How Often Should You Wash Your Car? Not Just for Aesthetics

Your car is a major investment and you spend a ton of money maintaining it — oil changes, tire rotations, brake pads. But have you ever considered something as simple as washing your car to be an investment too? Just how often should you wash your car, and how important is it?

Sometimes it's obvious when your car needs a wash. After a long day of driving down a dusty, gravel road, for example. Or when that flock of birds takes aim at your car's hood while you're parked under what you think is an ideal shade tree.

But what about washing your car as part of its general maintenance schedule? Whether you do it to protect the paint and minimize rust so you can drive it forever, or to keep the car in pristine condition for higher resale value later, there are several reasons to wash your car regularly.

How Often Is Enough for Car Washing?

Most experts recommend washing your car every two weeks or so throughout the year as a general rule. If you live in an area with a lot of salt — either from a nearby ocean or from salt trucks on the winter roads — you probably should wash it more, as salt can corrode the metal and cause rust.

Those who spend a lot of time driving through the backcountry should give their car a little more TLC as well. The aforementioned bird droppings are acidic enough to eat through your car's paint job if it's left too long. Same goes for dead bugs and tree sap, so they should be washed off as necessary.

Your car can go longer between washes if you don't drive it every day, or if you keep it in a garage and out of the elements.

And while we might think of car washes as a summertime chore, you actually need to wash your car more often in the winter. Salt from the roads is one of the worst offenders, and it can cake onto the body of your car and wreak havoc.

More frequent trips to the car wash, particularly those with hand-held pressure wands, will help protect your car from salt buildup.

How Do You Take Proper Care of the Interior?

Of course, the interior of your car is exposed to less salt and (hopefully) less bird poo, but it still needs to be cleaned. Use a vacuum hose to get any particles (dog hair, dry cereal, dead bugs, bits of dried leaves) out of the seat crevices and off the floor mats.