TIPS ON HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR CAR IN THE RAINY SEASON
Driving during a downpour might be an enjoyable experience to you, but the same cannot be said about your car. While you sit inside your car and enjoy the rain, your vehicle takes the entire brunt of it all. The rainy season brings a plethora of problems for your car.
Of course, you wouldn’t want to spend millions of Naira in purchasing a car, only to have it destroyed due to unfavourable weather conditions and bad Nigerian roads, but there are ways to keep and maintain your car during these times.
Every car owner has faced a problem during the days of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. While it is important to get your car serviced regularly, it is not possible to turn up to a service centre every day after a heavy shower. For this reason and many more, it is crucial to know a few tips and tricks to keep your car shielded from water and corrosion.
If you live in an area where it rains frequently, make sure you note these pointers. Let’s have a look at the car care tips for the rainy season.
- CHECK THE TIRES OF YOUR CAR REGULARLY
One of the biggest problems faced during the rainy season is hydroplaning. Car tires have grooves that are provided to hold the vehicle on the road while channelling the water away from the contact patch. When the tires of a car get worn out, they cannot channel enough water away and the contact patch is momentarily lifted. This causes the car to spin or get out of control which is known as hydroplaning. In order to avoid this and cause any accident, you should replace the worn out tires of your car and keep them inflated to the recommended pressure before the onset of the rains.
- CLEAN YOUR WINDSHIELD AFTER THE RAIN
Driving during the rain can cause visibility issues since the raindrops get smeared across the windshield. However, this can be prevented by using water-repellent products on the windshield that cause the water droplets to roll off and prevent them from obscuring your vision. After a downpour, the rain water dries off leaving behind mineral residue that can attract dirt and affect your vision while driving. Therefore, it is important that you clean your windshield immediately after your car has been outside in the rain.
- WASH AND WAX YOUR CAR
It might seem pointless to many to wash a car during the rainy season since the rain has already washed away all the dirt. However, it might come as a shock to a number of people that rain water doesn’t help much when it comes to the durability of a car. When your car dries off after a downpour, acidic deposits are often left behind that eat away the exposed areas such as the paint. Washing your car using solvent-free cleaning products or even just plain water can help neutralise the acidity to a great extent. You should also apply wax to your car for added protection since it will help the water droplets roll off from the body of the car.
- AIR CONDITIONING
You always keep the windows and sunroof shut while driving through the rain. This means there is no way for the air to enter and leave the car, and you keep inhaling the same air.
To avoid this, make sure your air conditioner is in good condition. It will help to bring in the fresh air from the outside and circulate it so you’re not stuck in a closed environment. Additionally, A/C also helps in defogging the windshields and windows which helps to have better visibility.
Make sure that the filters in the AC are cleaned before the monsoon kicks in so that you don’t have to worry about foul-smelling air getting pulled into the vehicle.
- CHECK YOUR BATTERY
It is advisable to switch up your car alarm settings from panic mode because during a heavy downpour overnight for example, your car alarm might blare uncontrollably all through thereby depleting your battery completely and now you’re left stranded the next morning since your car has refused to start. Also, clean your battery heads regularly as humidity could affect your batteries negatively leaving deposits of accumulated matter.
Sometimes, these little things often make the biggest impact. I hope this was helpful.