Tyre Care & Maintenance
Cleaning your tyres effectively can help to improve your road safety and enhance their life.
Road Debris
Careful tyre cleaning enables you to remove road debris like grit and stones before they potentially work in to the tyre casing, helping to prolong tyre life and avoid serious tyre damage.
You can do this by hosing down your tyres to remove large clumps of dirt and then carefully scrubbing your tyre with a soft bristled tyre brush. If you do find stones lodged in your tyre you can remove them using your hands. Avoid using anything metal to remove stones as this can cause tyre damage.
If the stones seem to be lodged in and you cannot easily remove them, contact a tyre specialist for advice.
Brake Dust
As well as removing dirt and other foreign bodies, cleaning your tyres frequently can help you to remove harmful brake dust from your tyres and wheels.
Brake dust is the grey-black particles that you may have noticed on your tyres and wheels, it is predominantly made up of iron and is caused by braking and can be difficult to remove.
When you brake, the rotor pushes against the brake pads in order to slow your vehicle down. As this happens part of the brake pad wears away and the residual dust can stick to your wheels and tyres.
Whilst not dangerous, if left, brake dust can rust and corrode and eventually eat in to the surface of the wheel (surface pitting), so it is important that you clean it off your tyres.
The best way to clean brake dust is with a specialist tyre spray that you can buy from most automotive shops. Select a product suitable for the wheels that you have, such as alloy or diamond cut, and follow the instructions on the bottle. Follow the product application by scrubbing your tyre with a soft bristle brush.
Cleaning Tips
- Use separate buckets of water, sponges and brushes on your tyres and wheels to avoid spreading grime to the body of your vehicle
- Invest in a small tyre brush or even a paintbrush to help you clean all the hard to reach places on your wheels
- Always rinse your tyres with clean cold water after cleaning to remove any excess cleaning solution
- Dry excess water from your wheels with a clean microfiber cloth to help avoid rusting
Visually Inspect your Tyres
Cleaning your tyres also gives you a good opportunity to check them visually for signs of damage. Things that you should be looking out for include:
Cuts – general wear and tear such as clipping a kerb or hitting debris in the road can cause damage such as cuts. Some cuts may be harmless but you should always have them checked over by a tyre specialist just in case. If the cut causes any tyre cords to be exposed we would advise that you avoid driving on the tyre as this can be extremely dangerous.
Lumps and Bulges – usually caused by impact, lumps and bulges can result in tyre failure if you continue to drive on a tyre with this type of damage. Unfortunately, lumps and bulges usually cannot be repaired as the internal structure of the tyre has become compromised, so you must have your tyre replaced as soon as possible.
Cracks – It is unlikely that your tyres will suffer cracking before they wear out as this is a sign of aging, however, this can be common with tyres that are not often used such as caravan and motorhome tyres. If you do find cracks in the sidewall of your tyre then you should have them inspected by a tyre specialist as they may have become brittle and unsafe.
Checking your tyres regularly can help you to notice tyre damage before they become illegal or unsafe, so you should frequently undertake this task.
As well as checking your tyres for damage, you should also regularly monitor your tyre tread and tyre pressures to enhance your safety on the road.
For further information on tyre safety or if you find any signs of damage on your tyres contact your local Tyre Group branch where our trained tyre specialists will be happy to offer advice and guidance.
