Abstract
The aim of this study is to find out whether winter salting influences the frequency of vehicle cleaning, the use of cleaning agents, and corrosion. A questionnaire was sent to 2 400 car owners living in four Swedish regions with different winter maintenance strategies. It is shown that if salting of roads ceases, the washing frequency would decrease by approximately 30 per cent and the use of degreasing agents and windscreen washing liquid would decrease by between 40 and 70 per cent. Significant differences exist both between the island of Gotland (not salted) and the coast (salted), and between the provinces of Västerbotten (little salt used) and Västernorrland (salted).