If you are living in particularly cold climates, where you see a lot of rain, snow and sleet - chances are you are well-acquainted with rust.

Rust - the proud car owner's biggest enemy. But what exactly is it about rust that sends motorists running for the hills? First of all, rust is especially unpleasant to look at. With the first signs of rust goes the showroom shine you worked so hard to maintain. Worse of all - rust can also damage the longevity and safety of your car. The reason being rust can weaken the structural strength of your car, potentially making it more of a danger in accidents.

The time to prevent rust is during the autumn/winter seasons - when the early signs of rust can start to creep in.

For a beautiful, rust-free vehicle come spring - see these top tips.

Tip #1: Get your car waxed. It's best to get your car waxed during autumn, before the harsher weather arrives. With such a wide and varied range of waxes now available on the market (see - rust proof paint), you can easily find a high-quality car wax that'll not only give your car a beautiful shine, but will give it the protection it needs in time for winter.

Tip #2: Wise up to winter! Once winter hits and the cold, snowy weather comes, extra care needs to be taken to be sure that your car is kept rust-free. During extremely cold weather, never try to wash your car. To start with, who would want to wash their car in sub-zero temperatures? Secondly - the snow and ice on your car is in fact helping to keep grit and salt off the car's paintwork, so you should not remove it.

Tip #3: Keep floors clean. Try to avoid bringing wet or snow covered shoes in the car. Wet shoes and snow will seep through your car's carpets, eventually resulting in rust-covered floorboards. Consider purchasing rubber mats for your car floor and ask other passengers to kick off any snow or slush that's stuck to their shoes.

Tip #4: Park your car outside. Bringing your car in from the cold into a warm garage might seem a logical idea, nonetheless, all this will do is create the perfect environment for rust to develop. A warm garage will melt away any ice on your car, allowing any grit or salt on your car's surface to corrode the paint.

Tip #5: Catch it early. Once you have spotted rust on your vehicle, it'll only become worse. So - if you do spot the early signs of rust, make sure you treat it with a good-quality anti rust spray. With the right product and careful application, you can stop any rust in its tracks - ensuring that your car is kept beautiful and well-maintained all year-round.

For more advice and information on how to protect your car from the damaging effects of rust, see -hand cleaner.

Are you living in an area of the world particularly at risk of lengthy, harsh winters? If this is so, you're probably searching for ways in which to keep your car beautiful and rust-free - irrespective of the weather.

We all struggle to keep our cars looking their best during the winter season (see - Bilt Hamber car wax ). Ice, mud, the wet - the winter elements can certainly put a dampener on our endeavours to keep our cars looking their best. Nonetheless, what a lot of people forget during this cold time of year is the impact that road salt can have on our car's health.

During especially icy weather, road salt is used to make the roads safer. Whilst road salt is absolutely essential for safety reasons, the impact that it can have on our car's exteriors is particularly troubling. When the salt sticks to the car, it can result in the early stages of rust - which left untreated may become a real eyesore on your vehicle.

So what can be done to prevent the danger of rust?

Listed here are 4 top tips for preventing the damaging results of road salt:

1.When the roads are being salted, try and spend as little time as you possibly can driving. If you see the salt trucks on the road, then it's likely that the weather is predicted to turn icy. So, at least try and avoid making any unnecessary journeys until the trucks are off of the road.

2.Keep your car cool! Road salt poses not a problem whilst the weather is still cold. However, it's when a car picks up loads of salt and is then kept in a warm garage that the most damage is done. Warm salt is when it is at its most corrosive and can cause damage through rust (see - Rust Removal ).

3.Once the weather permits it, have your car cleaned! Doing this (even if you expect the bad weather to soon return) will assist you to rid your car of any traces of salt, giving your car's exterior a clean slate.

4.Prior to the arrival of the warmer months, make sure you check that the underside of your car is carefully cleaned. As mentioned above, salt grit only gets corrosive when it becomes warm. So, the entire underbelly of your car thoroughly cleaned before the arrival of summer, to prevent any serious rusting from taking place.

Rust can be a big problem for any vehicle owner- nevertheless, the key is prevention! Prevent the early stages of rust from setting in and you can be sure that your car will continue to look good for longer. Even better still, investing in a high quality rust-remover will help you to achieve peace of mind and can offer you a quick, effective solution for when the early stages of rust begins to appear.

For more information or guidance on how to best protect your car, see - about Bilt Hamber .