You know that road salt can stain your clothes, your carpets, and any other fabric that is exposed to melting salty ice.
Or do you?
If you're like most Americans, you've always wondered what road salt really is. It's actually the same stuff as your table salt, NaCl, or "sodium chloride." It's just been chopped up in a coarser grit.
That isn't what's staining your used car's carpeted foot wells, however.
Road salt has two "secret" ingredients: calcium carbonate, and magnesium carbonate.
Don't worry, these two chemicals are harmless. In fact, magnesium carbonate was originally used by Morton Salt in 1911 to keep their salt flowing even in humid weather (hence the umbrella girl logo).
In road salt, the carbonates serve the same purpose, and keep the road salt flowing when it gets wet with snow.
To remove the chalky white streaks they leave behind on your car's carpet, spray them with white vinegar diluted in equal parts water. Chemistry goes to work, and breaks the stain down so it can be easily mopped up with a towel.
We hope we were able to detangle the complicated story of road salt for you. At Wedekind Motors, we like to help make the complex seem simple. That's why we think you'll love working with our finance center, where we shed light on the used car loan process.