Can this rust my car?

[Quiet Stranger]

So it's winter and as we all know, with Winter comes ice. I put some salt down on my driveway to melt? the ice and I could swear i've heard some where that the salt can rust metal, so yeah my question is, is my car "safe" sitting in the salted drive way? (I'm paranoid, I know)

 

[Sunburn3011]

Yes and no.

No, it won't rust in a week or so, and especially if you drive it around on snow which will somewhat clean the underside.

But you should wash it thoroughly from below come spring because it can corrode over time.

 

[Wolfram23]

Yes but mostly only in direct contact. Having salt on your driveway isn't an issue. The issue is in cities like mine that put salt in with the sand when they go to sand the roads down in snowy/icy weather.

The other thing is, it has to get onto bare metal. Anything well painted is fine. But for example if there's screws inside your fender, they'll probably rust pretty good. I know mine do.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

Yes and no.

No, it won't rust in a week or so, and especially if you drive it around on snow which will somewhat clean the underside.

But you should wash it thoroughly from below come spring because it can corrode over time.

Sounds good, thanks for the info, so I don't have to worry about it corroding like, over night?

 

[loc978]

Yes and no.

No, it won't rust in a week or so, and especially if you drive it around on snow which will somewhat clean the underside.

But you should wash it thoroughly from below come spring because it can corrode over time.

Sounds good, thanks for the info, so I don't have to worry about it corroding like, over night?

Definitely not. Takes months to really start getting bad... but make sure you clean it very thoroughly once there's no more salt around. Just a little stuck up in a crevice somewhere can start a rust spot.

 

[Quiet Stranger]

Yes and no.

No, it won't rust in a week or so, and especially if you drive it around on snow which will somewhat clean the underside.

But you should wash it thoroughly from below come spring because it can corrode over time.

Sounds good, thanks for the info, so I don't have to worry about it corroding like, over night?

Definitely not. Takes months to really start getting bad... but make sure you clean it very thoroughly once there's no more salt around. Just a little stuck up in a crevice somewhere can start a rust spot.

Are you sure it's okay to wash the under side of my car? How does one even get under there? I'm assuming I just, I don't know, get on the ground and put the hose or whatever under my car? Or a car wash, or something? This is my first winter with it where I've cared this much about it.

 

[Sunburn3011]

I'm willing to bet that if this little forgotten corner of the world (Croatia, for those who care) has car washes with underside washing capabilities I'm pretty sure you can find one in whatever country you are in.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

It's more road salt you've got to worry about, unless you have a gigantic driveway.


Road salt will rust it though. Up here, people who drive up from the south are said to have "fresh" cars, 'cuz the bottom isn't all rusty.

Between that and the pot-holes, our cars have it rough out here...

 

[Soxafloppin]

Not the body work, its painted.

I'm not sure about the underside.