Car Washing 101: How to Avoid Car Rust

Cleaning your car may seem like just another expense as a car owner. However, if you don’t wash your car often enough, you may find hidden costs in the problems that result from a dirty car. At Route 5 Car Wash in Palisades Park, we discuss how dirt over time can result in rust and how to avoid this problem as a car owner.

How Does Car Rust Happen?

In the short term, avoiding one car wash isn’t going to have detrimental effects on your car. When it becomes a habit of not getting a car wash, then that’s where you’re going to see long-term effects that are more expensive than had you gotten frequent washes in the first place.

The accumulation of dirt, dust, and other particles creates a layer that causes the clear coat of your car to wear down faster. This clear coat finish is important, as it protects your paint from dulling due to UV radiation. Pollutants, dead insects, and acid rain all chemically damage the paint over time too.

The paint wearing down is more than a matter of appearance. Paint and clear coat are defending your car against rust, a natural oxidation process of metals breaking down when they’re exposed to air. Once you get past the paint and the metal underneath is exposed to air, it’s going to keep oxidizing, and rust will start forming.

How to Avoid Car Rust

Salt greatly affects the speed at which rust will start to consume your vehicle, so the good news is that there’s some level of control. The bad news is that if you live in colder climates like we do in New Jersey, the salt from the snow on the roads will electrochemically increase the rate at which metal corrodes. Getting car washes regularly will help keep the effect of salt at a minimum.

Where Can I Get My Car Washed?

Located in Palisades Park, Route 5 Car Wash is the place to get express and full-service car washes. We offer monthly packages of unlimited washes so you can get your car clean whenever you need it. Learn more about our car wash at (201) 943-5118, or visit our location today to experience the difference for yourself.

Photo credit: David~O 1966 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible via photopin (license)

Jae Yoo