In an Iowa winter, wash your vehicle every one to two weeks — and always within a few days of driving on freshly brined roads. Salt is corrosive while it sits, so the goal is to keep it from having time to work.
Wash on days above freezing when possible, and prioritize the undercarriage and wheel wells over how shiny the hood looks.
This is the cadence we recommend to clients across the metro.
A few winter habits cause more damage than skipping a wash.
On a ceramic-coated finish, brine and salt release with far less effort, so winter maintenance takes a fraction of the time and does not require aggressive chemicals or contact.
Salt itself is most damaging to metal and undercarriage components, but salt-laden grime held against paint accelerates etching and dulls the finish.
Touchless is safer for paint than brush tunnels, though it leaves more bonded contamination behind. It is a reasonable in-between for salt removal.
Some protection is better than none, but a ceramic coating or sealant lasts through the season where a traditional wax typically will not.