All In A Days Work

See a  theme here?? Winter is here early, and it’s here to stay. So I guess we must embrace the cold temperatures, the ice, snow and slush that has already started. However, this doesn’t mean you have to face all this unprepared; take these simple steps to preparing your  car for the winter.

                          This post is sponsored by Reedman-Toll Subaru

Get a Tune Up 
You should keep your vehicle maintained no matter what, but with extreme cold temps, it can definitely affect your car. You want to make sure that you’ve done everything you can to make sure its ready. If you don’t take your car to the service department to get a tune up, at least make sure to check your wiper fluid level and make sure its full, and using a deicer windshield wiper fluid is the best idea.
You should also check your oil, and even switch to a winter-grade oil. The oil’s viscosity is affected by cold temps, and your engine’s oil becomes thinner as temperatures rises, so of course in warmer climates a thicker and higher viscosity oil will help keep your engine pretty lubricated – and for the same reason, the heavier oil isn’t as effective in the cold. So just check the owners manual and make sure you are using the right one.
Also be sure to check things like your cooling system, your battery is in good shape (test it) and check hoses to make sure the rubber is in good shape.

Check Your Tires 
When temperatures go down, usually so does the air pressure in your tires. Tires can lose pressure at a rate of about one pound per 10 degrees F ; and low tire pressure can be super dangerous , and affects how you handle your car. So make sure they are properly inflated.
If you are in an area with a ton of snow, I would probably recommend snow tires, which are made specifically for that type of weather.

Make  Check List of Other Important ‘Stuff’
There are still other things that you need to worry about, like making sure that your headlights are in working order (be sure to clean the lenses, and replace any burnt out bulbs), make sure you have good working windshield wipers since they ware and dry out pretty easily, and you need wipers in good shape to maintain good visibility especially if a storm is headed your way!

Make Sure You Have a ‘Winterized’ Emergency Kit 
Emergency kits are great to have, and you should already have one in your car (if you don’t, do it) you also want to add an extra ‘winter’ emergency kit, or add items to your kit once winter weather hits. You want to include things such as: a shovel, gloves, ice scraper, kitty litter (see my post on how to get your car unstuck from the snow) a emergency thermal blankets, some matches/a lighter, flares, etc. It’s one thing to break down in the summer, it is a whole other ball game to get stranded in the winter.

Even though winter presents a whole different set of problems when it comes to travel, with some preparation and proper maintenance, you should be ready to handle the  cold!

So we talked about the best way to get the ice off your windshield – but there are other problems that  come with the cold weather, ice and snow. There are quite a few car problems that can be weather-related, so it’s  always good to be prepared ‘just in case’. So here’s a few cold weather tricks to help you stay UNstuck this Winter.

This post is sponsored by Columbiana Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram

De-ICE Your Door Locks with Hand Sanitizer
So if you don’t have a garage, like me, your car gets the brunt of the bad weather. You wake up with it covered in snow and ice, and to get it defrosted, you need to get in your car and start it up – but uh, oh, the door is frozen! Hand sanitizer could do the trick since it contains alcohol – an ingredient that is known to melt ice. To help de-ice the lock, cover the end of your key with the sanitizer, and put it in the key hole, trying to get as much of the hand sanitizer in as possible. This should help melt the ice and get you going. I usually suggest that you carry hand sanitizer on your key ring, so that way you have access to it at all times.

Get Your Car ‘UnStuck” with Kitty Litter
Seems odd, but if you have a lot of snow or ice on the ground, you could have some trouble gaining traction. Spread some litter in front of the tires that are stuck and it  can help your tires ‘grip’ and get out of the snow. Buy some cheap litter and just keep it in your truck for an emergency.

Use Socks to Keep Your Windshield Wipers from Freezing
This is an oldy but a classic. When you get home and know that cold/bad weather is coming, take a pair of socks (they can be old holey ones, or a pair of dollar store socks) and put them over your wiper blades and then lift the wiper blades up so they don’t get stuck to the windshield. Keep a few pairs in your emergency kit – for windshields, or as gloves, or even just to keep your toes warm!

Cover Side Mirrors with Bags to Prevent Frost
Take your grocery store plastic bags (keep a few in your emergency kit or in your glove box, because they make great trash bags for your car too) and cover each mirror with a bag to help keep the snow and ice off your mirrors. This can also save you time when it comes to scraping ice the next day! 

Using these hacks might help you deal with winter car challenges, but they’re no substitute for being prepared for seasonal weather. Consider some general winter car prep in addition to these hacks to help you stay safe on the road.

There are a million reasons I prefer summer to winter, but one of the biggest is the pain of ice and snow. Not only do you have to shovel your walkway to get to your car, but then you actually have to shovel off your car, and get the ice off the windows. For someone who running late is a daily occurrence, this really puts a damper on getting anywhere on time. Yesterday it took me TWENTY MINUTES to get my car cleared off (slightly thanks to someone stealing the snow brush out of my car) but seriously – getting ice off your windshield can be a lot of work. So I have done my research and wanted to share with you, the fastest ways to get ice off your windshield (you know so you’re kids aren’t late to school, and you aren’t late to work!)

                          This post is sponsored by Reedman Toll Chevy of Langhorne.

So, the best thing to do is of course, be prepared if you know snow is coming. Granted, sometimes its a ‘surprise’ storm, but if the weather starts to get colder make sure you have all the supplies you need so you can get it cleared off faster and get going!

So first step, always start your car and get it warmed up. Turn the defroster on, the heat on, and run it full blast.

Use a soft bristle brush to brush the snow off your windshield, windows, mirrors, hood, headlights and taillights, and even the top of your car (in some states its illegal to drive with snow on the hood/top of your car, so don’t get a ticket)

The next step is the ice, which is the biggest pain so here’s what you can  do:

So after you start your car, spray the windows and mirrors with a saltwater solution. This will dissolve the ice via a chemical reaction rather than just melting it with the heat from your defroster. The ions in salt lower the freezing point of water, so it makes it difficult for the water to refreeze. So make a salt water mixture (make sure its pretty well diluted, b because too much heavy salt exposure can damage your glass). Though you can use good ol regular table salt, if you have road salt, it will work a bit better for you. It has a different chemical composition so it makes it more effective during freezing temperatures.

You can also use an alcohol and water solution. Use two parts rubbing alcohol and one part water to create a safer solution that will break down the ice that is on your windshield or mirrors.

Once the ice starts to break down, use a squeegee, a soft-bristled brush, or an ice scraper and the ice will just brush away! If you don’t have one, you should be able to just turn your windshield wipers on to brush away the ice.