When & Why You Should Wash Your Houston Car Regularly
For many people, a car is a significant investment worth taking care of. It is, for this reason, you’ll spend money on its maintenance for new brake pads, oil changes, and tire rotations among others. While these are necessary, how often you clean/wash your car says a lot about you. How often do you wash your car? Is it necessary at all?
There are instances when you don’t have an option but wash the car. This includes times when you have had to drive down gravel or dusty roads, or if someone splashed dirt on the vehicle. Other times people will find themselves having to wash their cars is when there are bird droppings on the car, which could damage the otherwise smooth and radiant car paint. You might have packed under a shady tree only to find white spots of bird droppings everywhere on the car.
Most car owners will make an effort to wash or dust their car at least once every day, while others will only do it once it is covered in dirt, dust, and pollen. Although washing your car makes it shiner and even better to look at, a clean car is more likely to last a lot longer (paint job) as compared to a neglected one. Cleaning the vehicle also helps protect its trade-in and resale value too.
It would, therefore, be advisable to keep your car clean and free from debris and contaminants that might taint its otherwise perfect paint job. Pollutants such as tree sap, pollen, dirt, dust, salt, bug guts, and other elements only damage your paint and finish. This, in return, means you’ll have to spend a lot more on repainting and buffing every once in a while. To avoid this, many car and auto detailing experts recommend having your car washed at least once per week. Doing this removes any debris and dirt from the surface and paint job, saving you a lot more in the long run. One way to ensure your car is washed every week is by signing up for unlimited car washes at commercial car washes.
Some people may, however, want to have their cars washed every day but do not find time to do so. If that is the case, here are a few tips and tricks on how to keep your car clean without having to drive into a car wash.
Determining How Often You Should Wash Your Car: Key Factors to Consider
- Location: Where you live can determine how often you have/need to have your car washed. Do you live in an area with lots of trees, near industrial areas, oceans, construction sites, and regions with lots of insects and bugs? Or is your area dusty and with lots of pigeons flying around. If your answer is yes, you might then want to wash your car every day.
- Distance covered and how frequent you drive: How far do you have to drive, and how often do you drive? If you tend to drive long distances or drive often, your car may be exposed to mud, bugs, dirt, and other factors that might damage your paint.
- Weather: What kind of weather does your area receive. Is it sun, heat, heavy rains, snow, cold, salt, or acid rains?
- Vehicle Storage: Where you park your car for the night, or long periods also matter a lot. Do you have a closed garage or leave it in the driveway? Is the vehicle parked under trees or on the street?
- The Appearance of The Car: Do you take pride in driving a shiny car? Would you enjoy driving a muddy and dusty car?
Reasons to Wash Your Car Every Week
- Bug Splatters: Bugs and bug droppings on the windshield and car paint aren’t an appealing sight. In addition to this, the insides of these bugs are acidic, a factor that might taint the car paint significantly if left there for too long. It would, therefore, be essential to wash the car weekly.
- Bird Droppings: Bird droppings on your car are a disaster waiting to happen if left for too long. These droppings will cause etching on the car paint in warmer months, one of the reasons you need to have these removed as quickly as possible.
- Tree Sap: Tree sap is very common on cars parked under trees and especially if you live in a densely wooded area. Tree sap may cause discoloration, etching, and even stain the car paint. Consider washing it down quickly if living in temperate regions
- Long Commute: Driving several hours a day, every day, exposes the car to various contaminants including pollen, dust, bugs, dirt, and other pollutants. Consider washing the car over the weekend.
- Heat: Exposure to excessive heat and direct sunlight causes the wax to melt off from the car, leaving it exposed to other elements.
- Rain: Excess moisture tends to trap contaminants on the car’s exterior accelerating the rate of rusting. Wash the car to get rid of these contaminants.
- Air Pollution: Areas close to industries and factors are prone to air pollution. Such pollution is known to cause mild acid raids, which may inflict damage to the car paint. Consider having the car washed weekly to flush away the ‘acids.’
Reasons To Wash Your Car Once In 1 Or 2 Months
- If the car isn’t exposed to bird droppings, bug guts, and tree sap
- If your area receives mild weather
- The car stays parked in a closed garage almost all the time.
For those that live near the coast or drive to the beach occasionally, the salty air may cause rusting on the undercarriage as well as damage its finish. Washing the exterior of the car and waxing it off, however, helps protect it from some of these elements. Waxing and washing the car regularly protects it from everyday threats – these include rusting, fading, discoloration, and etching. You can either clean it yourself or take it to an automatic car wash.
If looking for a spot to get your car washed, you can then come to SOAP Hand Car Wash. We offer eco-friendly car washing and detailing services in the greater Houston area.
