Ask AutoGuide: 3 Non-Negotiables You Need To Spring Clean Your Car
Winter is over, and soon the rain will take the place of snow and sleet.
The cold winter season takes a toll on your trusty rig, so don’t forget that it needs some love after all the abuse it has taken during the winter months. Here are a few of AutoGuide's favorite products that can help:
1. Salt Remover
If you live where there’s snow, you have salt to deal with. After a long winter, salt has built up all around your car, and if you don’t get rid of it, it will increase the likelihood of rust. It’s also unsightly and can damage your paint. You need to get rid of all the salt, and a quick run through the carwash isn’t enough. You must go deeper.
Salty Captain Foaming Salt Remover Wash
Even if you used rubber mats in the winter, there are probably still salt stains on your carpets, and just washing them with soapy water won’t get rid of the residue. You’ll need a specialized solution for salt. We like products geared toward the marine industry to emulsify salt to make it easier to clean off.
Salty Captain foaming salt remover is a treatment you can spray on the body of your car and on the carpets before you wash them to make sure the salt comes out for good. Doing this before you wash also helps preserve your car’s bodywork because emulsifying the salt means it won’t scratch your paint when you rub a cloth over it. Star Brite also makes a great product that might be easier to find locally.
2. Microfiber Cloths
When spring cleaning your car, you cannot have enough microfiber cloths. You need to swap them out regularly; every time I clean my car, I go through at least 5 to 10 of them, and I don’t even have a big car. You need to swap them out because sand and debris get caught in the cloths and can scratch up your paint. The more you swap the cloths the less likely you are to see marks on your paint.
Chemical Guys Professional Grade Premium Microfiber Towels for Cars
The good thing about microfiber is that, besides being absorbent and not leaving lint particles on your car, you can just dump them in your laundry machine to wash them and use them again and again.
I like the surface coverage from the larger 16-inch cloths, but there are also some quality 11-inch cloths— like this 50-pack from AIDEA—that might work better for your application.
3. Glass Cleaner and Rain Repellant
After your windshield has seen snow, freezing rain, and been sprayed with salty brine all winter, it’s probably in pretty bad shape. Before spending money on new wipers, try treating your windshield with Rain X first.
The original Rain X treatment works better than the wipes or spray, and even though it takes longer to apply, the results are worth it. Basically, Rain X makes your windshield slippery so water beads off, which increases your visibility in wet weather.
Invisible Glass Cleaner
But before you apply Rain X, you have to make sure your glass is clean.
Pro tip: DO NOT use Windex, as it’s not formulated for car glass; the ammonia will definitely leave streaks that will absolutely create glare at night or in bright sunlight.
I've always sworn by Invisible Glass, both for my personal cars and for the race cars I used to take care of professionally. From TCR, through Porsche Cup and IMSA Prototypes, Invisible Glass is the way to go, although Rain X does make its own 2-in-1 glass cleaner formula with rain repellent mixed in. That's a good choice for those of you who want a one-product solution.
You can even get yourself one of those extendable windshield cleaning tools to help you if you drive a larger truck or SUV. Don't forget to clean the inside while you're at it. I'd do that first, though, or just swap cloths.
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