How to Safely Brush Snow Off Your Car

You wake up from your deep slumber and look out your window to greet the day, only to see that it has snowed once again overnight. You take a hesitant glance over at your vehicle in the driveway and see a pile of white in the vague shape of a car with side mirrors poking out of it. Now you’re going to have to unbury your car AND shovel your driveway…

But before you do, there are a few things you should know that most car owners don’t.

1. Your Windshield Brush Can be Bad For Your Car

Many Canadians deal with the snow so much, they don’t think twice about brushing off their car. But you should. Brushes made from nylon – like the one on your trusty windshield scraper, can do serious harm to your vehicle’s paint job. The action of sweeping – especially the “Gah! I’m late for work and winter makes me angry!” type brushing – can leave light scratches in your body paint, which will later show up in the summer sun.

Any brushing on your windshield or car windows are not an issue; so don’t toss your brush in the trash just yet. The hard surface of glass is much more scratch resistant than the softer layer of paint found on the body of your car.

“But I never use my brush on the body of my car!” you declare, “I brush off the windshield and get in the car, the drive to work will do the rest.” But there is much more to consider.

2. Leaving the Snow is a No-Go

We get it – clearing the snow off your car is a pain – especially when you’re in a hurry. But think twice before you get in the car and drive on the road with a thick layer of snow on the roof of your vehicle. You may wind up having to pay for it.

At least, that’s what happened to a Manitoba man this year. After driving with a large layer of snow on top of his vehicle’s roof, he was pulled over and fined $240 dollars for driving with an unsecured load. Here’s a full article covering the story. No matter how you feel about the fine, bear in mind that it is indeed a hazard for other drivers. It hampers vision as it blows off, and can potentially damage following vehicles if large enough chunks fly off at high speeds.

3. Solutions for Brushing Snow Off Your Car

So, we’ve just told you not to use your brush to unbury your car, but you can’t leave snow on it either. What are you to do? Well, we recommend a few options:

• Foam brushes – There are non-abrasive, foam brushes available that are perfect for removing snow while minimizing potential scratching.
• Your hands – Seriously! Some gloved hands have a subtle touch that won’t damage your vehicle’s paint job.
• Car cover – With a car cover you simply wrap one around your car, and then you lift it up before you go to work although you’re likely to get some snow on you when you do it…
• Move to New Mexico – This may not be an option for all of you, so make sure you follow @JiffyLubeOn for more winter car care hacks!

Keep yourself and other drivers on Ontario roads safe! Follow our tips above to completely remove snow piled on to your car without scratching your beautiful paint job.

Do you have any car care tips that’d you’d like to share? Tweet us about it at @JiffyLubeOn!