How often should you wash your car? This is one of the questions we frequently get from our readers. Although there’s no one-size-fits-all frequency for cleaning cars or trucks, there are certain conditions when washing cars is a must.

To start with, we must point out that periodic cleaning of your car or truck is needed to help extend its life and beauty. It also helps keep you and your passengers safe against airborne germs and bacteria that may cause a variety of illnesses. However, sometimes you will need to make an extra effort and clean your vehicle a few more time beyond this periodic maintenance. To know how often should you wash your car, you need to take several factors in mind.

How Often Should You Wash Your Car?

Generally speaking, you should wash your car every two weeks. Doing so removes dust, grime, and other contaminants from surfaces. Unattended, these contaminants can ruin the beauty of your prized possession. However, there are several situations wherein a vehicle should be washed more often than what is suggested and we have listed 10 of these below.

1. When You Drive on Dusty Roads Often

If you live in areas like the Owens Valley in California, the second dustiest place in the world, then it is recommended that you should wash your car more often. When the wind blows dust, it carries with it other contaminants that can scratch your car paint – stone chips, sand, and so on. In a situation like this, it is also advised to have your car vents cleaned often. This can extend the life of your air filter and keep you safe from respiratory ailments in the long run.

2. When You Drive Your Children to and from School Daily

As a caring parent, you want to drive your children to and from school yourself. But kids will always be kids, right? They want to eat, drink, draw, write, and color inside the car. These activities, however, leave contaminants that can not only wreak havoc with your car’s interior, but they can also affect their health and wellness. Remnants from food and drinks can attract virus-carrying insects and microorganisms that can cause health issues later on. Ink and crayon can leave unsightly stains on your seats and upholstery.

If this is your situation, then cleaning your car more often goes beyond the need to preserve the life and beauty of your car and truck. It’s your children’s health that is at stake here.

3. If You Live near the Sea

Living beside the sea may be a healthy option for you but not for your car. In fact, the seaside has three natural elements that can wreak havoc with your car’s life and beauty: sand, salt, and air. Sand can scratch your car paint, while salt can corrode your vehicle’s metal parts prematurely. Add air to the equation and you have a successful formula for rust. This is why washing your car more often is necessary. It can dislodge sand and salt from surfaces before they can cause major damage to the vehicle.

4. During Winter

If you keep your car clean during summer, the more you should do so in winter. This is to prevent road salt and snow from freezing on the metal parts of your vehicle. Entering your car with your snow-sodden boots on can lead to damp carpeting and eventually, mold and mildew contamination. And since snow-sodden boots are embedded with road salt, you run the risk of premature rusting of the metal parts of your car flooring.

5. When You Don’t Have Your Own Garage

When you don’t have a garage, chances are, you park your car under shady trees or on the streets. These open your vehicle to paint-damaging contaminants, from bird droppings to dust to acid rain. This is why washing your vehicle more often if you don’t have a garage to park it in becomes a must. It can remove the contaminants that can mar the beauty of your prized possession.

6. Before and After a Road Trip

Whether you’ll travel on rocky hillsides or highways, washing your car before and after is a good idea. Steam cleaning your car engine, for example, will allow you to detect leaks that can cause engine fires. Detailing the tires allows you to check for embedded nails or stone chips that can cause flats later on. Interior cleaning and sanitation can get rid of germs and bacteria that can affect your health and well-being. Not to mention that a clean vehicle is a joy to behold. In this case you should not even ask how often should you wash your car – simply follow the “before and after” rule.

7. If You Live in an Industrial Area

Industrial areas, being more populated and polluted, expose your vehicle to a myriad of contaminants that can affect your health and damage the beauty of your vehicle. The air in such areas is laden with chemical residues. This makes your car’s air filters work overtime. Unattended, filters can get dirty and clogged, affecting your car’s performance. Dirty and clogged filters can also lead to respiratory ailments like asthma, sinus congestion, and a host of other health issues.

8. If Your Parking Area Is Covered with Trees

Two of the biggest issues vehicle owners who park their car or truck under trees? Bird droppings and tree sap. Unattended, both can cause paint etching that can ruin the beauty of your car’s paint. Washing your car more often can help prevent these issues.

9. If You Want to Extend the Life of Your Vehicle

A dirty and poorly maintained vehicle won’t last as long as it could. Caked up dirt, grime, and mud not only look unsightly on a vehicle. These contaminants are perfect thriving grounds of microorganisms that cause oxidation. Once oxidation sets in, rust follows, causing a vehicle to deteriorate prematurely. This is why more and more car and truck owners are opting to clean and maintain their vehicle more often. After all, preventive measures are always cheaper than buying a new vehicle.

10. If Your Business Depends on Your Vehicle

If you own a food truck or vehicle that delivers medical or pharmaceutical goods, cleaning it more frequently is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Otherwise, you run the risk of being penalized by DOT officials and other authorities. Worse, they can suspend your license to operate.

Why are the authorities strict on these types of vehicles? Food trucks, for one, are located in high-traffic areas. This exposes them to a variety of contaminants – dust, dirt, and so on. Not to mention that when cooking food orders, oil spills, food debris cannot be avoided. If these vehicles are not cleaned more frequently, there’s a high chance of food contamination. And, of course, clean food trucks or any vehicle that carry medicines or pharmaceuticals increase customer satisfaction.

If you face any of the above listed 10 circumstances, the question “How often should you wash your car?” becomes more like “How soon should you wash your car?” The sooner, the better. Regular upkeep will prolong the life of your vehicle while maintaining its shine and beauty for years to come. For best results, consider scheduling an appointment with DetailXPerts. We have everything you need to give your car the treatment it deserves.

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