As winter draws closer, it brings freezing cold temperatures and snow with it, and anyone who lives in an area with a lot of snowfall understands that the cold and freezing weather does not do any favors for your car.
The cold temperatures, snow, and ice can take a serious toll on your car and damage it in many different ways, which can lead to a decrease in the overall life of your car.
Now it is impossible to avoid these cold temperatures, so we just have to make sure that we are well equipped to deal with the cold.
So, here we have compiled a list of some amazing tips that will help you keep your car safe from the effects of the cold temperature and the snow and ice.
Check them out.
1. Get a Block Heater for Your Car
Starting a car when it is very cold is very damaging to it. In the winter, you should always heat your car up before you drive it anywhere.
Also, in the winter, your car can use up more fuel than it normally would when it starts.
This is because the mechanical components of the car need more energy to get lubricated and expand.
All of these problems can be sorted out by using a block heater before you switch on the ignition.
In the winter, if a car is not preheated, it can consume around 15% extra fuel for the first 20 kilometers, and the damage that the car takes for this initial time is a whole other thing to worry about.
Block heaters are also environmentally friendly as the emission control systems of the car work earlier if the car is heated up.
Four to six times less emissions are released from preheated cars.
2. Don’t Rock Your Car If It Gets Stuck In a Snowbank
Getting stuck in a snowbank is one of the most frustrating things that can happen in the snow.
If you get stuck in such a situation don’t rock the car back and forth to get out of it, doing so can damage the transmission of the car a lot.
A smart hack to get out of a snowbank without damaging the car is to keep a pair of tread plates or wooden planks in your car.
Place the planks under the tires of your car to increase the traction, and you can easily reverse out of the snowbank without damaging your car.
3. Place a Towel on Your Windshield
Protecting the exterior of your car is also essential in the winter. A common problem that car owners have to face in the winter is frozen windshields, which can be damaging for the car, and scraping ice off your windshield every day is also very frustrating.
The best way to protect your windshield from freezing is to place a towel over it. This is a super-effective hack and prevents the wipers from sticking to the windshield.
4. Get a Snow Shelter for Your Car
If it is possible, then you should always park your car inside during rough and cold weather, but if you don’t have a garage, you should definitely invest in a snow shelter.
A snow shelter can effectively protect the paint and windows of the car from the snow and ice, which can damage the exterior of the car a lot.
Snow shelters are easily affordable, and they are also quite easy to install.
5. Deal With Frozen Door Locks Properly
Another issue that the winter brings with it for drivers is frozen door locks.
Many people use hot water to melt the ice in the lock, which is a mistake and may work for the time being, but all that water that goes into your locks is bound to cool down, and it will freeze again.
The best way to defrost your door locks is by using a hairdryer in the high-temperature setting.
Even the extremely frozen locks can be easily fixed by using a hairdryer without damaging the car.
6. Wrap the Side Mirrors of the Car with Plastic Bags
If you don’t have a garage to park your car in to protect it from the winter weather, things can get very difficult.
A common problem many people who park their cars outside face is foggy and frosted side mirrors.
A great way to avoid this problem is to cover your side simply mirrors with plastic bags. Doing so will make sure that you get clear and unfrozen side mirrors every morning.
Author Bio:
Mark Hilton wrote this post. He is a digital nomad who is obsessed with automobiles and loves road traveling. He has worked in several automobile companies and has been covering technology online for over five years. In order to know more about his site, you can visit https://carifex.com/.
