Not Enough Pressure

The main reason that rain doesn’t clean your car is because most rain doesn’t have the pressure or force to remove the dirt from your vehicle and take it away. Rain, with the exception of very heavy storms, will only lift up the dirt on your vehicle only to have it moved to another part of the vehicle or worse, have it baked into the paint from the sun.



Not to mention, rain doesn’t have shampoo in it. Car wash soap is specifically designed to lubricate the car as you wash it so you are not scratching it with dirt, or even the towels you are using.

When rain water picks up dirt and moves it around you risk scratching the paint. No, you won’t get any serious scratches, but overtime, it will affect your paint.

You Don’t Dry The Vehicle

Normally when you wash your car you dry it immediately after. If not, you risk leaving waterspots on your paint. These not only look bad, but they can damage your car’s clear coat. Drying your car is the second half of washing it. Washing and drying go hand in hand. You shouldn’t have one without the other.



When the rain hits your car it lifts up the dirt as noted earlier. If that dirt and/or water is left there, the water will eventually dry leaving the dirt on your vehicle. So if anything, the rain will just move dirt around.

Your Environment

Your environment is another factor at play. Do you live in the city with lots of pollution? What happens to the rainwater on its way down? I’m no scientist and I don’t have any data but I would think that rain falling through the sky with gases and other unclean air and dust would not be the cleanest water.



Or do you live out in the country with dirt roads? Dirt roads will easily kick up dirt onto your vehicle and that’s no surprise. No matter where you live your environment will affect the rain that touches your vehicle.

Now that you can see that rain does not do any favors for cleaning your car, this leaves us with an obvious question. Should you bother washing your car if it’s going to rain soon?

Should I Wash My Car If It’s Going To Rain Soon?

I struggle with this all the time, My car gets dirty and I want to go wash it. But then I check the weather and I see it’s going to rain the next day or even in a few hours. Should I wash my car now only to have to do it again?

This is a tricky situation.

If you wait to wash your car the dirt and waterspots you have on your car will be baking into your paint. However, if you do wash your car you will likely have to do it again after.

Note: if you do wash your car just before a rainstorm your car will have less dirt than if you had not washed it. The rain can’t pick up dirt that isn’t there, However, it can pick up dirt from your surroundings and can leave waterspots.

On paper the solution is simple, the less time your car sits dirty the better. So you should always be washing your car. Obviously we can’t always be washing cars. This is simply impractical.



The best thing you can do is find easy, convenient ways to wash your car. You can use waterless or rinseless washes. They are quick, more convenient and they get the job done.

Prevention

Aside from having easy, convenient ways to wash your car, the best thing to do is avoid letting your car take a shower in the rain. Park your car indoors if you can.

Another way you can prevent the rain from hurting your car is to have proper protection. A wax, sealant, or coating are all great ways of protecting your paint.

These all act as protection, Not only do they give your ride a great shine, but they can (depending on product and brand) can make your vehicle hydrophobic. Meaning water either beads, or sheets off. Think of your car as water resistant.

These forms of protection vary by product, brand,application, and much more.



A Traditional wax is made from trees in Brazil. A sealant is more or less the same thing but it is artificially made. A ceramic coating is Sio2. IT bonds at the molecular level. It is basically a sheet of glass covering your vehicles. These are a little more complex and a bit more expensive because they are supposed to be permanent, All of these forms of protection will help to one degree or another by limiting the dirt and dust that will end up on your paint. These will also limit the water that stays on your vehicle.

It’s simple, less water on your vehicle, less water spots. Less dirt and your car will be less dirty.

I waxed one half of my hood. Can you tell which side?



This means that you can go a little longer without a wash, thus saving you time and product.

Conclusion

In conclusion, rain won’t clean your car. In fact it will only hurt it. Avoid exposing your car to the rain and find a good form of paint protection that you like.