Great, another reason to dislike winter driving ...
Let's be real here: nobody actually enjoys winter driving in Colorado. Sure, people enjoy getting to winter driving destinations—like ski resorts. And sure, any Colorado native will pride themselves on being able to jackknife through the nastiest blizzards, but nobody is going to pull out of the driveway in 5-inch snow just to feel the powder beneath their tires.
This time of year isn't just stressful for drivers, it's flat-out bad for cars too. We don't have enough space in this article to list all of the ways in which cold weather can damage your car, but suffice to say, there are many. Between cold air wearing down car batteries to the countless ways in which ice can cause a flat tire, there's a reason calls to roadside services like AAA spike during winter months.
In case you didn't have enough reasons to dislike winter driving, here's another one: many of the chemicals used to address snow on roads can be harmful to your car too. That's right: that magical road salt that makes snowy highways drivable can damage your car if you aren't proactive about keeping it clean.
Here's what you need to know:
Road Salt Has Been Around Since the 1930s (and Hasn’t Changed Much Since Then)
When road salt was first introduced nearly a century ago, it was a game-changer for traffic safety. As you might imagine, cars from that era weren't anywhere near as suited for the snow as vehicles today, and that meant driving in it was even more dangerous.
Road salt (or sodium chloride) works by lowering the freezing point of snow on the road, meaning it melts at higher temperatures. Snow and ice—which would otherwise stay frozen—melts without direct sunlight. As an added bonus, road salt also causes friction when cars drive over it, potentially preventing cars from losing control on slippery roads.
There's one big drawback to this miracle melting substance, though: it's pretty corrosive to cars. Repeated exposure to road salt can cause a car's coating to rust, along with some pretty nasty buildups on your car's underside. Over time, you'll actually start to see the affected areas "bubble", distorting in odd directions until pieces finally break off. This road salt can also interact with specific car systems in some pretty nasty ways. For example, salt buildups can cause leaks on brake lines, an event that is exactly as bad as it sounds like.
Over the last few decades, cities and snow plow services have switched to using magnesium chloride, a spray solution that accomplishes many of the same things that road salt does. On one hand, this solution isn't as corrosive for your car's paint job. On the other hand, it's just as damaging (if not more) to your car's metal undercarriage.
So, What Can You Do?
This is an easy one: wash your car. Really, that's it!
Okay, okay. There's a bit more that you should keep in mind. As the main buildup from road salts occurs on your car's undercarriage, that means you'll want to make sure you visit a car wash that offers that as a service. Not every car wash is going to feature this option, especially if you're just looking in the world of automated drive-through car washes.
For that reason, going to a full-service car wash is a seriously good idea here. Despite the fact that many are more affordable than automatic car washes (especially if you take advantage of membership programs), they offer a considerably higher level of service in busting all of those road buildups. For example, you'll catch us at Denver Waterworks, a local car wash whose membership programs mean keeping cars clean all winter only requires a small monthly fee!
Look on the bright side: while the snow might make for some frustrating driving in Colorado right now, it'll be gone in a week!
Hopefully ...
... Maybe.
At the very least, we hope it's not around until next March.
