Salt is EVIL
- Thread starter theblooms
- Start date
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- 2014 CX-5 2.0/6M
2016 3i 2.0/6M
Good luck to all you guys down there in Tennessee, North & South Carolina, and anywhere else that's not used to this kind of winter! My company has offices in Nashville and a couple in North Carolina and they've had a hell of a battle over the last month. A couple recent days, the temperatures have been the same down there as up here in Rhode Island! COOOLD.
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- Canada
I just came back from a business trip to Memphis, TN and Marion, AK last week. They got some snow followed by some freezing rain that iced up the roads a bit and really threw the locals for a loop. I think they closed the schools because the buses couldn't run, and FedEx/UPS drivers couldn't deliver either. Everything melted away after some rainfall on Wednesday.
Don't overlook the underbody and axle components during your next wash. Road salt accumulates there and triggers rapid corrosion.
You shouldn't wait for rain to clean the chassis; by then, the salt might have already caused permanent damage. If you don't have the tools to clean it thoroughly at home, use an automatic car wash with a dedicated underbody program.
You shouldn't wait for rain to clean the chassis; by then, the salt might have already caused permanent damage. If you don't have the tools to clean it thoroughly at home, use an automatic car wash with a dedicated underbody program.
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- South Carolina
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- 21 CX-9 13 CX-5
Yup. I have an undercarriage attachment for my pressure washer.
Yes it is.
I also live in a salt/brine state. And each of the "key" roads to get into town or across town all are considered "major" through-ways here. So, each one gets a few blasts of the salt treatment, whenever inclement weather's expected.
I pay a monthly fee at a nearby touchless carwash, allowing me to use unlimited washes 24x7. Whenever it's salty and I've been out, typically I head over to the shop. It's an indoor facility, as well, so they've taken precautions against extreme cold. Has an undercarriage sprayer, and I creep along to ensure that gets as much coverage as possible. Does a pre-soak (though not enough dwell time, IMO). Does a soap (again, not enough dwell time). But it comes out pretty darned clean. Isn't a de-salting mode on the thing, so occasionally I get out my own salt neutralizer and the hose, getting the rest of it off. But the "hose" method's tough when it's approaching 0ºF.
Ah, the joys of living in the cold belt.
@theblooms -- What is the salt neutralizer that you use? What's your experience (good, bad, meh) with the stuff?
My own choice, for use with the hose and a metering jug: Star-Brite Salt Off. A wash at the touchless shop, then the anti-salt treatment, then another wash. Works pretty well.
N7turbo
2023 CX-5 2.5T ... 2024 MX-5 RF GT
I do as well, but I've thought a lot about this recently.
If spraying the exterior of the body panels doesn't do jack to remove the salt, then we'll get the same result underneath.
To be clear, my car will never, ever see an automatic car wash. I've worked hard to maintain the finish and am well aware of what one single moment of weakness will cost me.
Not to mention the fact that those underbody jets are useless.
What I'm thinking is to actually jack the car up and get under it to clean. A metal-friendly APC (probably my Armour Detail Clean which is limonene-based and has a rust inhibitor in it) and a brush. Then rinse.
The other option is the Carpro Descale soap I have in the foam cannon. Then brush and rinse.
I think that's the only way it's going to get clean.
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- South Carolina
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- 21 CX-9 13 CX-5
I didn't even know "salt neutralizer" was a thing. This is just Guyeon Foam. Get the car wet, spray it with the Foam, let it soak in for a couple of minutes, hose it off. Then you wash normally.
Like I said, this is South Carolina. I'm 53 years old, and this year is literally the first time I've ever seen salt used on the roads. They generally put down sand.
At bare minimum, hosing-down of a surface results in less crud on that surface. Salt is tenacious, though, and its chemical corrosive action cannot be wholly halted without fighting it chemically.
On that point, no anti-salt chemicals being in those touchless carwash undercarriage sprays, I'll grant you. But it's better than "jack" (doing nothing at all).
In my case, I've got the undercarriage treated, such that occasional spraying-off of surfaces does far better than for most people whose vehicles don't have any undercoating. Doesn't address the bolts and nuts, no. That's where a salt-neutralizing spray does help.
But that's a real trick to accomplish during single-digit (or lower) winter temperatures, where anything through a hose freezes solid the moment it bathes a car's surfaces with what little freezing water is flowing.
In the next life, I'll build a good-sized heated garage with a lift, such that little tasks such as this can be done in the air, salt-neutralizing sprays and whatnot used to good effect, with scrubbing/agitation of surfaces (with brushes) to extend that. But short of that sort of setup, the regular touchless spraying and occasional undercarriage hand spraying of salt-neutralizer is about all we've got available. Is what it is.
Regular hosing-down of an undercarriage is far better than leaving the crud there to fester and speed the "cancer". Isn't perfect. But without good alternatives there isn't much other choice. I'm all ears, for single-digit and sub-zero temps, if someone has another solution that bests the above. I'm sure many in the "snow belt" would appreciate knowing, too.
I coated the wheel wells and axle components with cable/rope grease. Even so, during the winter I still run it through the car wash with the underbody wash program from time to time.
By the way, the cable grease doesn’t wash off.
By the way, the cable grease doesn’t wash off.
clownshoes2
2017 CX-5 GT No Tech - 2023 CX-30 GT NA
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- CX-5
*Canada Enters the Chat* That's cute.
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