Is Rain Good For Your Car?

While most drivers react to rain positively thinking: “It’s raining, free car wash! Rain is a 100% natural car wash”, this isn’t entirely true. Rain does in fact wash away surface debris such as dirt, mud and pollen. Unfortunately, it leaves behind nasty remnants that can do costly harm to your vehicle over time. This is because rainwater actually contains more chemicals and pollutants than normal water, in turn leading to several detrimental effects such as: visible acidic spots on your car, and damage to your car paint.

Why is a car wash better than rainfall

Washing a car properly, benefits the driver as they can give their car a full clean since they can ensure that every part of the car will be clean and then dry properly. While rain does clean off the surface debris (as mentioned earlier), this only applies to the windows and the hood and will not reach other areas such as the underside of the vehicle.  And furthermore, unlike a car wash, rainfall can often lead to rust in the car because you are not drying the body of your vehicle after the wash. Another big factor is that your car’s paint will be less susceptible to losing its original state since unlike rainwater where there are numerous damaging chemicals, clean water and soap will not have any side effects.

So what should drivers do after a rainfall?

It is highly recommended that after a rainfall, you wash your car as soon as you have the opportunity. This prevents buildup of chemicals and any other harmful particles that may have been present in the rainwater. Doing so as soon as you can is vital because the longer you allow rainwater to stay untouched on your vehicle, the more time there is for your car’s paint (and other applications such as polish and wax) to degrade.