Maintaining Car Batteries

Was there actually a time when your car required jumpstarting, and your battery was barely visible through all the gunk? That kind of gunk that goes all over the battery is actually corrosion formed by acid condensation. You can easily clean this by using a simple chemical solution. Something as simple as baking soda may easily clean the battery acid. Maintaining your battery is not very difficult to carry out but you should take necessary precautions.

Safety First

First off, you need to have the tools which you can get easily in the house. The basic tools you need are a pair of safety glasses to shield your eyes, adjustable pliers and a screwdriver with insulated handles, a stiff bristled brush, and the key component, baking soda. Other items you need includes a metal or plastic scraper, box or open-end wrenches, cleaning brushes for the battery terminal, and either a turkey baster or small funnel. You should also have some sponges, spray-type household cleaner, rubber gloves in addition to a bucket of clean water. All this will ensure a safe cleaning of this battery.

A few of the corrosive build up have sulfuric acid, so it is a wise idea to use the safety glasses to protect your eyes, and the rubber gloves for your hands. Be mindful never to get the deposits on the car since it will probably damage the car’s paint job. Determined by how corroded the battery might be, the amount of cleaning that is needed will be different. In order to fully eliminate the dirt and corrosion, you will need to take the battery out of the vehicle. For your first cleaning, you utilize the scraper and the bristle brush to remove as much of the dirt and corrosion as you can.

DIY Cleaning Solution

Next step is to combine one tablespoon of baking soda with a pint of water and administer the solution to the battery and the cable connection using the funnel or turkey baster. Then you’re able to use the bristle brush to loosen and remove the build up from the battery and you want to remove the cables so that cleaning will be easier. You’ll be able to take away the cables, beginning with negative first then positive, using the pliers and wrenches. For any other components of the battery, use the brush to remove the deposits then flush with the baking soda solution.

So now use the liquid cleaner inside the spray bottle, and a sponge to get rid of the remaining dirt and grease. Dry everything off by using a thoroughly clean cloth and reassemble everything the way you took it apart, reconnecting the positive first. Double check things are all secure and you finally have a clean, safe battery.