Experts Share How Often You Should Really Be Washing Your Car and Why

The basic answer would be at least every two weeks, but the reality is, you shouldn’t just wash your car to drive around on 4 shiny tires. You should wash your car to protect the value of one of your greatest investments. Your car goes through a lot, literally, and depending on where you live or what the climate is, you may need to wash your car more often than every 2 weeks in order to minimize deterioration due to poor outdoor conditions or additional pollutants roaming around. 

Here are some things to consider when deciding how often you should wash your car and why should consider them: 

1. Weather:
   • High sun and heat: Although there are no added elements to the air itself when the temperature is high, any natural elements such as bug guts, bird droppings, or dust are more likely to bake onto the surface of your car and cause corrosion due to the heat. 
   • Icy and cold: During the cold months of the year, your city probably lays down salt on the asphalt to melt any ice or snow. The salt on the roads may stick to your vehicle’s surfaces and cause corrosion to the paint of your car, as well as the undercarriage. 
   • Heavy winds: This sort of weather typically carries a lot of extra dust and debris that stick to your vehicle’s exterior and undercarriage. Over time, dust and debris remove the shine from your vehicle’s topcoat of paint.
   • Acid rain: The word “acid” pretty much says it all. If you live in an area where this is common, this is most definitely something important to consider when deciding how often you should wash your car.
2. Vehicle storage: Over the lifespan of your car, parking it outside every night, rather than in a garage, makes a big difference in how many corrosive elements your car is exposed to. If your car’s personal parking spot is not in a garage, consider if it is commonly parked under a tree that releases lots of pollen, if it is often used by a flock of birds as a toilet, or if it is parked in a street where other cars drive by and kick up clouds of dust. Undoubtedly, the number of corrosive elements your car comes into contact with is significantly higher when it is left parked outdoors every night. 
3.  Where you live: If you live near a beach, your car is constantly in contact with salty air that is very corrosive. If you live near a construction site, your car is probably sprinkled with dust that deteriorates your paint. If you live near a bunch of trees, pollen is likely to get baked onto the surface of your car and that will also damage your vehicle’s paint job. If you live in a highly congested city or an area with airborne contaminants due to factories, you will need to wash more often. All of these things play a part in reducing the value and the shine of your car.
4. Driving distance: If you know you drive your car a longer distance than the average person on a day to day, then you should probably take this into consideration as the more you drive your car, the more it’ll come into contact with bugs, bird droppings, dust, mud, and other elements that will over time strip your vehicle of its ‘like new’ look.

Not much time? No problem! Our Unlimited Car Wash Membership allows you to drive in and out in a matter of minutes. Having trouble keeping your car clean post-wash? Our experts have advice for that too. Read about it here.