We’ve already had one major winter storm in McHenry this winter. Weather, such as this, seriously tests the integrity of your car’s weather strips. The weather strips are around your windows and doors. If they’re failing, cold air and moisture will get in.

The cold air is a nuisance in a McHenry winter when you’re trying to stay warm in your car. Who wants a cold draft on the back of their neck while driving down Rt. 120? Your car’s heating system may already struggle to keep the car’s cabin warm. Leaking weather stripping makes the heating system work that much harder. Leaks may even make it impossible for the heating system to keep up.

That’s especially true when winter really throws its worst at us this winter. If the weather stripping is a problem when the temperature is just below freezing, how will the weather stripping do when the temperature drops below zero.

Imagine a night when its 12-degrees below and the wind is howling. Leaking weather stripping is like an open window to allow all that bitterly cold air in.

But, what about moisture coming through your weather stripping?

The cold air will make you uncomfortable. The moisture will do the same to your car.

Cars are designed to be fairly watertight. This is because of the corrosive power of moisture, particularly moisture laden with road salt and other elements. Moisture that has access through leaky weather stripping can rapidly increase the process where rust invades your automobile.

Take a look at the weather strip at the bottom of your car’s side windows. Imagine if the water has free and easy access beyond the weatherstrip where the windows are lowered. The moisture will drip down into the door and into the window mechanism.

If weather stripping isn’t doing its job, moisture can attack your car’s unibody chassis. Those who have experienced this problem can describe how they noticed, one day, that the doors were binding when opening and closing. Why? Because the chassis below the doors was rusted and drooping.

While a quality auto repair shop can fix many problems, fixing a rotted chassis isn’t often financially practical. The solution is an ounce of prevention and that starts with maintaining the integrity of your car’s weather stripping. This coming McHenry winter isn’t going to let up. You can’t either.