The recent winter storm that struck Arkansas covered the area with ice and snow, prompting some officials to place salt on the roads. But that salt could be harmful to vehicles, officials warn.
Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said road crews dispensed tons of salt on local roadways to prevent cars from slipping and sliding.
"In a normal snow event, we usually dispense about 150 to 200 tons of salt mix," Sprouse said. "This particular event, we used over 1,500 tons."
Codi Smith, the manager at Razor Wash in Fayetteville, said while the salt is helpful with road conditions, it can also damage the cars it sticks to.
"If the salt is not removed, it will really start to eat away at that paint and cause the paint to start chipping away," Smith said. "It will do the same thing if it gets inside the rims."
Smith said close to 400 vehicles used his car wash Monday. He said the car wash saw almost 300 cars Sunday.
"We have seen a huge number of vehicles after the winter weather that we've had due to the salt, gravel and sand," said Smith. "Today was one of our biggest days."
Amanda Long took her vehicle through Razor Wash on Monday night.
"The first reason we decided to was because my husband told us we had to wash the car," Long said. "He just is really worried about all of the salt that gets on the vehicle and it setting there and doing damage to the paint."
Smith said a car wash is often the best solution to avoid damage to a vehicle.
"You don't even have to get out of your car," said Smith. "You just drive. The conveyer takes you right through the wash and gets all that grime from the road cleaned off."
Experts say salt is activated by heat, so the corrosive effects will speed up when the temperatures start to rise.