When to Wash Your Car During a Minnesota Winter

On one hand, your car is covered in salt and road crud. On the other hand, its ten below. So when's the best time to wash your car during a Minnesota winter?

I mean, all that salt and road grime is bad for our vehicles, right? Back when car bodies were made of metal, it was the guaranteed recipe for rust. But if you wash your car on most Minnesota winter days, everything freezes up -- doors, mirrors, windows, gas caps, wiper blades, and on, and on, and on.

So let's ask the experts at Firestone to see what they recommend.

How Often Should I Wash My Car in the Winter?

First of all, yes -- you should wash your car in the winter. The salt and road crud is bad for your vehicle. Firestone says that experts suggest washing your vehicle every two weeks during the winter, but more often might be a good idea if things get particularly grimy.

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Rust damage costs motorists about $3 billion in damage each year, so you want to make sure your car’s exterior is adequately protected before and during winter weather.

Next Question, When Should You Wash Your Car?

I had to laugh when Firestone recommends ideally washing your car during the winter when temperatures are 49 or higher. Really though, the way this winter started, that could be a thing. Realistically though, in Minnesota let's just shoot for washing our cars when temps are above freezing (and even that might be a stretch).

Last week my wife said that her gas cap wouldn't open. I asked her when she washed her car. She laughed and said 'today.' To be fair, I washed mine on the same day, but everything worked fine. The high was -6. Yikes!

When you wash your car in the winter, it might not be a bad idea to grab a towel and wipe down the things that could freeze up, like doors, windows, and the like.