If you live somewhere warm, you know how hot, sunny days can make your car feel like an oven. Allowing your car’s interior to rise to extremely high temperatures is not just uncomfortable — it’s dangerous! At Sallas Auto Repair, we understand the importance of summer safety, and we’ve got a handful of simple car care tips that will help keep your car’s interior at cooler and much safer temperatures.
Beware of Hot Interiors
Ever feel like your car’s interior is so hot you could bake biscuits inside of it? Well, according to The Weather Channel, after twenty minutes in 90-degree temperatures, the interior of your car could rise to 119 degrees. From here, it only gets worse. The inside of your car continues to get dangerously hot. How hot? It could reach 134 degrees after sitting in the same environment for just one hour. These temperatures are hot enough to cause serious health complications and sometimes even death.
“Even on a relatively mild day, the temperature inside a car can get above 100 degrees. At those temperatures, kids are at great risk for heat stroke, which can lead to a high fever, dehydration, seizures, stroke and death,” reported a pediatrics health source. Needless to say, NEVER leave another person or pet trapped inside of a hot car — the consequences could be fatal. Although you can’t completely cool down a car that’s been sitting in warm temperatures, you can keep it cooler with some basic car care tips.
Car Care Tips – Keeping Things Cool
Crack – having your windows cracked a few inches is a simple and safe solution for cooling your car’s interior. This will allow for trapped heat to escape and enable some cross wind to enter your car’s interior. Just make sure to check the weather forecast for rain, because a wet car is almost as uncomfortable as a hot one!
Cover – placing a towel or cloth over your car’s steering wheel and seats (if they’re leather) is a simple way to protect your skin from otherwise hot-to-touch surfaces. Trouble with other car “hot spots?” If it’s hot, throw a towel on it. This car care tip is easy to do, but we assure you, it’s still a great quick fix.
Close Off – for the cost of a car wash, a windshield cover can be purchased. This is an effective way to keep out a big chunk of direct sunlight. Low on cash? Get creative. Look around your house for long, rectangular barricades to use in place of a purchased car care solution.
These car care tips are great ways to help cool your car’s interior throughout warm-weather seasons. And although they’re not one-stop solutions for this issue, they are effective. For more car care tips visit our blog. Need an auto expert’s help? Give us a call at (816) 765-6060 or (913) 381-4555 today.