Regularly washing your car has its advantages, and some of them are:
1: Physical Appearance
Generally speaking, a clean car just looks way better. Sadly, in a world where people are quick to make judgments based on their first or second impression, having a clean car can just spare you from those looks. It doesn’t happen all the time, but if driving a clean car going to the store will make the next person assume that your personal habits are great, so be it.
2: General Maintenance
When you clear your car’s exterior, this gives you the perfect chance to check your car for general things like loose frames, license plates, mirrors, headlights, tail light lenses, hubcaps, valve stem caps, and antennas.
It also pays to regularly get on the ground and take a look at what’s under your chassis. This is to make sure that there are no loose hoses or broken cables. You can do this when cleaning your wheels. A worn out or even a broken fluid line is something that you wouldn’t want to discover in the middle of driving.
While you’re at it, you can also check inside the hood for your car’s engine compartment. Just like when checking things from underneath, check all connections on the battery, watch out for broken cable ties or even loose wires. Some things that you should also pay attention to would be your air cleaner cover and other essential parts of your car engine. Make sure that your battery connections have no rust buildup or signs of corrosion.
3: Car Exterior And Finish
Most car’s exteriors are mostly made of metal and plastics. Plastics are often used in wheel wells and bumpers. Other than these plastic parts, you have to check on the metal parts, including the car’s body as metal is prone to rust or corrosion. The way it works is that the paint protects your car from easily causing the body to rust, applied with another clear coat which makes your car shiny and smooth-looking.
If you have a newer car model, you’ll still notice that the paint is still shiny and has that glossy coating. Older car models and beat-up vehicles usually have lost their shine and luster, and the paint starts to look dull. Some car owners cover this up by applying another layer of clear coating on their car, but you’ll notice that it won’t be the same. This is probably because of the dirt that makes the finish looks dull.
Why Does Dirt Stick To Your Car’s Exterior?
As you’re using the car, or even when it’s simply parked outdoors, dust and dirt will accumulate on your car. Regardless of your location, and no matter how dry the weather may be, there will still be air moisture. When that moisture lands on your car filled with dust, it’ll become sticky, and blowing off the dust may be hard to pull off. Depending on where you live, you’ll start to notice that your car has a dirty film that’s starting to appear and becomes noticeable even from a distance.
You may also live in an area where some birds just decide to repaint your color and add some streaks of poop on top of your car. While unhygienic, bird poop is also considered to be acidic. When acid stays on your paint, and if not taken care of immediately, it’ll stretch your car’s coating and paint off. As soon as you’ve noticed you have bird poop on your car, try and get rid of it as soon as possible. Spot cleaning will do the trick, especially if it’s not yet your schedule for a complete Houston car wash.
How Can Dirt Cause Damage To Your Car’s Finish?
As mentioned earlier, when your car gets dirty, it traps moisture. Now, the dust and the moisture on your car gets in contact with your vehicle’s topcoat, which can eventually cause tiny scratches to your car especially when you’re driving on a highway, or when you’re driving at speeds that are enough to move the dirt trapped in your car’s surface. As simple as it sounds, if your car remains to be trapped with dirt, it’s going to cause tiny scratches, which could eventually turn into large ones – and that’s where the real problem occurs.
Once the tiny scratches turn into larger ones, accumulated dirt and moisture will then be able to seep through and underneath the coat and paint. When this simple dust and moisture problem scratches the entire coating, there’s nothing left to protect your car, which causes abrasion and more problems. Dust buildup seeping through your car’s coating, kids trying to write stuff from that dust, and even careless actions from other people passing by may cause your paint to get all scratched up, which then leads to more serious problems.
Once the paint is damaged, all that’s left is the metal part of your vehicle – and this is what’ll cause you major headaches. No matter how tiny the scratched part may be, as soon as that metal is exposed, the moisture will then start to cause all types of trouble that exposed metal part, and would multiply faster than you could have ever imagined.
Should You Regularly Use Automatic Car Washes?
We’ve all been there – it’s an easy, trouble-free way to get your car washed! We’ve all seen these automatic car washes – some of you probably have gone through these machines more than once in your life, some have been doing this regularly.
Sadly, these types of car washes aren’t so friendly for your car’s overall finish. While not all, some of those drive-thru car washes use recycled water. While we all know that recycling water can do good for the environment, recycled water isn’t that good when it comes to your car’s paint. Some microscopic particles may have gotten away from the automatic car wash’s filtration system.
Another thing that brings up to our concern is the spinning whips and those revolving brushes. Have you ever thought if these brushes and whips been cleaned or washed, ever? Most probably, they haven’t. As a result, expect these brushes to be dirtier every time they’re being used – as it may contain dust from the car that came before you.
What Happens When You Don’t Clean and Wash Your Car Regularly
Consider yourself lucky if you live in those places that are fairly dry. You’re most likely to have a car that’s covered in mud, but still, that’s considered to be an added layer of protection.
Contrary to popular belief, older cars are believed to last longer and endure these types of damages, considering that paint jobs done back in the days were considered to be fairly better than the paint jobs done on newer car models these days. Newer car models have their paints done faster, not to mention budgets have been cut off. This means that the coating of paints on newer cars is thinner, as well as the clear coats as well.
Other than the fact that it protects your car, the overall look and paint factor also plays a huge role in keeping your trade-in value higher. Let’s admit it – if you’re planning on selling your car and it’s looking all dirty and dusty, the salesman will then assume that there are other things wrong with your car. If you cannot do the simple job of keeping your car clean, then the salesman may think that there’s a couple of other problems with your car such as the lack of regular and preventive maintenance leading to car problems and mechanical issues.
Conclusion
Cars these days are now considered to be throwaway vehicles. These huge automobile industries now expect consumers to change their cars for more than 30 days – just like how people used to do. They usually design cars in mind thinking that consumers will start to trade in their cars fast enough as soon as you’ve made the last payment on your vehicle.