While some don’t bother to get a car wash when it rains because a car would immediately get dirty afterward, there are some who still want to protect their car from harmful contaminants caused by rain. If you’re one of the latter, you’re probably wondering, “Do car washes close when it rains?”
The answer would vary among different car washes. In short, it depends. Some would close, but some don’t because each car wash has its own rainy policy.
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Do Car Washes Close During Rainy Weather?
As said earlier, each car wash has its policy for rainy days. So some would close when it rains, and some would remain open for rainy days car wash.
You can check with the car wash you frequent whether or not they follow a closed-on-rainy-days policy.
Why Do Some Car Washes Close on Rainy Days?
The main reason why some car washes are closed on rainy days is they’re avoiding potential damage and danger:
- There can be the possibility of standing water when car washing car in rain, especially when the facility doesn’t have adequate drainage. It can damage the car wash equipment.
- When standing water gets on paintwork, it can damage the paint if left because car paintwork has a porous surface that can absorb water. When rainwater makes its way and sits in the paintwork’s pores for some time, it can result in paint damage and eventually lead to rust.
- Their floors can also become slippery, which can be dangerous for customers. However, car washes that remain open for rainy days usually use floor mats for safer car washing.
- Another reason is there’d be few to no customers on rainy days for some car washes, as not many people want to wash their cars when it rains. So they close the car wash for the day.
What Do Car Washes Do on Rainy Days?
What car washes do on rainy days also depends on the car wash and the kind of car wash.
Some may still carry out business operations but send a few staff home due to little business activity.
Moreover, the exterior or drive-through car washes usually wouldn’t have many customers and close on rainy days. It’s typically the full-service car washes offering more than just exterior washing that are car washes open in the rain, as they would have more business activity.
When car washes close on rainy days, they do cleaning and maintenance tasks. They would clean their surroundings and dirty equipment, fix broken equipment, or undergo necessary upgrade projects.
But in the case of continuous rain for several days with not much business activity and no more tasks to do, the car wash would just have a temporary shutdown.
Full-service car washes may still offer exterior washing on rainy days, but they mostly focus on interior cleaning. If you want to avoid getting your car dirty again, you can use an interior cleaning service and have your car washed in fine weather.
But in some car washes, a car getting dirty again when it rains after just washing it isn’t a big deal, as they offer a free car wash if it rains on your car after they’ve just washed it.
Are There Any Benefits of Car Washing When It’s Raining?
Although some people think having a car wash when it rains is a bad idea, it has some benefits. These are listed below.
1. Better car care with no rush
Because there aren’t many customers in the car wash, the staff wouldn’t rush to finish the cleaning to serve other customers. So they can provide better care for your car.
2. Your car will always be in good condition
A regularly washed car will not only be easier to clean but also be maintained in good condition. Giving it a protective layer of wax will also help prevent contaminants from sticking to its paintwork.
When it’s the rainy season or if you live where it rains often, you’ll eventually need to wash your dirty car even if it’s raining.
3. Protects your car from harmful contaminants
Rain can leave corrosive contaminants on cars called road film. When the rain pours, it mixes with the oils and chemicals that accumulate on the road. As cars pass by wet roads, the polluted rainwater would be splashed onto them, causing the road film.
So it would be a good idea to wash your car when it rains to protect your paintwork.
Conclusion
Although the answer to “Do car washes close when it rains?” depends on each car wash establishment, whether or not you should wash your car when it’s raining is all up to you, based on your needs and circumstances.
If you need to have your car washed even if it’s raining, you can look for a car wash open during rainy days. Regular cleaning is a must to keep a car in good condition, whatever the weather.
