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Cold and Flu season is a challenging time for people. Maintaining healthy practices like frequent handwashing or taking vitamins can help to ward off the effects of wintertime bugs, and your automobile is no different. Proper care and preventative maintenance will extend the life of your vehicle, and can help to avoid any “illnesses” that could temporarily take your car or truck off the road. Below are two tips for keeping your automobile safe in the coldest months of the year.
PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
Cold weather paired with any kind of precipitation can be tough on your car, but there are several “weak spots” that you can reinforce with just a little bit of time and money spent.
- Checking that your windshield wipers and fluid are full and maintained.
- Regular testing of your car’s battery.
- Inspecting tires for tread depth and pressure.
- Ensuring there are no nicks or cracks in your windows that can get worse in extreme temperatures.
Most of these can be done while your car is warming up (although the Dept of Energy advises you to “drive off gently after 30 seconds of idling”) and in some cases are required for your yearly state inspection.
KEEPING CLEAN INSIDE & OUT
Believe it or not, washing your car in winter can be a good idea! Take advantage of a day when the temperatures are a bit above average and spray the accumulated salt, brine, and grease off of your vehicle. The best option is an automatic car wash, specifically one that can wash the undercarriage of your car. Brine will accumulate underneath and the melting and refreezing of this substance can increase the likelihood of rust forming in difficult to treat areas. If you’re looking for a professional solution you can use for day to day cleaning, KROWN Salt Eliminator can make quick work of those harmful wintertime deposits!
And the inside of your car needs to be kept as clean and as dry as possible! This can prevent long term corrosion and possible rust spreading from the inside out. Use durable, non-skid, non-cloth mats and do your best to keep as much salt and moisture out as possible. If you find yourself with chunks of road salt stuck to the floor of your car after winter is over, try some hot water and a shop vac to melt and then suck up the crystals to get rid of them for good.
Car and truck maintenance are important any time of year. But this winter, take the extra steps to protect one of your most important investments like you’d protect yourself. You could end up saving a lot of time and money in the process!
If you’d like to explore your options for car and truck protection this winter or ANY time of year, we invite you to check out the protective solutions and accessories that LINE-X of South Central PA have to offer. From sound-dampening impact absorbing spray-on bedliners to our KROWN Rust Protection, our Vogelsong Rd. location in York PA can help you take the next step in protective coatings.