Winter Maintenance Part 3: Keep it Clean
- Selina Barker
- Dec 17, 2025
- 4 min read
If you live in a cold climate, winter can be hard on your ride. Rain, sleet, snow, and hail leave their mark, along with the splash back of dirt and road salt kicked up by vehicles in front of you. Still, when winter rolls in, washing your vehicle often falls to the bottom of your priority list. While cold weather may tempt you to let the cleanliness of your vehicle slide, it’s actually an important part of keeping yourself safe behind the wheel. In the final installment of our winter maintenance series, we’ll explore what to include in your regular wash schedule this winter.
Wash off Grime
Keeping grime at bay during the winter months can feel like a never-ending story. To some it feels like an exercise in futility, since they know that their vehicle will get covered in grime all over again the next time they drive. But grime isn’t just about aesthetics. Water from rain and snow, and road salt, used to combat ice, can corrode the paint and metal, causing rust that eats away at your vehicle’s body and frame. Over time, this shortens the life of your vehicle.
Occasional car washes prevent moisture, salt, dirt, and grime from building up on the body of your vehicle and causing rust that compromises its structural integrity. Your vehicle’s undercarriage is especially susceptible to this, due to its proximity to the road.
“A typical year-round car wash schedule involves washing the car regularly, roughly once every two or three weeks. In winter, the ideal interval between washes is significantly shorter. Once every ten days is a good starting point, but this can be once every five to seven days for drivers in very snowy or icy areas.”
Your wash schedule will depend on how often you drive and in what weather. Of course, the less you drive, and the less adverse weather you drive in, the longer you can go between washes. If you drive in an area that doesn’t get snow, or is under legislation that bans road salt, you can stretch out washes more than drivers in northern parts of the U.S. and Canada. For those who live in colder areas, you should avoid washing your vehicle in freezing temperatures, as the water can freeze and cause joints and hinges to become stuck. If temperatures are consistently below freezing where you live, you can perform a rinseless wash in a sheltered space, such as a garage, or look for commercial car washes that have a powerful drying system.
Water and salt runoff can also come from inside your vehicle, carried in on your boots or shoes. If you have cloth floor mats, this excess moisture can seep through the mats and make their way to your vehicle’s undercarriage, causing it to rust through from above. That’s why, in the winter months, you should swap out cloth floor mats for rubber ones, so your mats can contain the water instead of absorbing it.
Keep Your View Clear
Dirty windows and mirrors can obscure your view of the road ahead, behind, and beside you. Good visibility is key to identifying hazards in time to avoid them, which makes washing your vehicle thoroughly, so your windows and mirrors are clear, so crucial.
Your vehicle's lights also help to provide the best possible view around you while driving. The buildup of snow and dirt can reduce their brightness, so they should be cleaned along with your windows and mirrors. Keep a clean, soft cloth in your vehicle in case your lights, mirrors or windows become blocked by dirt or moisture while you’re driving and need to be cleaned manually.
Not all windshield washer fluid is the same. Make sure you’re using winter-grade, or at least all-season, windshield washer fluid during the winter months so that it doesn’t freeze in your wash nozzles and prevent you from being able to clear your windshield while on the road. If you use a windshield washer fluid during the summer and fall that isn’t winter-grade or all-season, make sure it’s used up and replaced before temperatures drop.
Windshield wipers should be replaced every 6-12 months to maintain their effectiveness. When they haven’t been replaced over longer periods, you can end up with dry or cracked rubber that won’t clean the glass when you need to see through it.
“Keep [your] windshield clean and ensure that wipers are not streaking the windshield.”
Water, dirt, and salt kicked up from the vehicles in front of you are major contributors to a dirty windshield. One way to reduce this buildup is by leaving more space between your vehicle and the one you’re following. In fact, in adverse weather you should be leaving extra space already, to give yourself more room and time to stop safely when conditions are poor.
Wipe Sensors and Cameras
Many vehicle safety features, like lane centering, automatic emergency braking, and blind spot warnings, rely on exterior sensors and cameras to function properly. According to a study by the American Automobile Association, when those sensors and cameras are blocked by snow or grime, they’re not as effective. For example, when the sensors and cameras’ view of the road is blocked, they can’t map the road and its markings, which prevents them from keeping you between the lanes or warning you of other vehicles.
Before driving in adverse weather, wipe off all sensors and cameras on the outside of your vehicle to give them the best chance of being able to function and keep you safe. However, even with a clear view, these safety features should never be relied upon to drive safely for you. Slippery and cold roads make defensive driving habits like scanning, decreasing your speed, and increasing your following distance all the more important, as these conditions can result in it taking longer for you to come to a stop when confronted with a hazard on the road.
Washing your vehicle should be part of your regular maintenance schedule. When you keep it clear of water, dirt, and salt, you keep it working longer and more efficiently for you, which will keep you safe this winter.
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