Your car will spend more time in the garage during the winter than it will in the spring and summer months. Before you park for the winter or pull in out of the snow, follow the helpful information below to keep your car safe from the garage itself.
Clear a Path
If you live in a cold-weather environment, you will need easy access to your snow blower and shovels. Effective snow removal is an important part of maintaining the health of your car—you never know when you will wake up to several inches of snow on the driveway.
Organization in your garage is important because it makes it easier to find the items you need for snow removal. One slip in an unorganized garage could result in scratches, dings and dents.
Insulate Your Garage Door
You can buy various types of insulation for the inside of your garage door. Added insulation may not make a difference for your everyday ride, but it will protect your vehicle from deep freezes. Garage insulation is available in foam panels and rolls of fiber insulation.
Seal Your Garage
Small animals are looking to get out of the cold in the winter months. Exhaust pipes and the interior spaces of your engine compartment can make an attractive hiding place. This can result in clogged pipes and chewed lines. Hire an energy auditor to look for gaps in your garage door and seal any windows.
Store Items Safely
It’s a common sight in many garages to see bicycles hanging upside down for the winter or other lawn tools stored in the rafters. All it takes is an old hook or busted nail and those items could come crashing down on your car, cracking windshields, chipping paint, or denting your car’s hood, roof, and side panels.
When you’re hanging bicycles from the rafters, make sure you buy sturdy hooks that you can screw into the rafter beams. For items stored in the rafters, make sure the plywood you lay across the rafter beams is in good shape and don’t put too much weight on any given piece of plywood.
Cover Your Car
If all else fails, you can use a cover to help keep your car safe. Not only will a cover keep dust and other particulates from accumulating on surfaces, but also good can absorb some of the blows should you accidentally bump your car with another car door, ding it with a shovel handle, or have something fall from the rafters.
There are a lot of steps you can take to protect your car in the garage, but these are some of the easiest steps you can take this winter.
This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. Visit the blog daily for housing and real estate tips and trends. Like Housecall on Facebook and follow @HousecallBlog on Twitter.
