Five Ways to Prepare Your Car for Wet Weather

Wet weather can turn driving into a hassle. Rain and snow become especially dangerous if you haven’t properly prepared your vehicle to handle them. When it comes to preparing your car for wet weather, are you checking off everything on this list?

1. Use Rain-X

Apply Rain-X (or another comparable product) to your windshield, and you may not even need your wipers anymore. It works as a wet weather repellent, largely increasing visibility through heavy weather situations. There are many kinds of Rain-X designed for specific purposes, but you can always count on the original to do the job. And, with its low price, it’s worth it. When you apply it to your windshield, don’t be stingy; give it a couple coats and watch the rain literally fly right off your windshield.

2. Replace Wipers

Your experience in wet weather can vary dramatically depending on your windshield wipers. Sometimes it’s hard to determine where you can spare a few bucks, but when it comes to wipers, you don’t want to spare a penny. A little more goes a long way, so consider buying top-notch brands to make sure you’re able to see as much as possible during rain or snow. You can never go wrong with Rain-X or Bosch wiper blades.

3. Clean Up Your Headlights

Headlights get cloudy overtime. This diminishes the effectiveness of your lights, making it harder to drive through fog, snow, rain, and dark streets. You can get rid of the cloudiness with certain products, like Sylvania or 3M, designed to keep headlights clean and clear. If you don’t want to cough up the dough for these products, you can use a plaque-removing toothpaste to scrub the grime away.

4. Check Tires

The less treading on your tires, the more you’ll be prone to sliding. With wet and cold weather, this can be dangerous. Of course, you never want tires without treading, but you should especially be concerned for those wet weather months—winter and spring.

5. Rust Proof

The wet weather months are when your car is most susceptible to rusting. Newer cars will typically already have a rust-proofing agent applied, but your used car might not. You can find anti-rust and anti-corrosion products in most auto stores, and the prices range from a few bucks to higher prices, around $35. Some experts would say this isn’t completely necessary, but it comes down to whether you’re willing to spill the cash to make sure your car doesn’t rust away.

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