(not my car)...as an added bonus to the afore mentioned streak of ungodly cold weather your car accumulates several layers of salt. salt is public enemy #1 when it comes to cars and you have plenty of it all over minnesota roads in the winter. it's a problem that compounds itself because the longer you go without washing it, the dirtier and saltier it becomes. the car washes generally shutdown when the temperature approaches zero so you can't wash it anyway. yesterday the temp made it to 23 degrees...it actually felt like light jacket weather. of course the car washes opened and lines of 10-12 cars could be seen, waiting in queue outside of every gas station in the metro area. multiply $8 x's 2 cars plus about 5-7 minutes for every car in line ahead of you and it's just not a very attractive scenario. your options are as follows: simply ignore the salty car and reason that it will most likely rain in the spring (wife's first choice), suck it up, get in line, and pony up for an overpriced mediocre rinse at the car wash, or my do-it-yourself option. i discovered that you can take a bucket of hot water, and a sponge (no soap) and scrub your car from bumper to bumper (or at least where the worst of the salt accumulates) and have it come out pretty clean. give it a rigourous towel down (to prevent freezing and smudges) and it's almost as good as a real wash. sure, it takes a little time and some elbow grease but it beats letting your car rot, AND it looks 95% better.
i realize this isn't a real "discovery", like discovering north america or something, but it can get you by until the next "real wash". this tip has been brought to you by thirdthoughts.com.
1 comment:
. . . and when the temp plunges back to below zero it shd stay clean for awhile! -m
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