Balanced for women: how to take care of your car in winter?

«The kitchen clock reads 7:45. morning Maria, who is late for work, takes a steaming electric kettle and goes out into the courtyard. The girl approaches the frozen car through the crunching snow. He stops for a moment, brushes a strand of hair from his forehead with his gloved hand and then, with a playful wave of his hand, sprays more hot water directly onto the windshield. You can barely blink – the ice disappears right before your eyes. Maria’s face lights up with a triumphant smile: she can already imagine bragging to her friends about the ingenious way she came up with to clean the frozen car. But after a moment, his face is distorted by a grimace of surprise and disappointment: the glass of the car is slowly shrinking again with a thin, rough layer of ice…”

Even though this story is fictional, let’s face it: we’ve heard similar situations in real life. Women are becoming more and more self-confident and independent in various fields of activity, but sometimes curious things happen to them when taking care of a car.

Balanced for women: how to take care of your car in winter?

Arturas Gailius, vice-president of the Lithuanian Union of Motorists (LAS), agrees that winter is indeed a more difficult time for women who own a car, when not only traffic conditions worsen, but also the car requires additional maintenance. “In Lithuania, the weather during the winter season is really unfortunate: it is cold, it rains. The load on the car is greater in this season, so you need to take care of it in advance so that it is not cold on the road,” warns the interviewer.

Check the condition

First of all, as winter approaches, A. Gailius recommends checking the entire vehicle: the state of the cooling system, generator, battery, lighting devices. Employees of any automotive service will carry out such inspection upon request. “If you need to change or repair some part, it is advisable to do it before the weather gets colder, so that you do not have to ask a neighbor’s help in the yard to charge a battery that has “stabilized” overnight,” says the interviewer. A. Gailius also recommends changing the engine oil before the winter season if its useful life is about to expire. Again, auto service technicians will advise you on the type of oil your car needs.

It is important to maintain the technical condition of the car without making mistakes. “There is no way to pour water into the radiator, even in summer. To cool the engine, special fluids are used, which not only do not freeze, but also have lubricating properties,” says the interviewer, adding that if the car’s cooling system has already been filled with water, it is necessary to quickly drain it and add coolant before freezing begins: repairing a frozen system is expensive. Although severe frosts are now rare, it is advisable to purchase a coolant that does not freeze at a temperature of 25 or even 35 degrees.

In winter it is also advisable to use car windshield washer fluid which does not freeze even at temperatures below zero. R. Gailius recommends always checking whether we have enough washer fluid in the tank. “If you were to drive, for example, from Vilnius to Kaunas in winter, you will probably have noticed that there is mud on your car from under the wheels of vehicles in front. Don’t add windshield washer fluid: the windshield wipers will spread the dirt on the window and visibility will only get worse,” he warns.

It is also advisable not to drive with a half-empty gas tank in winter: in this case, vapor condensation accumulates, which turns into ice when the car is parked in the cold season. Furthermore, if the tank is always kept half empty, rust and sediment will accumulate inside. Some car manufacturers recommend filling your car’s tank with fuel sometimes to the limit.

How to scrape ice?

Many will probably agree that one of the most unpleasant procedures for motorists is cleaning a frozen car in the morning. Do not under any circumstances pour hot water on the glass like the heroine Maria, because it turns out that she was very lucky to have only a new layer of ice, it could have ended worse. “If the glass is very frozen, it can simply break due to the hot water,” says A. Gailius.

For those who want to scrape off the ice faster, he recommends starting the car engine and turning on the window heater – this will help the ice melt faster and the car engine will warm up before you start driving.

The interlocutor recommends cleaning window glass with special scrapers, various types of which can be purchased at petrol stations, sections of motoring shopping centers or specialized shops. “You should also remember to clean the headlights and rear lights. Just don’t scrape the ice off the bodywork in any way: you will scratch the layer of paint it is covered with,” warns the interviewer.

The LAS representative draws attention to the fact that it is not necessary to detach the frozen wipers from the glass – we will damage their rubber bands. And, of course, under no circumstances turn on the wipers while their blades are frozen on the glass, the wiper mechanism may fail.

By the way, windshield wipers should also be replaced with new ones before winter. “The wear of the windshield wipers can be recognized by the fact that when they clean the window they creak or leave streaks of water or dirt”, explains A. Gailius. In winter, he recommends investing in slightly more expensive but better quality wipers with graphite-infused blades, which clean better and don’t freeze as quickly on your windshield.

Wash more often

Another problem of the Lithuanian winter that worries motorists is the mass of snow and salt on the roads. Salty dirt that sticks to the bottom and sides of the car causes the car to corrode. Especially the rusting process intensifies if we park the car in a heated and unventilated garage after returning home.

To reduce the effect of corrosion, it is recommended to cover the car with an anti-corrosion coating before winter – it will be enough to find a car service that offers such a service.

Another way to save yourself from harmful dirt is to wash your car more often. According to Saulius Žilėnas, representative of the ORLEN Lietuvos petrol station chain, who lives in the city, regardless of weather conditions, you should wash your car once a week or even several times a month. “Washing your car in winter is even more important than in summer, because the car is not only damaged by the sand and salts used to melt the snow, but also by tar and asphalt dust caused by studded tires. Furthermore, a clean and waxed car freezes less,” he explains.

In winter it is especially important that the washed car is well drained. When drying a car in automatic car washes, water is blown out of door openings and other places with a strong air flow, so there is no danger of freezing of car doors or other parts that can be opened.

By the way, at the beginning of the cold season, it is also recommended to lubricate the gaps in the car with silicone materials that prevent the formation of ice. Specialists recommend lubricating all moving parts – door hinges, locks, springs – with moisture-displacing preparations before the onset of the cold season.
So girls, take care of your car and drive safely and worry-free all winter long!