Is Your Car Ready for a Toronto Winter? What to Clean Before Salt and Slush Arrive

Late October in Toronto means that the car moves from fall to winter mode. Mornings become colder. It rains a lot. Leaves and dust end up inside the floor mats. Your shoes start leaving water trails. Soon enough, you’ll see salt and brine on the roads of Toronto as the temperature starts dropping and the first snow falls.

It’s also a perfect moment to wash your car.

Not to make it pristine before the snow starts falling and not because every single particle of dirt damages the car. But because starting a winter season with a clean car means less trouble handling the salt, moisture, mud, road grime and regular mess over the course of the next couple of months.

For many drivers of Toronto who live in condominiums and use underground parking, washing both the interior and exterior of the car at home may not be very easy.

This is what you need to clean before the Toronto winter comes, what you can do yourself and when professional detailing is needed.

Do You Need To Detail Your Car Before Winter?

Yes, but it doesn't necessarily have to be a difficult process. If you plan to get a professional detail before winter then it is only helpful if your car already has a few months worth of regular buildup both inside and out.

Imagine the state of your car after October. There is a Starbucks cup in one cup holder and a couple of receipts in the other. There are fingerprints on the infotainment screen. The floor mats have accumulated some dirt from fall hiking road trips.

Outside, there is brake dust and grime on the wheels and dirt on the lower parts of the vehicle.

This is all fairly normal.

Before winter maintenance just gives you a fresh start from which point to continue. As soon as the City of Toronto starts using road salt and liquid salt brine to maintain roads, it becomes impossible to maintain a completely clean car. The best thing to do at this point is to do regular maintenance.

Why Is the End of October a Suitable Time for Winter Car Detailing in Toronto?

Late October is located in a period that allows you to bridge from fall build-up into winter conditions on the roads. 

Over the last few months, you have driven through summer dust, rain, brought back dirts from your fall hikes, and regular downtown traffic.

Meanwhile, the worst of winter hasn't hit yet. So, you get the chance to do your car cleaning without having to deal with several months of build-up of salt and slush. And this could help you take care of your car during winter more efficiently.

For example, if the carpets in your car are relatively clean already, you will be able to concentrate on the spots affected by salt and other elements of winter road maintenance. Or if the wheels and the lower panels of the car have already been washed, then you will know that the build-up that will start accumulating later is a sign of winter and not summer dust.

That is why a fall detail is best considered a reset.

Areas to Clean Inside Your Vehicle Prior to Winter

The areas you should clean inside the car are the areas that will shortly start coming in contact with moisture, wet shoes, salt, and winter clothing.

1. Mat Cleaning

Mat is among the first things that show signs of winter inside your car. In fall, it could have dirt, tiny pebbles, leaves, and muddy stains. But once winter comes, it will contain wet prints, salt stains, and slush. Cleaning your car mats prior to the winter season will provide you with a chance to clean from scratch.

Also, if you've been using carpet mats throughout summer, now might be the right moment to think about switching to rubber or all season mats if you've got them.

2. Carpets Around and Under the Mats

Floor mats are far from catching everything.Dust and dirt can get under the mats, along their sides, beside pedals, and by the seats. Such places are usually overlooked since they aren't visible from the outside right away.

A pre-winter vacuuming helps to remove all loose particles before they get mixed with wet dirt. Special attention should be paid to the area around the feet of the driver since it gets the most contact and gathers whatever is getting in through your shoes.

3. Between the Seats and the Centre Console

Here is the area where you see nothing until you shine a light there. There can be coins, crumbs, parking tickets, papers and many other things lying in the space between the seats and the centre console.A professional detailer usually cleans it better than just by vacuuming.

4. Cup Holders & Storage Compartments

These may contain dried up coffee stains, dust, crumbs, and spills on the sides. Pockets in the doors contain receipts, bottles, wrappers, and miscellaneous stuff. The center console may become an unofficial storage space.

Prior to winter, just spend some time removing the stuff you don't want and cleaning the surface beneath. This will help to maintain the interior once gloves, winter accessories, chargers, and other season-specific equipment starts piling up.

5. Dashboard & High Touch Surfaces

These include the steering wheel, gear shift lever, door handles, air vents, climate controls, infotainment screen. They are touched all the time and fingerprints and regular dirt build up on them.

Interior cleaning should cover them up without making them too glossy or slippery. Use cleaning products and equipment designed for such surfaces to minimize the risk of damaging them.

6. Interior Glass

Glass should be cleaned any time, but winter makes this task particularly important. Less sunlight, wet roads, night driving, and condensation make any streaks inside the windshield much more noticeable. Cleaning inside the windshield and the side glass prior to winter gives you a better starting point for visibility maintenance later.

In Ontario, it is also recommended that vehicles be prepared for winter conditions, and the drivers have enough winter washer fluid and other winter supplies. Detailing does not replace winter vehicle preparation, but they complement each other nicely.

Which Parts of the Exterior Should You Clean Before Winter?

The exterior does not have to be perfect before winter. However, it should be thoroughly cleaned.

Start With Washing- Correct washing will remove the road film and other types of dirt, dust, bugs, and contamination that have accumulated during warm months. Focus on low parts of the vehicle which tend to accumulate more grime. They include rocker panels, lower door panels, bumpers, and rear panels around wheels.

Properly Clean the Wheels-  During all other seasons, wheels experience contamination from brake dust, dirt, water, and other elements. Now, there are also winter salts and slush. Cleaning them will make the process of winter maintenance easier and will allow you to start the season free from older buildup under the layer of winter grime. Nevertheless, cleaning does not necessarily mean intensive scrubbing with any possible chemical.

Do Not Ignore Parts Around the Wheels -  Face of the wheel is only one part of the wheel surface exposed to road contamination. There are also wheel wells and surrounding low panels which are exposed to dirt. These parts become especially noticeable during winter when they are directly exposed to everything that gets splashed from roads.

Professional exterior detailing should focus not only on most visible parts but on low areas as well.

When Should You Use Professional Winter Car Detailing?

The usefulness of professional detailing increases with the complexity of the task that needs to be performed.

For instance, it would be reasonable to opt for professional assistance if the carpets require more thorough cleaning, salt stains have spread past removable mats, debris is trapped in hard-to-reach spots, seat treatment is needed, or the entire interior has come to the state when simple vacuuming would not do any good.

Sometimes it is a matter of convenience. Downtown Toronto residents usually lack access to a driveway, outdoor water, a garage workplace, or other convenient places to spend several hours cleaning a car. There could be restrictions on washing vehicles in condo parking garages.

Professional car detailing helps to resolve this aspect of the issue.

Looking to get your car prepared for winter driving in Toronto, Ontario?

In case your car needs a reset before the Toronto winter sets in, then you might want to book an interior, exterior or overall car detailing service with ALPHASHINE before the effects of salt and slush begin to take a toll on your driving routine.

Fall detailing by ALPHASHINE will put you on the right track, and maintenance will help you handle the rest of the season. You can schedule your appointment with ALPHASHINE by:

• Calling: 647-249-2960
• Emailing: info@alphashine.io
• Online: https://app.alphashine.io/ca/guestbooking  
• Through the ALPHASHINE App

We have more than 7 years of experience detailing family SUVs to exotic sports cars across downtown Toronto with 3 locations. We tailor our service to your convenience, not ours. 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is October a good time to detail a car in Toronto?
   
   Yes, since late October becomes a useful time to give the vehicle a detailed treatment prior to the arrival of winter. There will be time to remove summer and fall build up prior to regular winter salt, snow, and slush.
   
   
2. Does road salt damage cars?
   
   The use of road salt in winter is common and salt build up is expected. Cleaning helps to remove that salt.
   
   
3. Should I detail my car before or after winter?
   
   Both options could be helpful for different reasons. The fall detail provides a clean start before winter, while the spring detail helps to remove the winter buildup. It is better to choose one depending on the condition of your car and how well it is maintained in winter.
   
   
4. How often should I wash my car in winter?
   
   There is no specific schedule. Commuters who spend much time in wet and salted winter conditions usually need more frequent washing compared to infrequent drivers. One should take into account the road salt and grime build up, and not follow any fixed schedule.
   
   
5. Does winter detailing replace regular car washes?
   
   No, since the pre-winter detailing helps to provide the vehicle with a clean start. Want to learn more about this topic? Check out our winter car detailing blog.