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Northern Colorado has certainly had a dry winter so far, hasn’t it? After that six-inch snowfall in October, we were pretty much dry until the first day of winter on December 21. While the nice weather certainly brought people into our full-service car wash (especially on the weekends), they’ve mostly been coming in for standard auto wash services and detailing that they’d usually get during the rest of the year. Until our most recent snows during the last weeks of December, there wasn’t much de-icing to worry about.
While getting precipitation is a good thing for our grass this coming spring and how well Horsetooth Reservoir fills up, it certainly causes its share of problems when it comes to the cleanliness — and in some cases the safety — of your vehicle. Let’s take a look at why you’ll want to take as much advantage of auto washes and detailing as you can when you live in Loveland, Fort Collins, Longmont, Greeley, or anywhere in between.
The Dust Can Cut Your Visibility
Winter can be a dusty part of the year. Snow can leave dust particles behind, and any snow that melts on your car can grab any dust that’s passing by in the wind. Head over the river and through the woods (and down a gravel road) to Grandma’s house and you’re likely to have a very dusty car.
While the dust might not hurt your car’s finish that much, it can get pretty caked on there and require a professional car was to get everything off. But it’s the windows you really need to be concerned about. Windshield wipers can only cover so much of the windshield (click here to see the many configurations), leaving perhaps 20% of the front window still covered in dust you simply can’t see through. And let’s not even talk about the huge spaces that most minivans and SUVs rear wipers leave uncleaned on their vertical rear glass. This can create blind spots, something that’s bad any time of year.
De-Icers Can Damage Your Chrome
Chrome isn’t something you have to worry about as much as people did back in the 1950s. Cars used to be covered in the stuff, and it was a selling point for many automobiles. Of course, back then they weren’t putting down harsh chemicals on the road. (Not that the sand and salt they used were good for the cars of the day!)
Of course, there’s still some chrome on cars. Whether it’s decorative or on the hubcap, de-icing agents such as magnesium chloride can make you car looked pitted and aged, hurting its looks and therefore its resale value.
De-Icers Can Hurt Your Wheels
While most of your car body is made of plastic, there’s still a lot of metal that can never be replaced by plastic. Magnesium chloride can make wheels and hubs rust together, which can make it incredibly difficult to replace a tire if you’re stuck by the side of the road. Keeping the chemicals out of your wheels can go a long way to preventing this rust. The most obvious way is to make use of our unlimited car washes so that you can stop by and get it cleaned off every time the city puts down de-icers.
De-Icers Can Eat Your Hoses and Wiring
Damaged chrome and hard-to-change tires can be annoying, but de-icers can have even more dangerous effects on your car. Because your tires end up kicking the magnesium chloride up under your hood, which can damage the hoses that make your car run. It can also attack some wiring, including your brakes lines.
The Inside Can Get Pretty Bad
When it’s the middle of winter, you’re probably like most people and try to get from the garbage into your home as quickly as possible. You don’t spend a lot of time in a freezing car picking up the trash, those dirty Kleenex and fast food straw wrappers. The interior of your vehicle is likely to get pretty dirty unless you hire a full-service auto detail.
Even worse is what winter can do to the flooring of your car, especially your floor mats. Every time it’s snowing and you get into your car, the water affects the glue on the fabric parts of your floor mats. And it’s not just the water, but also the residual de-icers that catch a ride on your boots. Getting that out of there with a professional shampoo and vacuum can make your car look and smell a lot better, protecting your mats or carpeting at the same time.
It’s always a good idea to keep your car clean during the winter months. Check out our cash wash prices right here!
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