Cooling the Oven in Your Car

You’ve probably seen the Internet picture of somebody baking cookies in the heat of their closed car.  It can certainly get hot in your car...not 350 degrees hot, though. Those cookies took hours and hours to cook! 

Here are some ways to keep your car from feeling like a blast furnace when you first get in. 

There are some simple tips that you probably know by now.  Park in the shade, point your car away from the sun, and leave a bit of the window open.  These things will help keep the temperature down.

When you turn the air on, look for the “recirculation” button.  It’s usually a symbol with an arrow going in a circle around itself.  When you have that on, it will “reuse” the air that is already in the car.  In other words, it will take the air that has already been cooled down, and cool it down even more.  Most air systems have that switched off by default, and that just means you are bringing more warm air in and making your system work to cool it down.

Here’s another easy thing you can do.  Keep a water bottle nearby, and spray down the steering wheel when you get in.  Just like when you sweat, the evaporation of the water on the steering wheel can help drop the temperature quickly and keep your hands on the wheel. 

As always, if yousmell something unusual coming from the vents, or you just aren’t cooling offlike you did last summer - - come visit US Automotive, or your own personalmechanic for help.