicle is an enjoyable pastime for many. However, the cold harsh winters pose a different challenge. Rather than washing a car for fun and visual glory, many focus on simply keeping salts, ash, and debris from causing rust and wear. How often should you wash your car in winter, though? Getting on a regular schedule can be rough especially when you’re facing snowy downpour and endless mud or grime. 

A car is a significant investment, both in terms of money and time. To protect the investment, upkeep and maintenance is essential. This means keeping it clean and waxed and void of any harmful dirt and debris that can cause more than cosmetic damage. 

Reasons To Wash Your Car Frequently in the Winter

The frequency of washing also depends on reasons for washing a vehicle. If you're wondering how often should you wash your car in the winter, consider why you should wash it more frequently. There are many good reasons to wash your car regularly regardless of the season.

Your car is safer to drive when those windows are clean. If your car windows are covered in dirt or debris or smeared with road dust, you don’t see as clearly. This can slow your reaction time. If the windows and mirrors are clear, safer driving is more likely. This is especially true in the winter when ice, snow, salt, or sand add to the usual road pollution further obscuring clear vision in winter’s already challenging driving conditions.

In short, keeping your car washed and waxed is one of the simplest and least expensive ways to maintain the value of your car. Washing ever two weeks, with a good waxing once every couple of months will keep your car looking brand new. But how often should you wash your car in the winter months? 

How Often Should You Wash Your Car in the Winter?

Talk to car owners and professional detailers about how often you should be washing your car in the winter and some answers may vary. In general, most detailers and car enthusiasts will recommend every two weeks as a standard base. However, special circumstances will determine if you should deviate from a set schedule. For example, if you keep it stored in the garage during colder months, you may not need to wash as frequently. 

On the other hand, to keep the paint looking new for trade-in value and to avoid rust, it makes sense to wash and dry your vehicle in the winter every time you expose it to winter road conditions. Sometime this means doing a simple rise inside your garage to ensure that harmful debris is reduced.

If you spend a lot of time driving in harsh weather, once a week may be a more ideal timeframe for a complete wash and wax. Luckily, there are products and equipment that can make washing a vehicle easier during winter months. 

Professional Tips for Washing Your Car In Winter

We get it. No one really wants to expose themselves to sleet and frigid temperatures. Instead, looking for tips on washing a car in garage during winter months to avoid freezing. For washing once a week, consider the following tips.

There are tricks that you should incorporate into your winter washes to help reduce the frequency of detailing on your vehicle. It’s important, first of all, to do a thorough job with clearing all debris, dirt, and grime. Using the two bucket method is a great way to accomplish this. Additionally, drying thoroughly is also incredibly important as it helps to eliminate the buildup of moisture and prevent any possible rust, swirls, scratches, and other damage. Car blow dryers are usually ideal for keeping your vehicle in top shape during the winter. 

Consider applying wax when you’re finished with drying. Applying a good coat of wax will help your car repel dirt and grime and reduce the amount of time spent on cleaning. Plus, it provides a wonderful sheen for the ultimate finish. 

Why Wash Your Car in the Winter?

It makes sense to keep your vehicle clean in any weather. However, this is never more important than in the winter. Cold, snow, sleet, sand, salt, and slushy road conditions pose special threats to your vehicle’s surface. Keeping your vehicle looking nice is more difficult in winter conditions.

Salt, sand, and winter slush should be removed as soon and as often as possible. Left on your vehicle’s surface, they are an open invitation to rust. A well-washed and thoroughly dried vehicle is less likely to rust. Keep paint undamaged by road conditions in every season is critical. If the paint is damaged, it offers little protection against winter’s harsh conditions. Once rust sets in on the surface or in the crevasses of your vehicle, it will continue to corrode the vehicle’s and even the car’s engine.

Where Should You Wash Your Vehicle?

Outdoor car cleaning in frigid temperatures is not good for you or your vehicle. Water may freeze on the car’s surface. Further, washing it offsite means exposing it to ice, snow, road dirt, and salt just to get it home to your garage.

A heated garage with a floor drain is ideal. This allow you to wash and dry your vehicle inside during the winter. Even without a floor drain, you can remove excess water from the garage floor with a squeegee or a wet vacuum. Consider using Gyeon vehicle washing and care-care products. 

Why Blow Dry Your Vehicle?

A frequent misstep by car owners is overlooking the importance of drying a car after its been washed. Whether you're washing weekly or bi-weekly, it should be dried each time. By using a car air dryer, you ensure that all those crannies and nooks are completely void of all water. Blow drying helps you to avoid smears, water spots, streaks, and scratches on the car’s surface.

Pro Blow Car Dryer: How They Work

Drying is one of the most important steps in getting the winter dirt off your vehicle. Pro blow car dryers can help remove moisture quickly and efficiently. They also provide filtered air to prevent debris of attaching to the vehicle, while giving continuous warm air flow for effective drying. 

If you wash your vehicle and let it air dry, elements in the soap and water may remain. This can cause fading and even eventually ruin your vehicle’s surface paint.

Why Choose BLO Car Air Dryers?

Whether you are drying a bicycle, a car, a truck, an RV, a motorcycle, or a small watercraft, BLO air dryers offer an efficient car dryer that is ideal for all drying needs. Conveniently company, you can find one that will fit into the available space in your garage.

Selecting Your Car Dryer

How often should you wash you car in winter? Every time its exposed to the elements, it should be washed and dried. If you are planning to wash your car during the winter inside your garage, you will want to consider how much space you have to work with. BLO dryers come in three convenient sizes. Each has varying storage space requirements and power capabilities. 

For working inside the garage, the AIR-S Portable Car Dryer might be your best choice. The AIR-S takes up little storage space. Compact and hand-held, anyone can operate it effectively. As BLO's smallest air dryer, it fits on the wall along with other power tools.

If you have bigger vehicles or you want more drying power you might wish to consider the Air-RS or Air-GT air dryers.

All models have high-pressure heat settings and an unconditional one-year warranty.

Winter conditions pose extra concerns for vehicle owners. To keep your car as clean and rust-free as possible, it is important to wash and thoroughly dry it as often as possible. BLO air dryers will help you ensure there are no damp surfaces that would encourage rust.