How clean do you need to keep a winch?

I am considering picking up a winch bumper and going that route with a permanent mounted winch. However, I need to clean the crap off my headlights just to see every couple days. A winch would be a sand/salt magnet this time of year if on the road at all. And then the mud and dirt in the summer... It seems to me that this stuff would trash a winch. Are they pretty well sealed against this kind of stuff, or would a winch thats constantly dirty in these conditions not last very long?

you could just get a soft winch cover, and keep it covered until you needed it. i'd say that would cut down the majority of the grime that gets in it

I'd say they are sealed pretty well. I've had my Warn completely submerged under water, then used it about 20 minutes later and it worked just fine.

Do the covers stay on pretty well? and how much do they cover? Are some winches more prone to dirty condition damage than others?

Ramsey makes a really nice cover that is kinda stretchy almost like a neoprene material that is fairly in expensive and it straps right under the motor one one side and the solenoid on the other, of course depending on what kind of winch it is. Good friends just bought one and it covers his s9000 perfectly. As to winches being well sealed, again depending on winch and brand, most good winches are sealed. Warn, Ramsey, Superwinch all good. Milemarkers depending on model, but some of your cheaper winches aren't sealed all that well from the factory, but you can take care of that with some household caulking.