Garaging a car when wet? Yes or no?
Discussion
I've read online recently that garaging a wet car when wet is more detrimental to the bodywork and corrosion overtime then leaving it in the rain then allowing it to dry outside before then garaging.
What's people's thoughts on this? What do you guys normally do?
The only reason that got me thinking of this is that I've just sold a car after long term ownership and did start to notice corrosion issues and rust issues in places. I pretty much garaged the car every night, even in winter when you have salt on the road etc. It's probably worse in the winter in a slightly warmer garage (not heated though) and the water plus humidity is probably perfect conditions to allow corrosion to happen.
Only other issue is that in the winter it's quite wet all the time so getting it back in the garage may prove problematic.
What do you guys do?
What's people's thoughts on this? What do you guys normally do?
The only reason that got me thinking of this is that I've just sold a car after long term ownership and did start to notice corrosion issues and rust issues in places. I pretty much garaged the car every night, even in winter when you have salt on the road etc. It's probably worse in the winter in a slightly warmer garage (not heated though) and the water plus humidity is probably perfect conditions to allow corrosion to happen.
Only other issue is that in the winter it's quite wet all the time so getting it back in the garage may prove problematic.
What do you guys do?
I've never thought about it tbh but I don't suffer from moisture in my garage, it's well-ventilated and stays a reasonably moderate temperature.
Given the British weather you could end up leaving it outside all week waiting for it to dry surely?? That'll be worse than it being garaged damp on occasion I'd imagine.
Given the British weather you could end up leaving it outside all week waiting for it to dry surely?? That'll be worse than it being garaged damp on occasion I'd imagine.
I’ve no choice - my drive is covered by an enormous canopy of huge trees - leaving the car out for even thirty seconds except when the leaves have fallen means that the car will get covered in sap, seed type things and all sorts of stuff that is a total drain blocking arse! Oh and bird crap.
Nothing I can do about it either as the trees are protected, and I can’t even trim a branch without a report from a tree surgeon and council permission first.
Nothing I can do about it either as the trees are protected, and I can’t even trim a branch without a report from a tree surgeon and council permission first.
It depends entirely on the garage, and the consideration is for general storage and not just if the car is wet when put away.
If the garage is insulated and dry then it doesn't make a lot of difference. More so if joined to the house and benefiting from warmth from the main house, or - the ultimate - central heating.
If the garage is single skin/non-insulated/wood then in most cases you are better leaving the car outside altogether, because the airflow outside trumps the conditions of a (relatively) cold and damp garage with low airflow.
The worst thing for corrosion is salt in winter. It prevents evaporation from any moisture as well as accelerating corrosion.
As well as corrosion, shelter from UV is something to think about in the overall picture.
If the garage is insulated and dry then it doesn't make a lot of difference. More so if joined to the house and benefiting from warmth from the main house, or - the ultimate - central heating.
If the garage is single skin/non-insulated/wood then in most cases you are better leaving the car outside altogether, because the airflow outside trumps the conditions of a (relatively) cold and damp garage with low airflow.
The worst thing for corrosion is salt in winter. It prevents evaporation from any moisture as well as accelerating corrosion.
As well as corrosion, shelter from UV is something to think about in the overall picture.
I have this exact problem too as I cannot leave the car on the drive overnight, it has to be strictly garaged if on our premises for insurance.
We have a 1960's semi with integral garage, up and over door, concrete floor, partial flat roof with a double radiator on one wall. It's got two ventilation bricks an an internal door to the main house. The car has multiple layers of good quality wax sealant that is stripped and reapplied yearly depending on use. The underside was waxoyled from new from the inside out, and that has been topped up a few times.
After speaking to the garage that did the paint resto, if I put the car away after being used in rain it's put away wet then as soon as possible back out for a wash/dry and use of detailing spray where required. This doesn't deal with the underside having been got wet, but the waxoyl has so far done it's job well.
If the car is parked on the drive and we're hit with rain, then I dry the passenger side as much as I can and put the car away. I use a number of very, very soft MF cloths. Once the car is in I then do the roof, back, front and drivers side as much as is reasonably possible. Then once better weather applies it's hand washed and properly dried again.
I'm about to purchase an air dryer too having borrowed a mates, as that'll make it easier too.
The above isn't ideal, but i'm yet to do any damage with that process.
We have a 1960's semi with integral garage, up and over door, concrete floor, partial flat roof with a double radiator on one wall. It's got two ventilation bricks an an internal door to the main house. The car has multiple layers of good quality wax sealant that is stripped and reapplied yearly depending on use. The underside was waxoyled from new from the inside out, and that has been topped up a few times.
After speaking to the garage that did the paint resto, if I put the car away after being used in rain it's put away wet then as soon as possible back out for a wash/dry and use of detailing spray where required. This doesn't deal with the underside having been got wet, but the waxoyl has so far done it's job well.
If the car is parked on the drive and we're hit with rain, then I dry the passenger side as much as I can and put the car away. I use a number of very, very soft MF cloths. Once the car is in I then do the roof, back, front and drivers side as much as is reasonably possible. Then once better weather applies it's hand washed and properly dried again.
I'm about to purchase an air dryer too having borrowed a mates, as that'll make it easier too.
The above isn't ideal, but i'm yet to do any damage with that process.
Put a wet car in a garage with no ventilation you will just end up with the worst conditions for corrosion, Humid air with a bit of warmth from the cooling car. Mix that with a bit of salt from the roads and anything not protected will rust like mad.
Leave the garage door open and let the air circulate or if its not raining, let it dry outside is ok
Best to have a condensing air dehumidifier in a carcoon type thingy (but don't desiccate it or you will have problems with leather etc)
Leave the garage door open and let the air circulate or if its not raining, let it dry outside is ok
Best to have a condensing air dehumidifier in a carcoon type thingy (but don't desiccate it or you will have problems with leather etc)
Pica-Pica said:
I have never garaged a car. I have not had UV issues either. Have you ever seen modern car environmental testing? Far more extreme than anything most people could or would do.
The difference between a car garaged all of its life and one that isn't is actually marked, even in our climate.The testing is mostly to make sure that components don't crack or break down, rather than maintaining their cosmetic condition.
mwstewart said:
Pica-Pica said:
I have never garaged a car. I have not had UV issues either. Have you ever seen modern car environmental testing? Far more extreme than anything most people could or would do.
The difference between a car garaged all of its life and one that isn't is actually marked, even in our climate.The testing is mostly to make sure that components don't crack or break down, rather than maintaining their cosmetic condition.
MYOB said:
swisstoni said:
I really don’t think it matters much. Especially with modern cars.
If the car has a propensity to rust, it’s going to rust anyway. A bit of a breeze while parked up isn’t going to help it.
It does matter because it could be an older model that’s prone to rust!If the car has a propensity to rust, it’s going to rust anyway. A bit of a breeze while parked up isn’t going to help it.
C5_Steve said:
I've never thought about it tbh but I don't suffer from moisture in my garage, it's well-ventilated and stays a reasonably moderate temperature.
Given the British weather you could end up leaving it outside all week waiting for it to dry surely?? That'll be worse than it being garaged damp on occasion I'd imagine.
Yeah your right, even in the Summer it maybe a chore to leave it out to dry before garaging it however I just don't know what's worse of the two options. My garage is well insulated, our house on one side and neighbours on other side with single skin (I think) at the rear wall and Hormann insulated garage door. Only issue when garage door is shut there isn't much through ventilation. Given the British weather you could end up leaving it outside all week waiting for it to dry surely?? That'll be worse than it being garaged damp on occasion I'd imagine.
Doofus said:
If your car has got wet on salted roads, then waiting for it to dry won't remove the salt.
Yeah I agree, the salt would probably be a bigger killer, I need to up my washing game I suspect in the Winter.mwstewart said:
It depends entirely on the garage, and the consideration is for general storage and not just if the car is wet when put away.
If the garage is insulated and dry then it doesn't make a lot of difference. More so if joined to the house and benefiting from warmth from the main house, or - the ultimate - central heating.
If the garage is single skin/non-insulated/wood then in most cases you are better leaving the car outside altogether, because the airflow outside trumps the conditions of a (relatively) cold and damp garage with low airflow.
The worst thing for corrosion is salt in winter. It prevents evaporation from any moisture as well as accelerating corrosion.
As well as corrosion, shelter from UV is something to think about in the overall picture.
Yeah some fair points there, my garage is well insulated with our house on one side and neighbours on the other side with dingle skin wall at rear with double glazed window and door and at front an insulated Hormann garage door with access to it. It does stay at relatively good temperature in the winter, what it does't have is great ventilation I think which would aid in drying if need be. I tried an experiment today and after the rain we had today garaged my car this afternoon to compare it to next-door neighbours car which was on the drive. About 20 mins ago went to garage mine still wet but next door neighbours nearly dry so I wonder if there is something in it. Yeah I think I need to be more pro active in the winter and get rid of the salt on more regular basis. Yeah never thought of UV as our front of house is South facing so gets baked in the summer.If the garage is insulated and dry then it doesn't make a lot of difference. More so if joined to the house and benefiting from warmth from the main house, or - the ultimate - central heating.
If the garage is single skin/non-insulated/wood then in most cases you are better leaving the car outside altogether, because the airflow outside trumps the conditions of a (relatively) cold and damp garage with low airflow.
The worst thing for corrosion is salt in winter. It prevents evaporation from any moisture as well as accelerating corrosion.
As well as corrosion, shelter from UV is something to think about in the overall picture.
MYOB said:
What was the car and its age?
It was a 2010 Abarth 500, got a 66 plate 595 Comp now, I just want to look after this one as well as the old and make sure that I am not making a mistake by garaging a wet damp car.sortedcossie said:
I have this exact problem too as I cannot leave the car on the drive overnight, it has to be strictly garaged if on our premises for insurance.
We have a 1960's semi with integral garage, up and over door, concrete floor, partial flat roof with a double radiator on one wall. It's got two ventilation bricks an an internal door to the main house. The car has multiple layers of good quality wax sealant that is stripped and reapplied yearly depending on use. The underside was waxoyled from new from the inside out, and that has been topped up a few times.
After speaking to the garage that did the paint resto, if I put the car away after being used in rain it's put away wet then as soon as possible back out for a wash/dry and use of detailing spray where required. This doesn't deal with the underside having been got wet, but the waxoyl has so far done it's job well.
If the car is parked on the drive and we're hit with rain, then I dry the passenger side as much as I can and put the car away. I use a number of very, very soft MF cloths. Once the car is in I then do the roof, back, front and drivers side as much as is reasonably possible. Then once better weather applies it's hand washed and properly dried again.
I'm about to purchase an air dryer too having borrowed a mates, as that'll make it easier too.
The above isn't ideal, but i'm yet to do any damage with that process.
The air dryer is a good idea. Does the waxoyle make a big difference in your opinion?We have a 1960's semi with integral garage, up and over door, concrete floor, partial flat roof with a double radiator on one wall. It's got two ventilation bricks an an internal door to the main house. The car has multiple layers of good quality wax sealant that is stripped and reapplied yearly depending on use. The underside was waxoyled from new from the inside out, and that has been topped up a few times.
After speaking to the garage that did the paint resto, if I put the car away after being used in rain it's put away wet then as soon as possible back out for a wash/dry and use of detailing spray where required. This doesn't deal with the underside having been got wet, but the waxoyl has so far done it's job well.
If the car is parked on the drive and we're hit with rain, then I dry the passenger side as much as I can and put the car away. I use a number of very, very soft MF cloths. Once the car is in I then do the roof, back, front and drivers side as much as is reasonably possible. Then once better weather applies it's hand washed and properly dried again.
I'm about to purchase an air dryer too having borrowed a mates, as that'll make it easier too.
The above isn't ideal, but i'm yet to do any damage with that process.
Gary C said:
Put a wet car in a garage with no ventilation you will just end up with the worst conditions for corrosion, Humid air with a bit of warmth from the cooling car. Mix that with a bit of salt from the roads and anything not protected will rust like mad.
Leave the garage door open and let the air circulate or if its not raining, let it dry outside is ok
Best to have a condensing air dehumidifier in a carcoon type thingy (but don't desiccate it or you will have problems with leather etc)
This is my biggest worry is the humid air from the heat of the car just making it sweat basically, yup good tip on the garage door, will do that. I think I do need to improve the ventilation within my garage, the dehumidifier is a good call. Is there any other options I could do?Leave the garage door open and let the air circulate or if its not raining, let it dry outside is ok
Best to have a condensing air dehumidifier in a carcoon type thingy (but don't desiccate it or you will have problems with leather etc)
mwstewart said:
Pica-Pica said:
No. UV degradation for paint is a major test.
Well unfortunately it doesn't work to the degree that the paint isn't affected. There is a marked difference between cars stored differently. The same applies to lights, brightwork, and especially interior trim.Gassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff