Experts warn waiting to wash your vehicle after an artic blast has cold consequences
DALLAS- The dusty, dirty evidence of the recent winter weather may still be on your vehicle. Experts are urging a good wash soon to prevent damage.
"Rust. First and foremost," Tyler Schaede said.
Schaede is a service advisor for Christian Brothers Automotive in Dallas. "The first thing that causes rust is the salt content in the brine they use," he said.
According to Schaede, he can almost immediately see when a vehicle has been in colder climates where the ice-- and brine to treat it-- are common.
"All over the frame of the car, the undercarriage, the suspension," Schaede said. "All of that is, basically, untreated raw metal. And it gets pretty affected with a lot of salt."
His advice is to address the problem sooner rather than later.
"A lot of the people from up north, it's just normal for them. But here it's only once or twice a year," Schaede said. "So it's definitely something you want to get off of the metal. It's not good for it."
Wayne Goodowitz of Dallas needed no convincing. He was already at the Carmel Car Wash on Forest Lane.
"Every time it snows or we get ice... I know that salt gets underneath your car, and it's not good for your paint or your undercarriage," Goodowitz said. "So I always come in and wash it off and clean it."
Drivers need to know the brine mixture applied to roadways before the freezing weather has to go somewhere, and John Broderson wanted it off his vehicle.
"You don't see it, but it will destroy your undercarriage," Broderson said. He owns the Carmel Car Wash on Forest Lane, so Broderson has seen customers looking for ways to clean out the salt from underneath their vehicles after an ice event.
"We have undercarriage-- that's our specialty. We don't charge for that. And you've got to get that junk off," Broderson said.
Fortunately, ice events are still relatively rare in North Texas. But over time, experts warn, the salt will take a toll.
"Yes, it does eat its way through the metal over time and eventually causes it to just not support the things it needs to," says Schaede.
Investing in a wash that includes that undercarriage is better for car owners in the long run-waiting on the rain? Not so much.
"You just have to see some of the damage that salt can do sometimes," shares Goodowitz, "And that'll change your mind."