What Do You Need To Do To Rainproof Your Car?

Rain might not seem like the end all be all for your car, because a little water never seems to hurt anyone. However, rain can become a very dangerous driving condition on the road. There are several different ways to rainproof your car, so the weather doesn’t become a threat to you as you start driving. Whenever you know a storm is coming, batten down the hatches and follow some of these tips.

Check Over Your Car

There are three things you need to make sure are working before you take your car out onto the road. The first is your tires because you need to have enough tread and traction to get across slippery wet roads. One of the easiest, and admittedly most fun ways to check the level of tread on your tires is to use a penny. You just need to place a penny headfirst into the grooves of your tire.

Depending on how much of the head you can see, that’s how worn down your tires are. If you can see all of the head, then you need to get new tires. If you can only see part of the head, you probably have enough tread depth remaining so that you don’t need new tires.

You should also do a test run of your wipers and make sure that the wiper blades are good enough to keep the windshield clear during the storm. Finally, make sure to test your brakes and have them inspected because the last thing you want is to have your brakes fail on a wet road!

Be Prepared For An Emergency

Even if your car is in tip top shape and you don’t need to worry about losing control because you are an experienced rain driver, you shouldn’t discount emergencies. Make sure to have an emergency kit in the rare occasion where you might need to pull off the road and wait out a downpour.

A typical emergency kit should contain a first aid kit, batteries, a spare tire, tools, and jumper cables. For longer trips, you might also include food and water, a radio, a compass, and a map of where you are going. 

Speaking of jumper cables, you should have them and know how to use them as well. Jumper cables are an excellent way to transfer energy and kick start a stalling car battery. Every single car should have jumper cables and you should also know how to use them on other cars and how to use them on your own. Those cables are really going to come in handy.

Make Sure to Hit the Car Wash

While it might seem redundant to wash your car before a big storm, rainwater isn’t as cleansing as we would like it to be. Rainwater can either be acid rain or can be polluted with the smog and other items inside of the air. It doesn’t clean and sanitize as thoroughly as a car wash does, so if you are looking for cleanliness, you should make sure that you go to the car wash.

Rain can only wash away the stuck-on pollen and surface stains. It won’t get rid of the squished bugs, stuck-on dirt, and other substances that the water just is not going to wash away. Rain also beads up whenever it evaporates and then leaves all sorts of contaminants behind. It’s no excuse not to apply soap and do a thorough deep clean of your car. 

Store Your Car Away

The best way to keep your car out of the rain is to keep it out of the rain! If you have a garage or a storage area where you can park your car and keep it covered, put it there. If not, exposing your car out to the elements isn’t going to be the worst thing in the world, even if it is a heavier rainstorm. 

Keep an eye on your car if the rainstorm includes hail or flying debris such as tree branches and other items. Those can easily cause a lot of damage to your car and that needs to be repaired after the storm is over. If you know that hail could be a possibility, then you should do your best to shelter your car.

Rainproof Your Vehicle

Making sure that your car can cosmetically get through a rainstorm is just as important as making sure that your car still functions through a rainstorm. It doesn’t take much to rainproof your vehicle, and it can give you some added peace of mind whenever you deal with the next big storm. 

Knowing that you can drive through a storm safely allows you to just sit back and enjoy the ride. There’s something peaceful about driving in the rain, and you owe it to yourself to try it out.

For more useful tips, review our articles in our blog.