How Often You Should Wash Your Car In Houston?

Owning a vehicle is a significant investment considering how much you’ll spend on maintaining it – brake pads, tire rotations, and oil changes are but a few of the responsibilities. Ever stop to think that washing your car can also be an investment too? How frequently should you do it, and why is it important?

There are times when it becomes evident that your car needs washing — like for instance, driving all day down a dusty, graveled road. Or when birds take a poop on your car’s hood when you have parked under a shade tree.

But have you ever considered to wash your car as part of its maintenance schedule? There are numerous reasons you can be washing your car on the regular, whether it’s protecting the paint and minimizing rust to increase its lifespan or want to maintain the car’s pristine condition to increase its resale value down the road.

How Often Is Enough?

As a general rule of thumb, experts advise washing your car throughout the year or every two weeks. If you reside in a salty area – either from salt, trucks driving on the winter roads, or a nearby ocean – you should probably wash it even more given that salt corrodes metal, which results in rust.

Those driving through the backcountry most of the time should give the car more TLC also. The mentioned bird poop is acidic and can eat through the paint job if left for long. The same case applies for tree sap and dead bugs, which should also be washed off.

Depending on how often you will be driving, the car can go for long in between washes, or if you park it inside the garage away from the elements.

And while most people may think that washing the car is a summertime chore, you also need to wash it even more frequently during winter. Among the worst offenders is salt from roads, which cakes onto the car’s body and wreaking havoc. Regular visits to the car wash and, in particular, those having hand-held pressure wands, will assist in protecting your vehicle from buildup salt.

The interior of your car is obviously exposed to fewer dead bugs and less salt, but will still need cleaning. To get particles like dry cereal, dog hair, and dried leaves bits off your floor mats and out of seat crevices, you can try using a vacuum hose. If you happen to see stains during the vacuum process, you try using an upholstery spot cleaner to get them off. To clean dingy seats, you can use a simple solution of mild detergent and warm water.

To keep the leather seats from aging and cracking, you will need to condition and clean them at the very least after every three months give or take. If driving is your profession or the car’s interior is left exposed to the sun, you will need to condition and clean the leather seats after every two months.

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. Visit our blog for more related articles!