Car Storage Best Practices

If you are not planning on using your car for an extended period of time, the best thing for you to do is to store it. By storing your car, you can prevent corrosion, protect it from theft, and prohibit the sun’s harmful rays from destroying the exterior paint job. It doesn’t matter if your car is your prized possession or simply an overused hunk-of-metal, storing it is important for its (and your!) safety.

Here are a few things that you should do before -

1. Prep the car for storage.

   Change the engine coolant, engine oil, hydraulic brake, hydraulic clutch, and windshield washer fluid. Make sure the gas tank is filled.

   
   

   Do not engage the parking brake because the brake pads may fuse together with the rear brakes.

   
   

   Most car batteries do not weather storage well. Thus, if you want to keep your battery from wasting away, remove it and charge it with battery tenders.

   
   

   The interior of the car is important to prep as well. Vacuum everything you can think of: the passenger seat, underneath the seats, underneath the footpads, inside the cup-holders, etc. Then, wipe down everything with a wet rag (but go easy on the soap). In short, leave no dust behind.

   
   

   Prepping the inside of the car is essential to helping your car make it through storage. If not, you may find a few batches of mold growing for you when your car comes out of hibernation.

   
   

   Finally, the best way to prepare the exterior of the car for storage is to take it to a car wash. This will help prevent corrosion. Have it washed and dried (thoroughly!) to protect the paint from bubbles and the bottom from rust. Then, wax the paint.

   
   
2. Find a safe, dry, and clean place to store your automobile.

   The best location to store your car is a place away from the neighborhood kids, mold, and dust. No offense to the Joneses, but soccer balls, Frisbees, and snowballs all take their toll on the exterior of your ride.

   
   

   For most car owners, that place is probably the garage. (No surprise there.) An even better place to store it is a garage with a solid, concrete pad. If your garage is dusty, moldy, and/or very unclean, it would be a good idea to clean it before you store your prized possession in it.

   
   
3. Use the best car cover possible.
   

   For the exterior of your car, this is the most important step. While you can wash, dry, and wax the outside of your automobile, having a car cover will ensure that, over time, your car remains safe.

   
   

   Unfortunately, most car covers only 'cover' your car, leaving your car exposed to the electrochemical reactions that cause rust and corrosion. In other words, you could spend $200 on a car cover that does not protect your car from corrosion.

   
   

   Fortunately, Zerust Car Covers fulfill all the traditional benefits of a car cover—protection from dust and water—but also provide unique corrosion prevention without intensive and expensive upkeep.

   
   

   All Zerust® Car Covers are woven with corrosion inhibiting formula to provide Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor protection on the surface of your automobile. The Car Cover fulfills all the traditional uses of a car cover—protection from water and sun —but also provides a unique protection against rust and corrosion without intensive upkeep. The rust and corrosion inhibitors will remain active for 5 years after the date of purchase. It is a perfect way to keep your car looking new, even during the worst that winter has to offer.