Plunge It
Whether it’s by commuting every day or just running errands, odds are you spend plenty of time in the car. And while you’re sure you know your vehicle inside and out, there’s probably a few nifty tricks that you were unaware of that can drastically enhance a good portion of your driving experience.
From making sure your mirror’s not frozen in the winter to keeping your hot pizza from falling off the seat to even extending the range of your key fob, here are some brilliant tricks that will undoubtedly make your life on the road much easier. Check out these simple, genius, and unconventional secrets that real drivers have discovered that you won’t find in the car manual…
Prepare The Windshield Wipers Ahead Of Time
Dents are inevitable and fixing them at an auto body repair shop can end up being pretty pricey. What’s more is that most dent cases are not self-inflicted; they can happen for a number of reasons, from another car bumping you to another driver opening a car door too hard.
Try grabbing a plunger to remove all of those normal-sized dents. First, pour some hot water over the dented area and then put the plunger to it. Push in and pull out as hard as possible and continue this process repeatedly until the dent has disappeared from sight.
Pool Noodles Help Avoid Mini Garage Accidents
Windshield wipers tend to stick to the windshield during especially frigid temperatures. Knowing how valuable the wipers come into play during winter driving, this can be disastrous. Avoid this scenario by placing socks over them to shield them from the harsh weather conditions.
It’s a good idea to just get used to keeping a pair of long socks in the glove compartment and take them out when necessary. An even better suggestion is to Put them on the windshield wipers overnight if a storm is headed in the nearby direction so you can skip the fuss when you wake up.
Potato Precipitation
Garages aren’t always built with too much ample space on either side. That basically means that you’re never really fully aware of how much room is on the left or the right when you open up the door. You only find out how close you are to the wall once you park and you scratch the door.
To avoid those dreaded scratches or dings, just attach a pool noodle to either side of the garage. When it comes time to open the doors, the pool noodle will stop the door from hitting the cement siding, therefore cushioning the blow, and saving you a trip to the mechanic.
Say Goodbye To Frozen Mirrors
Potatoes aren’t just a great source of starch for your diet; they can also help your car’s windshield when it comes to rough weather conditions. If you’re expecting cold weather or hard rain, get a potato ready.
Slice the potato in half and rub the cut end on any or all of your windows. The sugar inside the potato will actually stop ice from forming on the window and will prevent rain droplets from sticking as well. They should have taught this one in science class at school.
The Power of Toothpaste
Scraping ice during the winter months can be super time-consuming. It can add a good portion of your travel time when you’re already in a rush to get out the door. Plus, not everyone remembers to wake up early to get those defrosters on. For those that don’t own a remote control start vehicle, there’s a solution.
To entirely avoid icy sideview mirrors, the night before you suspect an overnight freeze, put a Ziploc bag over them. Secure the bags with either a rubber band or a piece of tape that won’t peel the paint. It’ll be near impossible for water and cold temperatures to seep through.
Keep That Pizza Right Where It Is
Headlights need to be bright and visible so that drivers can see in the dark and when the weather takes a turn for the worse. Unfortunately, these extremely crucial lights can get dirty awfully quick, and it’s hard to even tell when that happens until you need them.
Need an easy fix? Cover the headlights with toothpaste and let the substance sit for a little while to soak in. After about fifteen minutes, rinse it off. The tube of the toothpaste will help remove that unwanted fogginess, clearing up the road ahead.
Make Your Own Car Wash
While on the subject of ensuring your hot food stays at its most optimal conditions, here’s another gem for you. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of picking up a fresh pizza and inhaling that cheesy aroma as you’re counting down the minutes until you’re home. But suddenly, that simple right turn you made sends the box flying.
To avoid this disaster where half the cheese is now stuck to the cardboard and your dinner now resembles a Picasso, simply put a bottle under the box. Since the seats are uneven to begin with, this should level out the pizza box while it rests comfortably until you’re ready to chow down.
Tire Pressure Check
This one will save you from having to take your car to the car wash the next time an inconsiderate pigeon leaves you an unpleasant surprise. You can wash your car from the comfort of your own driveway and without experiencing the back pains of a sponge and bucket.
All you need to do is unscrew the top of a hose, add some dish soap (many use Dawn) to it, and screw the top back on. Then spray your car with the soap and water mixture, making your car all sudsy. Then once the soap runs out, rinse your ride off. It’s so simple and effective.
Don’t Rush The Gas Fill Up
Checking the amount of pressure that you have in your tires is a good idea to do at least once every month. First things first though, be sure to try and use the same gauge that you were using the month prior so that you know the readings are accurate.
Another helpful hint that you should keep in mind? Check the pressure of the tires the very first thing in the morning before any of your driving has been done that day. If you find that your tires need air, give some additional love to your wheels and pump some into them.
Seat Warmers Can Also Be Food Warmers
Everyone wants to be in and out of the gas station when they’re filling up their ride, which is certainly understandable. However, you may want to pay attention to this one because actually pumping your gas too quickly can end up being bad for the car.
Try to transition over to pumping your gas at half the normal speed that you’re used to. Also, don’t tense up on the grip of the handle when pressing down on it. If this method is nailed right, the end result will mean less air and more gas in the tank, and less trips to the pump.
Make That Key Fob Range Go Farther
Grabbing takeout on a night when we don’t feel like cooking never seems like a bad idea. But what happens when traffic builds up as you’re being your own delivery man and the food is all cold by the time you make it home? You may get a bunch of frowns instead of thanks.
If your car comes with seat warmers, this one will help save your dinner. Make sure the seats with warmers are empty and place the food directly onto the cushion. Get the heat going and keep it on the whole ride home to ensure your meal stays at the right temperature.
Soak Up The Salt
We’ve all been in that tough situation where you’re walking out of a store into a huge parking lot, with hundreds of other cars. And you simply cannot remember where you parked yours. You press the fob on your car keys repeatedly and listen closely if there are any signs of life from your vehicle, but you don’t hear anything.
While this trick can’t help you remember where you parked, it can help that fob trick work a little bit better. By actually putting the fob for your keys under your chin, and pressing the buttons like that, your body can actually assist in extending its signals. Try this next time and you can thank us later.
A Dangerous Warning
Some locales in the winter months find themselves blanketed in snow. To make the roads more drivable, plows will inevitably drop salt, melting that white powder in the road. But do you know what else melts from exposure to salt? Your car’s bodywork.
While your ride may be able to handle the harsh winters, the salt can make it look less than stellar. Next time you need to drive through salty roads, mix some water and vinegar and spray it under your vehicle.The salt will wash away, and your car will not erode out from under you.
Cupcake Liners For Cup Holders
This car hack is more about being observant than taking any action to optimize the vehicle. If you’ve ever noticed a water bottle sitting on a parked car tire, that should get your attention. This may look like a prank, but it’s actually a warning sign.
A bottle on the tire is a sign for drivers to be aware they’ve been targeted. The wedged bottle is intended to be crushed and make a loud sound when the driver pulls out. The driver instinctively will stop and inspect the noise, inviting waiting robbers to pounce. This car hack can save many drivers from becoming victims in dangerous situations.
Don’t Pull Too Far Into The Garage
Just about anything and everything under the sun manages collect itself in your car, including dust, crumbs, and wrappers. The cup holders of the car end up seeing the worst of it. Due to their convenient location and are often filled with some sort of food, it’s rather difficult to try and keep these suckers clean.
Good thing cupcake holders were invented. Instead of taking extra, unnecessary time to meticulously clean every morsel from those gunky and sticky cup holders every week, drop a paper cupcake liner in there and when it gets dirty, just replace it with a fresh one.
Hand Sanitizer Has Other Uses Too
Don’t want to pull too far into the garage? Not knowing the remaining amount of allotted space there is can be tricky. You don’t want to risk bumping your car on the inside of your garage. That’s where a tennis ball and a strong piece of string comes in handy.
Attach a tennis ball to a string, and hang the string from the ceiling. Make sure the car never goes beyond where the tennis ball falls mid-air. Need to troubleshoot this scenario? Park the car where it’s supposed to be and then hang the string with the tennis ball at the end. You’ll have the perfect ball drop for where your car needs to be.
Nail Polish Can Help Cracks On The Windshield
It’s pretty likely that drivers have a bottle of hand sanitizer lying around the front seat, especially over the last few years. Aside for the bottle you may already have inside the car, make sure to keep some inside the house as well. This is particularly important when the temperatures dip below zero.
In super cold temperatures, it’s possible for the lock of your car door to become frozen and stuck. All that’s needed is a little drop of the gel on the tip of the key, and that bad boy will slide right into the lock in seconds. It’s the alcohol inside the sanitizer that actually breaks through the ice, making sure you’re not left out in the cold.
Car Mats Don’t Always Have To Be Store Bought
Rocks fly around on the highway more often than not, actually managing to crack windshields left and right. Unfortunately, these small cracks can spread over time, becoming as large as the windshield itself, which can become quite dangerous to drive with.
Need to buy some time before you end up deciding to repair that windshield? Just fill the crack in with some clear nail polish and allow it some ample drying time. This can keep some of that cracking at bay and it won’t have the ability to spread any further.
Dryer Wipes Don’t Just Smell Great
Car mats are super useful for keeping unnecessary and unwanted debris and particles off the car floor, like dirt, mud, food, and dust. The thing is, the car mats that come with the car upon purchase won’t last a lifetime, as much as you may want them too.
That usually means others will have to be bought at some point. Instead of paying an arm and a leg for new car mats, grab some carpet scraps that may be just lying around the house and cut out whatever shape is necessary to fit the car’s floor. Now you have some ready-to-use mats.
Falling Through The Cracks
Driving on the highway, especially when there is strong humidity in the air, can be brutal for the hood of the car. Why is that the case? Because so many bugs end up attaching themselves to so many areas of the car, it’s crazy. The bumper always gets the worst of it.
Good thing dryer sheets can tackle that particular problem. Take a dryer sheet and get it damp with some warm water. Rub it over the bug-infested areas and watch them easily drop off in seconds. If some still won’t move, use mini scratching motions to get them off.
Put Some Laundry Baskets In The Trunk
Seeing something fall through the cracks of your car often brings forward the dreaded reality that that item may never be seen again. For example, change always disappears for years. Precious smartphones slip through and only tiny hands can salvage them out.
To avoid having things fall in between these hard-to-reach places, purchase some noodles that you would use for the pool and wedge them in between those narrow gaps. If they’re too long, simply cut them down to the size that works for the vehicle. Say goodbye to lost items in your ride.
Rubber Bands Come In Handy
Stuff just happens to pile up in the trunk of our car without us even realizing. Making sure items are tidy in the car can be tough and it’s not often a priority for many people until they don’t have enough room for their groceries. There is a simple, and inexpensive fix.
Placing a couple of laundry baskets in the trunk can work organizational wonders for you, keeping any and everything neat in one designated area. You may even want to try getting a laundry basket that folds up to conserve space when it’s not being put to use.
Avoid Ice On The Windshield
Using a phone while driving is technically illegal; both hands should be on the wheel. But, it’s near impossible to put the phone away when it’s needed to direct the vehicle to a destination. If a car mount isn’t handy to position the phone and view the directions, what’s else can be done? Surely a DIY tool can be used.
If there’s a rubber band lying around, pick it up and head to the car. Push the rubber band through the AC vent, pulling the other half out. Allow the top half of the band to secure the phone by pulling it over the device, and do the same to the bottom half of the band, pulling it over the phone.
Keep Up With The New Car Smell
If the weather is warning that icy storms are on their way to you, it’s certainly a good time that you’ll want to ice-proof those windshields so they don’t freeze up. Plan ahead, and before it gets dark outside, mix up this recipe and spray it on the windows.
Take three parts vinegar and one part water and mix those ingredients together. Shake the concoction well before application and then go and apply a good amount to all areas of the windshield. You’ll find that the windows won’t be frozen, saving you precious time and energy scraping them before you head out.
Remember Where The Car Is Parked
That pleasant aroma of a new car is certainly on the list of odors that people would rank as being one of their favorites. Unfortunately, that new car smell can’t last forever; other odors soon invade the interior. Anything can cause this reaction, including pets, kids, and food.
So while you can’t recapture that coveted new car smell, you can still make the air in the car fresher. And better yet, you can easily make the air freshener at home. Get a jar with a screw top, poke some holes in it, and add scented wax. The wax will soon melt, releasing delightful aromas throughout the car.
Compressed Air Is A Friend
There are real horrors of forgetting where you parked with a bunch of groceries in your cart as you navigate the huge lot. And sometimes, the alarm and the “unlock” buttons are not loud enough to locate the vehicle, so that fob extender trick from earlier may not work.
Take advantage of today’s technology with being able to have a camera at the ready, when needed. Photos will never be a let down in situations like these. Take pictures of where the vehicle is parked and its surrounding areas. Simply look back on them when it’s time to locate the car.
Store Trash Neatly In The Car
Compressed air is primarily associated with helping people clean their computer keyboards, but they’re good for much more than that. Over time, your car vents could be spitting out dust, making your ride a sneeze-fest. In comes compressed air to the rescue.
Grab the can and spray away until everything in eyesight is gone from the vents. While it’s out, be sure to clean whatever surrounding areas got dirty in the process. Then look into the vents and if it still needs some additional care, get the vacuum out.
Use A Coin To Check Tires
Cup holders are not meant to be mini trash cans, but somehow garbage tends to accumulate in your car. And honestly, there must be a place to put all that trash that collects. Try those plastic containers that you put cereal in to store that loose garbage.
But make sure that before you end up putting a plastic cereal container in the car, you go ahead and line it with a plastic bag so that it becomes reusable. That way, you can just swap out the bag each time and won’t have to wash it out in between uses.
Which Side Is The Gas Tank On?
Yes, regular tire checks with a pressure gauge are highly recommended, especially before too much wear and tear is done to your tires. If you don’t have access to gauge, there’s a way to do it easily. It’s as easy as finding a quarter or penny and applying it to the treads of the tires.
Grab a coin, turn it so that the head is facing the ground, and place it between the tread of the tire. If the tread goes past the forehead, that means the tire is in good condition. If it does not go past it, then it’s time to replace those tires before things get serious.
Make Your Own Cup Holder
No matter how many times you end up filling up, you still feel like you have to ask yourself every time what side of the car the gas tank is on. This is a question that many car owners ask themselves, especially in the beginning stages of owning a new car.
Not knowing immediately wastes time at the station, but it also holds up the gas line. But, there’s actually an icon on the right or left side of the gas pump icon in the dashboard. Look at that and see if the arrow is pointing left or right. Whichever direction it’s pointing is the direction of the gas tank.
Avoid Speeding At All Costs
Drinking that morning coffee is essential. But oftentimes, cars just don’t have enough cup holders if you have multiple cups. Or, the ones that are present barely fit different sized cups, especially if you’ve gotten the larger size. Is there a solution? There is and it’s free.
Grab a sneaker and put it on the ground of the car, either in the front or backseat. Then, place the cup inside the shoe and watch what happens. You’ll see that the weight of the cup and the fluid inside will hold the shoe down, creating stability for both. More cupholders and less spill.
Olive Oil Isn’t Just For Cooking
Going over the speed limit can get anyone in a boatload of trouble since it’s illegal. Driving past the limit is a huge cause of moving violations drivers get. Speeding can also be extremely bad for cars, wearing its brakes thin in a short period of time.
Try to go the normal speed limit when driving in the city or on the highway. Normal speeds create consistent and efficient flows of traffic, making it all around a better, and safer decision. This will prevent you from wearing down your car, and your wallet with less tickets.
WD-40 Removes Car Stickers
Keeping your car clean isn’t an easy task. And even when you do decide to do that major clean of your ride, cleaning solutions loaded with chemicals don’t always get the job done the best way. However, there is a good alternative to use that you can find in your kitchen.
Apply a few drops of olive oil to a coffee filter to wipe the dirt off any interior surface in the car. This works incredibly well on your car’s dashboards. The smell might be a bit odd at first, but it’ll go away in just a couple of days, and your cleaner car will thank you for it.
When To Replace The Filters
WD-40 can be used for a number of basic things outside of just removing that annoying squeakiness from doors. For example, the amazing product can seep into the paper and goo of car stickers. This will help them come right off in no time at all.
Spray the WD-40 and let it sink into the sticker for a little while. Once you’re sure that it’s seeped into the glue, peel the sticker off effortlessly without removing any paint from the car. It will also prevent some of that sticker residue from staying forever on the car.
Make Your Own Washer Fluid
When the vents are clean and the car still smells, it’s a telltale sign that it might be time to replace those musky filters. Don’t worry, this common problem haunts most car owners at one time or another. And it’s easily something that you can fix.
Don’t wait until someone else notices the issue, like your neighborhood mechanic. If the car still has a bad smell even after the vents are cleaned, replace the filters and you can not only alleviate the problem, but also save a good amount of money.
Q-Tips Can Clean More Than Your Ears
How fast does your car run out of its washer fluid? Pretty quickly actually, believe it or not. This is especially true in areas where the weather is constantly changing from snow to rain, and your windshield wipers are being used a lot more frequently.
Instead of constantly buying some in the stores, just mix up a solution at home and save some money. Add three cups of grain alcohol, four cups of water, and two teaspoons of dishwasher detergent together. This solution poses as a great backup to always have on hand in the trunk just in case those liquids are running low.
Baking Soda Removes Bad Odors
Q-tips and cotton swabs happen to be the perfect items for self-detailing your ride. The reason is because they have the ability to get into all those hard-to-reach areas that can’t be touched with other cleaning supplies, like rags and paper towels.
Another plus to using these little ear cleaners and nail polish removers are that both Q-tips and cotton swabs have an endless supply in just one package. Simply reach the gunk, remove it, and discard the tiny tools, and don’t worry about how many you’ve used.
Clay Isn’t Just For Your Kids
As we’ve established, vehicles don’t keep the new car smell forever, and it’s inevitable for other more pungent odors to creep in eventually. Unfortunately, removing the fabric so you can clean and throw it in the washing machine is not a viable option.
Instead what you can do is use baking soda to get rid of some of those unwanted smells. Sprinkle the baking soda onto the cushions and let it sit for a few hours. When you’re all done, grab a vacuum and suck up the remaining powder lying that’s around.
Cool The Car Without Air Conditioning
Clay may be a great item for kids to play with, but i’s also is a new and easy way to clean and shine the exterior of your car. It happens to be gaining popularity at a slow rate, but just think about how easy gunk can come off with a small glob of clay.
At a price of as low as around $15, no car owner can go wrong with using clay. Not to mention that it’s slightly reusable, as long as the clay is repositioned appropriately so that it can clean different areas of the vehicle. Yes, you may need to buy an extra glob for your kids, but it will be worth it for that shine.
Magic Erasers Are Great For Cleaning The Interior
Having all of the car windows open on a hot summer day sometimes doesn’t do all that much. Not to mention going on a long or even semi-long drive while it’s super warm outside is no fun. Air conditioning is technically necessary especially when there’s a lot of noise from the highway.
What happens if there is no air conditioning in the car though? Get some much-needed relief by rolling down only the front two windows, which will allow the air to circulate inside the car. Ultimately, the hot air will leave and the cool air will end up remaining.
The Magical Vaseline Solution
Leather and vinyl seats can definitely have a dirt or gunk buildup over even a short period of time. Good thing there’s a way for magic erasers to be able to come to the rescue. You got a coffee stain on the front seat that’s tough to get out? Need help getting rid of that sticky soda in the back? No problem.
Magic erasers can help do some real cleanup in your car when it comes to all of those messes, and in just a manner of a few minutes. Plus, these fantastic sponges happen to not be very expensive at all. Best of all though, they can be purchased just about anywhere.
Vacuum For Dust Removal
Vinyl and leather seats can be very susceptible to cracking over time. The material themselves can’t stay in perfect condition forever. So when you notice the cracking start to happen, be sure to head to the local drugstore and get yourself a container of Vaseline.
Open that tub of it, get a good enough amount ready, and rub it down all over the cracked areas that you find. No, the cracks won’t magically disappear, but what will happen is that the Vaseline will be able to stop the cracks from spreading further in the car.
Squeegees Work For Dog Hair
When it’s time for you do your seasonal cleaning, in the springtime or otherwise, it can be a little overwhelming. But you’ve managed to get the dashboard free of gunk, the seats clean from any dirt, and the windows are have a sparkle to them. What’s last on the cleaning list?
Vacuuming the car. Whatever has hit the floor during cleaning, or whatever was already on the floor already, has to be gone. Plug the vacuum in and make sure to get all the dirt and dust out of that car. Use the extension pieces to get hard-to-reach areas.
Soda For Rusty Areas
If you’ve got a canine friend, you may take them on car rides pretty often. If that happens, it’s easy to spot the hair that they shed all around the seats and interior. What’s worse is that vacuums don’t really clean these messes up to the best of their ability.
That’s okay though because squeegees can help come to the rescue. Grab a squeegee and spray bottle for this one. Fill the spray bottle with water and release the water onto the hairy areas. Then just let the squeegee do its magic and watch in amazement as it soaks up your best friend’s hair.
Baby Wipes For Wiping Windows
Soda may not be a particularly healthy option for drinking purposes due to its high amount of sugar content, but it actually works wonders when it comes to rust. These highly-carbonated beverages have so much acid in them that they’re able to strip rust from almost any surface.
This solution works best if you pour soda, specifically Coca-Cola, into a spray bottle. Then you spritz the desired areas and watch the fizzing process start up. You’ll be happy that you were able to get rid of the rust with just a small purchase of a Coke.
Hair Conditioner Can Shine More Than Hair
A pack of spare baby wipes should always be kept in the car regardless of if you have small kids or not. Not only are they great at cleaning up small and inconvenient messes, but they also happen to work real wonders on your windows when it comes to cleaning them.
Notice that there’s a bunch of gunk on the exterior of the window? Do you see the interior window getting all caked up? Pull out a baby wipe and run it over the desired area; all sights will clear up after that. Works just as well as windshield wiper fluid.
Lather The Car In Olive Oil
Detailing cars can be a pretty pricey gig. Good thing there an alternative to going into a detail shop and having to fork over a ton to pay professionals. Simply head on over to the drugstore and pick up a simple bottle of hair conditioner. But just make sure it has lanolin in it.
Squirt the car with a good amount of the conditioner and work it into the exterior using a circular buffing motion. After a few minutes, you’ll notice that the hair conditioner should work its way into the car, leaving a shiny paint for everyone to see.
Air Vents Could Use Some Silicon Gel
Olive oil comes to the rescue yet again. This kitchen staple is a great cleaning agent, but it can also help make the leather in your car look shiny and good as new. Just applying a dab of the thick substance will do, and it’ll last quite a lengthy amount of time.
While you’re applying olive oil to the dashboard, think about using the same treatment method for your leather seats. Shiny and smooth is certainly an achievable look that you can aim for; just be sure to rub it in thoroughly to get that perfect amount of shine.
Parking Apps To Locate The Car
Sure, toothbrushes and Q-tips can be used pretty easily when it comes to cleaning air vents in the car, but that can become a multi-step process, and can take a bit of time. Looking for a one-stop-shop approach to doing it? Try using some silicon gel.
This Silly Putty-like substance will slide into those hard-to-reach areas of the car, picking up all that grime that needs to be gone. Sure, they’re great for air vents, but they can also be used around interior buttons, seat belts, and stick shifts.
Block The Sunlight With These
Sometimes it’s hard to remember to take photos of the parking spot and surrounding areas, especially when you’re in a rush or are dealing with your family. More often times than not, it’s easier to just press a button on an app to send an alert of where the car is.
Good thing that these days the invention is out and about on the app store. Just download it to your phone and rejoice, because the car will never go missing while the app is activated. Gone will be the days when you’re aimlessly trying to retrace your steps to find your ride.
Newspapers Can Help With Sticker Residue
There’s always that small window of time every day when the sun shines through the most awkward spot in the windshield. This can happen on a sunny day or if you’re driving just before the sun is setting and is right in your eyesight. Throughout these moments, the car visor is of no help; it can’t reach the areas needed.
Purchase some tinted window cling and place it directly on the area of the windshield or side window that the sun shines directly in. No need to have any more squinty eyes on the road and no more difficulty seeing. This will make your drive more comfortable but will also be a lot safer, too.
Clear Up The Windshield Wipers
Every time a sticker gets peeled off of a windshield, glue residue can get left behind. Then, it takes multiple scrubs and solutions to get that stuff off. And even if you do end up getting it off, it can end up leaving a streaky appearance for quite some time.
Instead, what you can do is just grab some wet newspaper and lay it atop the sticker for approximately fifteen minutes. Once it’s done soaking, remove the newspaper and gently peel the sticker. Most of that residue will be long gone, and you’ll never even know it was there in the first place.
Add Weight To The Car During Winter Months
Windshield wipers tend to end up cracking and happen to become less useful over a pretty short period of time. Unfortunately, one of the only things some drivers know to do is to quickly replace the windshield wipers. But you may not need to do that as often as you think.
Instead, what you should do is try grabbing a white cloth and spray glass cleaner all over them. Drag the cloth up and down along the entirety of the windshield wipers. This will help remove any of that gunky buildup, while making those wipers seem good as new.
Internal Towel Dispenser
When the snowy and icy weather comes around your town in those frigid winter months, driving can get to be a bit of a challenge, to say the least. Sometimes, vehicles just don’t have the right amount of traction they need to get up those icy hills safely.
If that’s the case, add some real weight to the backseat of the car by purchasing some large bags of road salt. This will help your car get that necessary lift when you’re trying to make your way driving uphill. But please make sure to note that this tip is only for rear-drive cars.
Plug-In Seat Warmers If No Seat Warmers Are Offered
Paper towels are almost always needed at one point or another when you’re cleaning your car. In general, paper towels are just extremely useful to have handy as they can be a real lifesaver when it comes to cleaning spills and additional car messes, too.
Use the trunk of your car to incorporate a paper towel roll setup using a bungee cord. Attach it to the cord and it will make you your own makeshift paper towel dispenser. You’ll find this to be a handy-dandy fix that doesn’t end up taking up too much unnecessary room.
Clogged Sunroof Drains
Just because the car doesn’t come with seat warmers doesn’t mean you have to freeze your rear off when the weather gets cold. Believe it or not, there’s an inexpensive way to fix that dilemma. Buy a plug-in seat warmer and only use it when it’s really necessary.
Have them heat up the seats when those cold winter mornings do everything in their power from trying to slow you down from being on your way. And aside from keeping your posterior warm, you can use it with another hack in this list – to save the takeout food and avoid it from getting cold.
Fix Up The Paint Job
If your car has a sunroof, is there any real telltale sign to see if the drains on your sunroof are getting clogged? The answer is actually yes, if water keeps leaking through it and you find that it’s dripping on the inside of the car and on your seats.
Fortunately, there’s a really easy DIY fix for this problem. Just look for drain holes and plug them up or purchase new drainage systems at your local auto repair shop. That should do the trick and save you from that water leaking. A heads-up, most of the time, holes are found in the corners.
Code Readers Save Time And Money
Keeping a car in perfect condition for the entire duration that you own it is nearly impossible. Scratches and general wear-and-tear are ultimately bound to happen. But there’s a nice and easy fix for when your car ends up getting scratches that may cause a bit of an eyesore.
Grab some bottles of nail polish that you can get for around $10 or less. Make sure it’s as similar in color as the car and dab a few strokes of the polish over the scratched area. You won’t be able to tell that your car has another coat on it. Allow ample drying time before driving again.
Shoe Bag Organizer
We tend to panic sometimes when we see warning lights in the car go off. We’re unsure of what they mean. Don’t immediately go to a mechanic if a light triggers off on the dashboard. Purchase or use someone else’s code reader and check out the problem firsthand.
All you need to do is plug the code reader into the car’s computer system and see what the reading says on the screen. It should indicate what the issue is. Go ahead and track the code using the online book and see if it’s a problem that you may be able to solve yourself.
Inflatable Mattress For Long Travels
Shoe bag organizers usually stick on the back of a door or on the inside of a closet. But, there’s actually a nice use for them inside your vehicle. This nifty little household item works mighty well when attached to the backside of a car seat, wrapped around a headrest.
Take the shoe bag organizer and place it wherever it can fit nicely and where it will be easily accessible. Use the organizer to place any of those necessary items inside instead of allowing them to lie all over the floor and add more clutter to your vehicle.
If you’re driving on a long road trip, finding a place to crash for the night may not be so easy. Don’t want to stop at a motel or hotel every night when on the road for long periods of time? Purchase an inflatable mattress for the backseat, and catch some much-needed sleep.
Blow that baby up and put those seats all the way down. You can set the bed up with preferable sheets and comforters, weather depending. This is great for taking a nap for just a short while or for getting some restful sleep before hitting the road again.