Many North Texans may soon find themselves bonding with strangers in a place usually reserved for impatience and dangling air fresheners: the local car wash.
It’s not vanity. It’s survival.
After days of driving on salty, brined roads left behind by this week’s winter storm, many vehicles now wear a dull white film best described as “snowstorm chic.” Road salt — part of the brine mixture crews spray ahead of ice — is highly corrosive and can damage paint and trigger rust underneath vehicles, according to AAA. And rust, unlike snow days, does not simply go away.
AAA warns that salt buildup can damage brake lines, exhaust systems, fuel tanks and electrical connections — a reminder that what looks like cosmetic grime can quietly eat your car from the bottom up.
The auto club recommends washing vehicles frequently during winter months to remove salt, advice that comes with some irony in North Texas, where winter weather is usually a brief guest rather than a long-term tenant. Unlike drivers in the Midwest or Northeast, locals are not accustomed to factoring “undercarriage rinse” into their weekly routines.
Still, after this week’s storm, AAA says it’s worth washing vehicles and keeping an eye on lingering salt buildup in the weeks ahead.
Drivers are advised to choose their timing carefully. A hard freeze is expected this weekend, and washing a car too late could result in frozen doors, stuck windows and a morning commute that begins with wrestling a door handle instead of starting the engine.
In short: wash the car, save the brakes — and maybe wait until it warms up.
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