Prepare your car for monsoon

How to get your car monsoon ready!

When cars turn into boats
When cars turn into boats

“I just can’t forget that rainy day when my car broke down in the middle of stagnant muddy water. For three hours I kept waiting on the road for mobile car services. That was the worst day of my life”, reminisces, Priyanka, an IT professional. Do you know wet conditions during monsoon can take a toll over your car? New cars can tackle the rains easily but the old ones need extra care to get through monsoons. Here are some car care tips to make your driving enjoyable even during rains.

Get your service beforehand: First and foremost check the holistic health of your car before the monsoon arrives to avoid sudden breakdown of the car. Keep a tab on the service and get it done before or on time to keep your car in the best shape, to tackle rains. Ask them to pay special attention on wipers, rubber lining, headlights, taillights and indicators.

Watching the rain
Watching the rain

Get anti-rust coating: Rather than routine or shiny coatings ask your service station to give an anti-rust coating on all the metal parts exposed to rain water. You can also do it yourself as many such solutions are easily available in the market. In the absence of anti-rust coating, clean the door sills and wipe off water as they may rust over prolonged periods of time.

Use rubber mats: To keep your car tidy during rains use rubber mats as the collect lots of mud, water and slush. Cleaning mud and slush off the carpets or cloth mats is tricky, while on the other hand rubber mats can be washed and dried easily.

Check tyres: During rains the roads get slipper so it’s very important to make sure that the tyres are not bald or faded as it’s harder for them to maintain grip on the road. Don’t forget “the road is full of idiots”. Also, make sure your wheels are properly aligned and keep a spare tyre.

Keep the interiors dry: If the interiors of the car get wet then dry them off as soon as possible to avoid foul odour and fungus in the carpets and seats. Secondly you can also spray some car perfume to get rid of the smell.

Air conditioner: Air-conditioner does more than just cooling; it is very useful in preventing your windscreen and windows from misting up. Accumulation of moisture could also result in fungal growth in the air-conditioning system so to eliminate this just spray a disinfectant solution.

Other preventive measures

  •  Avoid driving with open windows as the water can spoil the wires, and interiors of the car.
  • Clean the car daily. Use a high pressure hose to spray water onto the mud on the car and the wheel wells.
  • Cover the car with a waterproof cover if parked outside.
  • Keep an umbrella in the car.