Category Archives: General

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.

Be Ready On Time

You might need to do some extra prepping for your car so it is ready for the winter months. Winter season can bring concerns for your vehicle, that happen to be considerably different, especially where the winter is severe. Newer cars may not have so many issues, but you still want to be prepared. It might save you quite a bit of investment if you go along with some basic tips.

For Fuel Economy

Tire pressure is important to monitor always, but in the winter tires get deflated due to the cold. You’ll get better fuel economy when your tire has the perfect pressure, and it will give you a less chance of getting a flat tire. Be sure that your gas tank is actually over a quarter full. For older cars or trucks, this will prevent the gas lines from freezing but it doesn’t apply to newer vehicles. It is best to hold enough gasoline in the tank, in case you become stranded. Coupled with that, you should carry an emergency kit, which has cold weather gear such as gloves and hats. It needs to also include some tools, flashlight, flares and jumper cables.

Check the Cooling System

Considering that some fluids will likely be affected by the cold, be sure that you have all of them examined before winter hits. If you reside in an area that goes below freezing, you will need to make sure your cooling system is in check. Generally the majority of the expensive engine breakdowns come from cooling system failures. Examine the antifreeze level on a regular basis throughout the winter. At the same time keep your windshield washer fluid with a liquid that will not freeze. In case your battery is getting a bit old, you may want to have it looked at before it becomes an issue during the winter. Get rid of any corrosion on your battery terminals, or your car might not start. The life-span of a battery is shortened with extreme cold weather. To get added protection, make sure those jumper cables stay in your vehicle at all times.

Get an oil Change

Your automobile might not be quite ready for an oil change, but do it anyway. In the event your vehicle is older, use a lighter weight oil, since it will keep the parts lubricated during the winter. More recent cars now use lighter oil making it not an issue. You may even want to upgrade your wiper blades for the winter as well. All of these new blades can keep your windshield cleaner with the ice and slush, and clean windows are important. You will want excellent traction in the winter months, so get your snow tires on. Anyway, invest in the right all-season radial tires.

You should definitely get all of this done before the winter weather hits. If you are not thorough, you may find yourself in a ton of trouble in the thick of winter. You should beat the rush, which will happen every year.

I am sure you comprehend that most folks in America go on vacation at least a few times a year. You’ll obviously find that most individuals when getting ready for vacation will go through their house and ensure all their light to turn off, but more can be achieved to save electricity. One thing loads of individuals don’t know is if they turn off their products which run on electricity, electricity can still be wasted by these items. While these items do not use as much electricity as when they are turned on, electricity is still being wasted. When you leave for vacation you are likely to find other actions you can take to save a lot more electricity while you are away.

The LCD televisions which many people have switched to over the last few years does save on electricity compared the old models, but you will also realize that even when turned off these televisions use electricity. These TVs are in a constant standby mode, which means even if you’re not watching TV that TV itself is using electrical power. What this basically means is that when you leave for vacation you need to unplug all of these TVs you have in your house. You ought to also realize that not only can you save cash when you’re on vacation by doing this, but you can save electricity by unplugging your TV anytime you’re not watching it.

One other thing you need to do is to ensure you unplug any type of chargers that you have in your home. This goes for any sort of charger you may have which includes your mobile phone chargers as well as chargers that you may be using for cordless drills. No matter whether you’re charging something along with your charger, just having this plugged into the wall, it is employing electricity. So again, before you go on vacation make sure you unplug all of these different types of items that you may possibly have in your home.

You need to also realize that if this is the summer time, when you’re taking your vacation you need to turn off your hot water heater. You have to also comprehend that for people who use hot water to heat their houses and it if they are vacationing in the winter months, the heater needs to remain on. This is not to say that you cannot still save electricity simply because you can in fact turn your thermostat down to 50 while you’re away from home. I’m sure you understand that if you were not going to be home there is no reason to have hot water ready, as no one is going to be using it.

These are only a couple of the things you can do to conserve fuel and electricity when you go on your vacation. You must understand that this is not just about saving cash as you are also going to be able to help our world by conserving our natural resources. You can find out a lot more ways to conserve energy and fuel oil by simply doing a search on the net.