At winter grinds on, snow, salt and muck tend to accumulate on vehicles and eat away at exposed metal. While the temptation may be to wait until spring to get down to a proper vehicle cleaning, there are plenty of winter car maintenance steps that can be taken even before the season is over.

Here are a few tips for easy mid-winter car care that will help maintain the integrity of your vehicle:

Head to the car wash. Even in winter you can take your vehicle through an automatic car wash. The key is to take the trip on a sunny day when the temperatures are hovering above the freezing mark.

Use a high-pressure ‘wand’.  Removing salt and dirt on a regular basis, especially in hard-to-reach places like wheel wells and body seams, will cut down on corrosion and save on the life of your car. A layer of wax should protect your vehicle paint from minor scratches and, when weighed out, the benefits of winter car maintenance outweigh the negative.

Give your car the personal touch. The best solution to winter car care is to always hand wash. When finished washing, always dry off the weather seals on all doors and the trunk. Roll down the windows about an inch and dry off the seals.