Unless you park in a garage or don’t have a sprinkler system, chances are your car paint looks a little rough. While many people don’t think twice about parking their car in the driveway, if you aren’t careful, that sprinkler could damage your car’s paint in as little as one hour. You might not notice it at first, but over time, sprinkler water can ruing your vehicle, even if you do regular washing maintenance.

Harsh sprinkler water will quickly damage car paint

In many places, sprinkler water is non-potable, and it is not as heavily filtered as our standard drinking water. This is because the filtering process isn’t necessary when watering your grass, and is the reason you shouldn’t drink water from a sprinkler. But that’s also what makes the water too hard for your car’s paint. The minerals suspended in hard water will damage your car paint. Worse yet, if it’s hot and the sun is out, damage can start in less than an hour.

How to protect your paint from a sprinkler

The obvious solution to this problem is to keep your car as far away from sprinklers as possible, but that isn’t always possible. There are ways that you can protect your car’s paint if getting sprinkler water on it is inevitable. Giving your vehicle a no-touch wash once a week with something like a pressure washer can help reduce the hard water stains. But it won’t eliminate them altogether. Plus, if you aren’t washing your car correctly, it could lead to other problems.

You can also have a detailer install a professional ceramic coating on your car’s paint. The ceramic coating seals in your car’s paint by creating a chemical bond with the clear coat. However, it will not repair the damage that is already done. If you don’t want to shell out to money for ceramic coating, keeping your car correctly waxed can also minimize the effects of the sprinkler water.

You can also use clear paint-protection film, though this can stain from the minerals in the water as well. And if you’ve already got hard water stains, a professional paint correction is the only way to get back to square one.

Your paint will become dull over time

If you allow your car to sit in the sprinklers, the hard water will stain your car’s clear coat. It’s more noticeable than the regular water stains we see often. In addition, it can damage your car’s paint and require paint repair and correction. While it doesn’t necessitate a new paint job, it will mean shelling out for pro-level paint correction.

You don’t have to own a show car to care about your car. Even if you aren’t religious with your car wash schedule, that doesn’t mean you should sprinklers damage your car’s paint. Sprinklers can’t always be avoided, but with some simple tricks, you can avoid ruining your car’s paint.