Calgary Winter Car Cleaning Tips
Ah yes, Winter. Every Calgarian’s favourite season to either love or hate. The smell of pine, cozy homes, warm beverages, outdoor winter activities, and slush. Lots and lots of slush – and salt. A perfect combination for getting your car dirty. This means having to clean more often, so anything you can do to make the cleaning easier is a huge help. This is exactly why we have come up with a few tips to expedite the process. Enjoy and stay warm!
Leave the car at home
This is the easiest and the most difficult option. It requires the least amount of work, but it can be difficult if you have no other way of getting around. However, if you can leave your car at home, then it won’t be subjected to the harsh solutions of snow, sand, salt, and whatever other debris has been mixed in. Ask your friend or coworker is you can catch a ride with them. Other options include public transit (with a new LRT line in the near future), Car2Go, a taxi, and even Uber again.
Clean the floor mats
The best idea is to swap out fabric floor mats for waterproof rubber ones. If you haven’t done this, chances are there will be salt stains that form on the fabric mats. This makes cleaning them quite a bit more difficult. The easiest way to remove salt stains is to buy a salt and stain remover. Simply spray on and scrub out. Keeping salt contact with your car to a minimum will also minimize risk of rust forming.
Avoid puddles
This is the worst case scenario for your car’s cleanliness. Puddles are a filthy mixture of whatever has dissolved into the melt water, making your car dirty and possibly contributing to rust. Even worse, a good splash means your car might get covered in it. Therefore, we suggest completely avoiding puddles – it might be fun to drive through, but it’s not worth the hassle of cleaning. Keep your eyes up, and change lanes to avoid any puddles. They usually tend to form along sidewalks in the low areas.
Increase your following distance
Closely related to the tip above, following too close to the car in front of you means getting splashed by whatever their wheels kicked up off the road. Again, this is some combination of melted snow or ice, sand, salt, oil/grease and other car drippings, plus whatever other debris has made its way onto the road. The effect is essentially the same as when driving through a puddle, and the entire front of your car will be covered. You will also be forced to use more washer fluid, meaning you will have to replenish it more often. With some washer fluids costing up to $5.49, this is something you want to minimize using where you can. If you find that the car in front of you is spraying liquid from the road onto your windshield, increase your following distance until no more spraying occurs.
Get the snow off of your shoes
This works in unison with the floor mats tip. Tap your shoes against the door frame to get as much snow off of your shoes as possible. This will prevent water and salt from pooling on your mats, further preventing salt stains. Less salt staining means less work for you. Sitting water can also lead to the growth of mold, which can lead to musty smells forming. In some cases mold can even cause health issues.
There you have a few quick tips to keep your car clean this Calgary winter. Luckily we didn’t receive much snow until December, but we still have a few months to go until it melts until next year. So use these tips and save yourself some effort in keeping your car tidy. Cleaning service Broomfield company Blue Spruce Maids also have the unfortunate experience of winter, so check out their website for more excellent tips on keeping clean this winter.
