Road Salt Remover / Neutralizer ?

Well, like Silly Rabbit from a year ago, I too, am resurrecting this particular thread topic on Salt Neutralizers.
I am just curious if anyone is using them and which ones are you using and how are you using them.

It`s just kinda hard for myself to use and apply them in sub-freezing weather (AKA below 32°F) but with the predicted El Nino winter weather we are suppose to experience here in the Upper Midwest, it may be warm enough to do some outdoor car washes. I did that last winter (December 2022 through February 2023) and was able to wash a vehicle at least every-other week throughout the winter months, something I have NEVER been able to do before. So hence my resurrection of this thread topic on salt neutralizers.
 
In NE Ohio and for past 10+ years have simply used ONR. Have not found a need to add any specific `anti salt` products.

I spray a slightly more concentrated solution as a `pre-soak`, then have several microfiber rags and two mitts soaking in a 5 gallon bucket filled with a couple gallons of warm water and ONR. Have not had any issues. No scratches: do have Xpel and use Hyperseal/optiseal as drying aid.

My garage is unheated and detached, but find engine block heat and a portable heater to keep temp in upper 30`s is all that is necessary. Last year splurged on a propane bullet heater to warm garage to about 50 for my own benefit.
 
AMDG75 said:
In NE Ohio and for past 10+ years have simply used ONR. Have not found a need to add any specific `anti salt` products.

I spray a slightly more concentrated solution as a `pre-soak`, then have several microfiber rags and two mitts soaking in a 5 gallon bucket filled with a couple gallons of warm water and ONR. Have not had any issues. No scratches: do have Xpel and use Hyperseal/optiseal as drying aid.

My garage is unheated and detached, but find engine block heat and a portable heater to keep temp in upper 30`s is all that is necessary. Last year splurged on a propane bullet heater to warm garage to about 50 for my own benefit.
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Paint is the easy part. It`s the underside of the car that I worry about.
 
For what it is worth (I hate/despise acronyms, especially when no one is willing to update the Autopia Forum "Decoder Ring" list of such abbreviations.. but I digress), here is a link to Autopian All-Star togwt`s post on cleaning the undercarriage of road salt:
https://www.autopia.org/forums/auto...ge-cleaning-amp-care-removing-winter-salt.htm
Interesting that he highly recommends using ValuGards VG-502, Unfortunately , it is available in 5 gallon pails only now, according to the ValuGard International website.
 
That link didn`t work, Lonnie. I`m not sure I would laud togwt to the extent you do. FWIW, I guess you were never in the military, or maybe you were and that`s why you hate/despise acronyms.
 
Setec:
You are correct, I was never in the military. My "disdain" for acronyms is because I cannot remember what they stand for.
Good example: KC. For this forum it means Koch-Chemie. For myself working in engineering with the paper converting industry, it means Kimberly -Clark.
I also think we dumb down phrases that were formerly (past tense emphasized!) offensive and vulgar, and I do not need to post them; they are present in all forms of social media, even this forum. Verbal morality is one thing; social common sense is another.

Did not know TOGWT past away. Sorry to hear that. He was a very good contributor to this forum. Without sounding macabre or philosophical, as time goes on this forum is loosing long-time members, much to my dismay.
 
First of all, KC to me doesn`t mean Koch Chemie or Kimberly-Clark, to me it`s that guy with the Sunshine Band. Acronyms are kind of a double-edged sword, but we have plenty of them in cars, right? MAP sensor, MAF sensor, ABS, EGR, etc.
 
Way to go, Captain Obvious; we go from Salt Neutralizers to abbreviations and acronyms to defunct (get it; "de funk"....NEVER MIND!) disco bands of the late 1970`s.

Related to salt neutralizers; Does any one know if there are tunnel/automated car wash chains or locally-owned car wash businesses that advertise and use salt neutralizers during the winter months?
Here in Northeast Wisconsin, I do not know of any, and if there would be such a car wash that utilizes salt neutralizers, I would think it would be here of all places where de-icing salt use in the winter is "extreme". Just yesterday (December 03) the local authority`s road department had to close an interstate bridge (I-43, Leo Frigo Bridge) over the Fox River in Green Bay because of icing and wait for the salt to work before it could be re-opened. This happened in the early evening right before the Packer-Chiefs Sunday Night Football game and it did cause some football traffic headaches .
 
Lonnie, I always presumed it was colder there than in NJ, and that would mean less salt on the roads because of less chance for freeze/thaw. Certainly here the salt use has increased dramatically over my lifetime, as has the practice of pre-treating before the snow even starts, first with salt and now with the mag chloride brine, which Ketch has advised us is just deadly for automotive structures.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Lonnie, I always presumed it was colder there than in NJ, and that would mean less salt on the roads because of less chance for freeze/thaw. Certainly here the salt use has increased dramatically over my lifetime, as has the practice of pre-treating before the snow even starts, first with salt and now with the mag chloride brine, which Ketch has advised us is just deadly for automotive structures.
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Setect Astronomy:
You are correct about the pre-treating of roads with salt brine-beat juice mix before a predicted snowfall here in Wisconsin as well.
Seems like any snowfall under an 1" to 1-1/2" the city of Green Bay "prefers" to put down salt without plowing. What they actually do depends on the ambient temperature and the type of precipitation that falls. A wet-packy snow at 30°F is the absolute worst because as it is run over by vehicular traffic, it turns to instant ice, and I do mean ICE, and if the ambient temperatures start to plummet from an impending arctic front/Polar Vortex, those roads that are untreated are ice rinks until the next winter warm-up. Sand-and-dirt is the only good solution, as road rock salt is very ineffective at temps below 0°F. The (much) more expensive, but effective magnesium chloride is used on bridges and overpasses or very busy intersections and roundabouts (Yes, in Green Bay there are a plethora of roundabouts, much to the dismay of truck drivers (no one yields to give them room to go through them as they turn and take up two lanes) and "out-of-towners" who are unfamiliar how to use or drive in them. But I digress....)
 
Valugard VG502 , a product that has been in use by truck lines, bus companies etc for 20+ years. Just not marketed to the DYI or small shops. snallest package is 5 gal pails. Valugard.net
 
Bill D said:
Good grief! I`m so glad I`m out of NJ when I hear this. Been gone for 19 years now.
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Lonnie said:
You are correct about the pre-treating of roads with salt brine-beat juice mix before a predicted snowfall here in Wisconsin as well.
Seems like any snowfall under an 1" to 1-1/2" the city of Green Bay "prefers" to put down salt without plowing.
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Without getting into a political discussion about tax policy, I think a lot of this has to do with trying to cut down on plowing time and overtime, certainly the brine application can be/is done well ahead of time, during normal workday hours. I think some of it also has to do with liability issues, they can`t plow all the roads at once, but if they put down salt/brine before the storm and all the roads are covered, then if someone has an accident it`s harder for them to blame it on the city/municipality not clearing the roads properly.
 
mustangmike said:
Have you heard of Salt Away?

I dilute it and spray my vehicle with a pump up sprayer and then head to the quarter car wash which is conveniently located at the end of my street. It helps the salt to rinse off the vehicle. Drive back to my heated garage and then do a rinseless wash.

When temps permit here in Michigan I use the adapter from Salt Away and hook it up to my pressure washer. I use my under the car attachment hooked to the pressure washer and I can blast the Salt Away directly on the underside of my vehicle. I switch to rinse and then rinse it off. Pull into the garage where it`s warmer and do a rinseless wash.
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The Ohio Department of Transportation in conjunction with the University of Akron did a scientific study of which salt neutralizers were the best and Salt Away came out on top:
https://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisio...andplans/Reports/2014/Materials/134718_FR.pdf
(Good read IF you are a chemist and statistician: Setec Astronomy, I am thinking of you)

I "think" this is the link to TOGWT`s post about cleaning salt off the under carriage:
https://www.autopia.org/forums/auto...are-vehicle-spring-summer.html?highlight=salt

AND for the "what-it-is-worth-department", based on a post from Don about his experience using Murphy`s Oil Soap in a truck garage to clean the under carriages in the winter as a de-salter, I decided to try it myself on my 2006 Ford Freestyle. I mixed mine with 3 ounces of Stearn`s Packaging Company`s Jungle Jake`s Degreaser and 3 ounces of Murphy`s Oil Soap in a 1-quart (32-fluid ounces) spray bottle with 26-ounces of water. Not exactly a scientific dilution ratio, but just a Captain Obvious experiment. I sprayed the under carriage with the mix as best I could reach with a narrow stream from the hand-pump nozzle and let it sit for about 5 minutes , then rinsed with a pressure stream from a garden hose and spray nozzle. Nothing fancy. I let it drip dry for about half-an hour, then parked the car away into the garage. How did it work?? Don`t know really because I could not determine how "well" it neutralized the salt, BUT my driveway and a garage smelled like Murphy`s Oil Soap for three days. Not a bad smell at all, just a little weird in the garage in the winter.
 
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