It’s the season for road trips and vacations, but also the season for brutally hot cars! No one enjoys the feeling of sweltering as you wait for the AC to kick in, or burning yourself on scorching steering wheels or gear shifts. While you probably already know the big tips and tricks for keeping your car cooler during this time of year, like parking in shady areas and using sunshades to keep the heat out, there are some useful summer car hacks you might not be aware of, and they can make a big difference in how comfortable your car is during hot weather. Here are a few that you can try out!
Fan Your Door
This is a great trick for cooling off your car after it’s been sitting in the sun for a long time. It feels a little silly the first time you do it, but after you see what a difference it makes you’ll be coming back to this hack more and more!
Get into the car and roll down the passenger side window all the way, while keeping the driver’s side window rolled up. Then, hop out and use the driver’s side door to fan some of the hot air out of the car, swinging it open and closed about five or six times. While it won’t be refreshingly cool in the car until the AC kicks in, this trick can make a noticeable difference and take the worst edge off the heat!
Use the Bottom Vents
It’s pretty common knowledge that heat rises, and you can use this to your advantage while you’re trying to cool off your car. When you switch the AC on, make sure you’re blasting it through the bottom vents. This helps to push the hot air up and out of your car, particularly if you have your windows cracked, and will help cool the vehicle down more efficiently!
Turn Your Steering Wheel
There’s few things more frustrating than being in a hurry to get somewhere only to find that you’re unable to even touch your steering wheel because it’s gotten so hot in the sun.
Something you can do to help avoid this problem is to turn your steering wheel 180 degrees after you park so that the upper half is protected by the shade of the dashboard. When you get back in, turn the wheel back to its original position and the part where your hands rest will be much cooler!
Protect Your Hands
While you can turn the wheel to keep your hands from burning, there isn’t much you can do to remove the gear shift from the sun. However, you can still protect your hands by keeping something in the car to cover the gear shift with! Some people use can koozies, some use dish towels or washrags, but whatever you use, just place it over your gear shift to keep the sun off of it, and you’ll be in much better shape when you get back in the car!
With these summer suggestions under your belt, you should have a much better time keeping your car cool!
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Fun