As the days begin to shorten its time to get your car ready for winter writes Suzanne Keane
Here are some tips to prepare you and your car for the winter
1. Anti-freeze
It’s called anti-freeze for a good reason! You may remember from science class (all those years ago) that when water freezes it expands. Therefore if you have lots of water (and not much antifreeze) in your cooling system if/when it freezes it can do damage to hoses, seals and your engine. It might be a good time of year to flush out the system and dilute the antifreeze according to the instructions on the bottle for winter.
2. Ice Scraper
They are cheap and easy to use and you can bring them everywhere. Pouring water on the windscreen might seem like the easy solution but when it’s cold enough that water will just freeze again before you have a chance to move! Most importantly, if you park in the same place every night that excess water could freeze on the ground again and turn your path to the car into an ice rink!
However, if you insist on taking the easy “water” option, DON’T USE HOT WATER!! A cracked windscreen could be a costly mistake.
3. Salt
I recommend buying 2 packets of the cheapest salt in the supermarket. Keep one inside your front door and the other in the car. Before you leave the house in the morning sprinkle a pathway towards the driver’s door (and other doors if you will have passengers). It could save you from nasty bruises and broken bones when you’re rushing out last minute.
Have you ever stepped out of your car and fallen over on ice? (Well I have anyway!) This is why you should keep a second packet of salt in the car!
4. Electronic equipment
I’ll never forget the morning my i-pod died. I had left it in the car overnight and the next morning I had a white screen and nothing else! Take any important/expensive electronic bits inside at night time – mp3 players, sat navs, phones etc. They like the cold about as much as we do!
5. Safety
Most importantly, if you’re not comfortable leaving the house/driving in icy conditions then don’t!
Suzanne Keane
28th October 2021
