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Even if you’re not a hardcore car enthusiast, frequently cleaning a car and keeping it clean is always a good idea, and even non-car enthusiasts get a pretty good rush of dopamine when they see that their car is squeaky clean. When winter sets in, it becomes infinitely more annoying to maintain a clean car. Winter means worse weather in most cases, like frequent rain, snow, and both of those lead to mud and other fun ways to make a road dirty.

People are less inclined to wash their cars in the winter, chiefly because of that more frequent bad weather. Most people are also too familiar with the feeling of washing the car on a lovely sunny day, and then there’s a massive rainstorm the very next day that ruins all of your work. However, if you live in an area with frequent snow, there’s another potential problem; salt on the road.

As we all know, salt corrodes metal, and too much salt on your bodywork — especially the undercarriage — can cause rust. Generally, you should wash your car at least once every two weeks during the winter, but there’s a bit more nuance to it.

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A thorough wash every two weeks or thereabouts is the recommended interval you should stick to during the winter, and a lot of it depends on how much snow there is in your area. If you live somewhere where snow is pretty much constant during the winter, like Vermont, Michigan, or pretty much all of Canada, this interval should be notched down to once every week.

Despite the change of temperatures, however, the process of washing your car is broadly the same as it always is; water and soap, or body shampoo, that’s designed specifically to be used on cars. A coat of wax might be beneficial in the winter months, since wax provides an additional protection layer to various components, decreasing the risk of rust and ensuring the paint stays shiny. Salt is not just a rust creator, it can also damage the exterior paintwork.

While washing your car at home or at a self-service car wash is fine, you should also locate and visit a car wash that includes underbody washing. While these are less common, washing your car’s underbody, which is where the good majority of road salt will be concentrated, is another very effective preventative measure against iron oxide. Finally, don’t neglect the interior. Keep it clean, as every entrance into the vehicle could translate to wear on the carpets and the floor area. Also, avoid those automatic car washes with giant robotic brushes, they are well-known for damaging paintwork little by little.