Am I insane?

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blackmagicgti

New member
I have a few questions regarding my winter practices with my car.



My car is kept in a heated and insulated garage with 2 drains. Everytime it snows here and there is salt on the road I rinse the car off before I go to bed (water spots, very few as we have a softener, in the morning but better than salt I figure). Here are my questions:



1. Is rinsing the car dissolving the salt and getting it to come off?

or is it like when you have dirt and rinsing does nothing?



2. I rinse it with the hot water coming from the hose, I only have hot or cold. Does the heat of the water matter?



It is hot enough that it is uncomfortable if I were to put my hand into the spray but then again it is only about 15 degrees warmer in the garage than outside (I don't usually heat it)



Thanks guys.
 
First of all. You are a lucky guy to have such facilities.



Well. It has always been said that for winter cars, the easiest way to keep them clean is to have a paint sealant on them first. I use Klasse, which helps in the prevention of water spots and such. Then the way to clean it is at a self wash (no recycled water though), you spray it down (heated water usually) then you spray it with soapy water, then you spray it down with heated water again and leave. This touchless service allows the removal of most contaminents without using those brushes (full of sand) that they offer.



In your case, I would spend an extra 30 mins, if you have it...Give it a good 2 bucket, 2 mitt wash. Once a week would be fine, but twice or more is is better.



No matter what, water spots are not good and a Water De-Ionizer for your water system would be a great idea in the prevention of them. Bottom line though, you will need more than warm water to remove salt and other ugly stuff mother winter has brought.



Good Luck and please post pics of your garage :).
 
blackmagicgti - I'd get a "Y" hose connector so you can mix the hot and cold to get warm.



Where I am in Ohio, we get some real winter weather and they use a LOT of salt.



I've found that hot/warm water, sprayed at a relatively high volume and pressure, *WILL* remove roadsalt to some extent. The hot/warm water will dissolve the salt better than cold. I use an undercar wand (no longer in production) and it does a good job on the undercarriage even when I don't use any soap. The "BUT", of course, is that on the nicer surfaces, like the "regular"/upper body of your car, this will only work if it is otherwise pretty clean and well-waxed/sealed. *I* think you oughta just wash it (the "regular" way) or let it go.



FWIW, I just wash my winter drivers about once a week or so. Back in the day I washed after every drive (in winter), but hey, life is short. I used to have a VW Quantum (Synchro wagon, great car) for my beater/winter car and after 8 years, it had NO (ZERO) rust anywhere. I only washed it once a week at most (usually less frequently than that), and having the salt, etc. on it in between washes didn't hurt it a bit. In fact, for the last 18 years or so I've treated all our winter vehicles this way and they've all held up just fine. But note that when I DO wash them, I'm VERY thorough about it.
 
Thanks for the replies.



Sorry I didn't mention that the car has AIO, 5x SG, and 2x #26.



I'll post some pics if I can of the garage, I am indeed lucky and have let my friends use the garage for detailing. Hmm, I never have tried one of those self washes before.



If I have time to rinse it down evernight, i'm sure I can find some time to wash it. Thanks guys.



Since no pic of the garage maybe a winter shot of my car will do!







13.jpg




Those are the winter rims, the 18s are in storage.....
 
Why don't you consider purchasing a cacoon car cover or another brand of totally sealed cover. Something that is typically used for winter storage or extended storage.
 
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