Winter is coming and everyone needs to know how to make sure they are able to keep their car running in tip-top shape. Here are some ways to keep it in good shape this winter.
1) Clean the inside of your windows with shaving cream.
Yes, this one sounds a little weird but pops up on several lists. So, it must work pretty well. All you do is spread shaving cream on the inside of your car windows and wipe it off. That’s it. To be sure, you will have to re-apply every so often. But, it seems like a simple way to keep your windows from fogging up.
2) Use cooking spray to keep your doors from freezing up.
All you do is spray the areas where the door would form a seal when closed. After spraying, wipe off the excess. This will waterproof it and keep it from freezing shut on those wintry mornings.
3) Raise your wipers in the air so they are not touching your windshield.
This is probably one of the easiest to do. All you do is lift up your windshield wipers so they stick up in the air. This will keep them from freezing to your windshield.
4) Put socks on your windshield wipers.
Once you have your windshield wipers raised, you can further protect them by sliding socks over the top. This will protect them by keeping ice from forming on them. Simply slide the socks off in the morning and you are ready to go.
5) Slide gallon-sized plastic bags over the side mirrors of your car.
Place the plastic bags over the mirrors and keep them in place with rubber bands. When you come out in the morning and take the plastic bags off, you should find clean and clear, ice-free mirrors.
6) Use hand sanitizer on your keys and WD-40 on your locks.
The alcohol in the hand sanitizer will melt the ice and enable you to put your key into the lock. Also, spraying WD-40 into your locks will prevent ice from building up inside. This will ensure that you will be able to get into your car when you need to.
7) Use a straw to blow hot air into the locks to unfreeze them.
Take a drinking straw and put it on the lock of your car and then blow. This will take the hot, body temperature air from your lungs and put it directly onto the lock thereby melting the ice. Then quickly unlock your car before it freezes again.
8) Use a lighter to heat up your car key.
If all else fails, you can use a lighter to heat up your car key. Just be careful not to burn the fingers with which you are holding the key as you heat it up.
9) Keep a bag or two of heavy cat litter in the trunk of your car.
Keeping bags of cat litter in your car will accomplish a couple of things. First, it will add weight to the rear of your car. This will help your tires with traction if you have a rear-wheel drive vehicle. Also, if you get stuck, pouring some of the cat litter onto the snow under your tires will give them traction so you can get unstuck.
10) Use your floor mats as traction under your tires.
So you forgot your kitty litter, huh? Well, no worries. Just grab your floor mats and throw them under your car tires. This should give your tires enough traction to get unstuck from whatever you got stuck in, to begin with.
11) Throw an old rug over your windshield after parking.
Okay, let’s be honest, maybe a small tarp would be the way to go here. Whatever you choose to use, just make sure that it is big enough to cover your windshield with enough left over to shut your car doors over both ends. Otherwise, when it gets windy your tarp or rug will blow off your car and that won’t help you. This will keep ice and snow off your windshield making scraping off your car in the morning a non-issue.
12) Use a credit card as an ice scraper.
So, how many times do you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have access to a proper ice scraper? Maybe it broke or you forgot or whatever. But, the bottom line is, you don’t have one. A good idea is to pull out your wallet and use an old credit card to scrape your windows off. Make sure it’s an old card or one you won’t mind losing in case it breaks in half as you scrape. Another idea is a sturdy spatula. These can easily be used to scrape ice off your windows. Again, sturdy is the name of the game here. A flimsy one won’t get the job done.
13) Defog with cat litter.
Using silica-based cat litter, you can defog your windows. Simply put the cat litter into a couple of socks and tie off the ends so it won’t spill out. Then place the socks on the dash of your car. The cat litter will absorb the moisture in your car that creates the fog on your windshield. You should come out to a fog-free car in the morning.
14) Vinegar and water= a cheap DIY de-icer.
Three parts vinegar to one part water is all you need. Put it in a spray bottle and spray it on your windshield. It will melt the ice making it much easier to scrape it off.
15) Never, ever use hot water on your windshield.
Okay, this article is supposed to be about what you should do to make your car ready for winter. However, this one is worth mentioning. DO NOT put hot water on your windshield!! The sudden introduction of very hot water onto the very cold windshield will cause your windshield to shatter. Nobody needs that on a cold Monday morning.
