Protect your Car from Road Salt Inside and Out

Winter is here.  For many parts of the country, winter means snow, ice and road salt.  While road salt does a great job making our roads safer to drive on, it is not as kind to our vehicles finished and interiors.  

We've all seen vehicles with a whitish-grey haze on them from the road salt.  Not only is it unsightly, but all of that salt can be corrosive to your vehicles body.  Winter is the most important time to wash your vehicle, especially the undercarriage.  The longer the salt sits on the vehicle, the more time it has to corrode and possibly rust your vehicle, damaging both your paint job and the components under the vehicle.  .  Try to wash your vehicle regularly and use the undercarriage option if it is available to you.  This can help extend the life of your vehicle and prevent the growth of rust.  

Salt gets into the insides of our vehicles too.  Even if you have weather tech or rubber floor mats, inevitably, salt will get onto your carpet.  To clean the salt stains our of your carpet (or upholstery), start by vacuuming your vehicle.  Then fill a spray bottle (or small bowl if you don't have a bottle) with half warm water and the other half white vinegar.  Apply the mixture to the salt-stained areas and rub gently to bring the stain up.  Finally, use a clean dry towel to gently dab up the solution (and hopefully, the stain with it).  Replace the towel  if it gets too wet.  Sometimes, you may need to treat an area a few times to fully get rid of the salt.  You may want to finish by vacuuming the area with a wet dry vacuum to remove any loosened salt particles.