While you may be unfamiliar with how to operate your vehicle and have never read the owner’s manual, you are familiar with how to operate the wipers, AC, radio, and hazard lights! Hopefully, you’re also familiar with how to change a tire on a car. What you don’t seem to realize is that all you need are these simple but life-changing car hacks that we’re confident you won’t find in any car manual. We’ve covered everything from minor annoyances to major irritants, and you can rest assured they will simplify your life. Check to see if any of the tasks have already been done.
Life-Saving Hacks For Your Car You Need To Start Doing Today
Fixing A Dent With Hot Water & A Plunge
Do you have a dent on the side of your car? Don’t be concerned! We’ve got your back! Dents are fairly common, and contrary to popular belief, they are relatively simple to repair. All you have to do is boil some water in a teapot or saucepan, pour it over the dent, and pull the plunger. If the car’s body isn’t badly damaged, the dent should pop right out; it won’t look as good as it did before, but it will be less noticeable.
Fixing A Dent With Hot Water & A Plunge
Dirty Headlights And Toothpaste
Don’t rush to the nearest auto store for a special solution if your headlights are foggy! You might already have a solution to your problem at home. Because toothpaste contains mild abrasives that clean enamel, it turns out that it works just as well on headlights as it does on teeth. With a little toothpaste and elbow grease, your headlights can be as clear as day again! (As a side note, this might not always work. If the inside is yellowing, you may want to consider replacing it.)
Dirty Headlights And Toothpaste
Opening Your Keyring With A Staple Remover
You don’t have to break your fingers trying to get a new set of keys onto your clumsy metal keyring. Simply separate the end pieces with a staple remover and slide them in! It’s so simple that we’re sure you’re wondering why you’ve never thought of it before.
Opening Your Keyring With A Staple Remover
Put A Shower Caddy In The Trunk
You probably have oil, a funnel, a rag, a flashlight, and other emergency car supplies in your trunk if you’re the type to plan ahead. Consider investing in a shower caddy to keep all of your important items organized and out of the way when you need them — and to keep everything else in the trunk clean.
Put A Shower Caddy In The Trunk
Use Pool Noodles To Prevent Car Dings
When you get out of your garage, do you frequently hit the door on the side of your garage? Cutting a pool noodle in half and taping it to the wall where the door swings open is a simple solution (the scuff marks should make it easy enough to tell). Bolts or simple command strips can be used to secure it, but either way, your car, and wall will be safe!
Use Pool Noodles To Prevent Car Dings
Need A Trash Bin? Use Cereal Bins
Without thinking about it, we throw waste in our cars, but did you know that the scents from this trash can linger inside your car for a long time? You won’t have this problem if you get a trash can. One of the small plastic cereal containers is all you need. To make a compact and easily sealed garbage, just line it with a plastic bag to keep your car clean and odor-free.
Need A Trash Bin? Use Cereal Bins
Reduce Glare With A Tinted Plastic Sheet
It’s happened to many of us: we forgot our sunglasses, it’s becoming dark, and we’re traveling west. Our visor won’t protect us from this angle, but there is something that will! A simple tinted plastic sheet will adhere to our car window with static and can be moved around as desired, ensuring that the sun will no longer disturb us!
Reduce Glare With A Tinted Plastic Sheet
Lessen Frost By Parking Your Car Facing East
While this may appear to be an odd witchy trick, it is actually quite simple and logical. The sun’s rays will defrost your front windshield first if you park your car facing the sun in the morning. If you leave for work after the sun rises, you’ll never have to wait for the defroster to warm up again!
Lessen Frost By Parking Your Car Facing East
Extend Your Key’s Range By Holding Them To Your Head
We know it sounds crazy, but it really works! Place your keys under your chin and press the button again if your keys don’t have much range; the fluids in your head will change the signal’s range slightly. Try it out for yourself if you don’t believe us!
Extend Your Key’s Range By Holding Them To Your Head
Long Ride With A Messy Kid? MagnaDoodle Got You Covered
When traveling long distances in a car with a small child, there are two obvious issues: they are messy and easily bored. Thankfully, having a MagnaDoodle in your toy collection can help you solve both of these problems. To begin with, they are without a doubt one of the most entertaining toys available because they allow kids to draw and redraw without running out of (or dropping) materials. What you may not realize is that they can also be used as a tray table for children to eat meals without crumbs and spills strewn about.
Long Ride With A Messy Kid? MagnaDoodle Got You Covered
You Can Use Pantyhose As A Fan Belt
To begin, if you have any other options available to you in the event of a broken fan belt (such as calling a tow), you should take them. Saving money is not worth the risk of setting fire to your engine. If you’re truly stranded, a pair of pantyhose can be used as a fan belt to help you reach a gas station or an area with cell service.
You Can Use Pantyhose As A Fan Belt
Use Nail Polish On Small Scratches
It is usually not cost-effective to have a small scratch or chip on the paint of your car professionally repaired. Of course, the drawback is that you’ll be driving around with unsightly scratches on your vehicle. We’re guessing you had no idea you could do it on your own! Only a smidgeon of nail polish is required. A dab of nail polish, if you can match the paint on your car reasonably well, will hide the scratches well enough that no one will notice them unless they are looking for them.
Use Nail Polish On Small Scratches
De-Ice Your Keyholes With Hand Sanitizers
You know how difficult it can be to defrost frozen car door locks if you’ve ever had them. Hand sanitizer, in case you hadn’t already guessed. Although pouring something into a broken lock may seem counterintuitive, the alcohol in the solution will dissolve the ice, allowing you to turn the lock. It will break down in the same way that it does in your car.
De-Ice Your Keyholes With Hand Sanitizers
Keep Your Seats Buckled During Hot Weather
Trying to buckle your seatbelt in the summer is a dangerous game. Your hands will be irritated by any metal part of your car that has been exposed to sunlight and heat, but you can at least avoid the seatbelt issue by buckling it in after exiting the vehicle and leaving it there until the next time you enter. If the sun can’t reach it, it can’t get hot enough to burn!
Keep Your Seats Buckled During Hot Weather
Use Over-The-Door Shoe Racks As Backseat Organizers
If you have kids, this one is especially useful: All of the backseat essentials, such as sippy cups, toys, chargers, and snacks, can be stored on a simple over-the-door shoe rack. All of the pouches are easily accessible, and they’re much easier to spot than the pouches that come standard with some minivan seats.
Use Over-The-Door Shoe Racks As Backseat Organizers
Window Chips? Clear Nail Polish Could Help
Once more, the magic of nail polish has struck! If a crack or chip appears in your windshield, it will almost certainly spread and crack further, making driving dangerous. If you can’t afford to replace your windshield right now, a few drops of clear nail polish, applied like a run in a pair of stockings, should keep the crack from spreading until you can.
Window Chips? Clear Nail Polish Could Help
You Can Use Rubber Bands As Phone Holders
It’s extremely inconvenient when you need to look at your GPS but don’t have a co-pilot to hold it up for you or one of those windows or air vent holders to hold your phone (and potentially dangerous). Using a rubber band to achieve the same result is actually quite simple. If you loop it through a couple of vents in your center console and around the top and bottom of your phone, the tension will keep it in place.
You Can Use Rubber Bands As Phone Holders
Easy Way To Cool Down A Hot Car
Have you ever had to stand outside in the summer to allow your suffocatingly hot car to cool down just enough for you to BREATHE once inside? To expedite the process, roll down the passenger side window and open and close the driver’s side door quickly for a few seconds. This creates a fanning effect, allowing fresh air to enter while removing all of the hot, stale air from your vehicle.
Easy Way To Cool Down A Hot Car
Dryer Sheets As Air Freshener
Air fresheners that last only a few days, such as clip-on or over-the-mirror air fresheners, are a waste of money. A box of dryer sheets lasts much longer, is less noticeable, and absorbs odors effectively. They’re available in scented or unscented versions, and they’ll keep your car smelling fresh for months.
Dryer Sheets As Air Freshener
The Nanotech Car Scratch Remover Cloth
It’s not a hack because it is a fantastic product that can save the day when it comes to your vehicle’s appearance. Advanced nanotechnology is used in these Multipurpose Scratch Remover Clothes to remove car scratches and stains, restore vehicle color, and protect paint surfaces. Each cloth, according to the company, can be used 10 to 15 times. If you’re not sure about their effectiveness, they also come with a one-year limited warranty. So you can try them out and get in touch with the company if you don’t like them.
The Nanotech Car Scratch Remover Cloth
Use Scented Wax Cubes As Air Fresheners
Aside from dryer sheets, there’s another DIY air freshener hack for your nose’s pleasure. Simply place a few scented wax cubes in a mason jar with some holes drilled in the lead. Place the jar in your car, and as the vehicle warms up, the wax will melt, filling the car with a pleasant aroma.
Use Scented Wax Cubes As Air Fresheners
Check Your Tire’s State With A Penny
This next piece of advice may just save your life. Invert a penny and insert it into the treads of your tires. If President Lincoln’s head sinks halfway into the hole, you’re in good shape. If the tread on your tires doesn’t cover the president’s head, you’ll need new tires.
Check Your Tire’s State With A Penny
Keep Your Cup Holder Clean By Doing This
Place silicone cupcake wrappers in your car’s cup holders. They’ll keep all of your loose change organized, and they’re easy to remove and clean, ensuring that your cup holders remain spotless. You’d be surprised at how effective this simple trick is at keeping things tidy.
Keep Your Cup Holder Clean By Doing This
Save Space Using Carabiner Hooks
If you need to free up some space in your backseat, get some carabiner hooks and attach them to your headrests. They can be used to store bags, groceries, umbrellas, and other items. This will help you free up a lot more space than you think.
Save Space Using Carabiner Hooks
Use Muffin Pans As A Cupholder
Make sure you have a muffin pan and a basket on hand if you’re picking up a large fast-food order. What is the rationale behind this? Because it creates a much larger and more durable soft drink holder. Make a mental note of this tip the next time you place a large order.
Use Muffin Pans As A Cupholder
Make Grocery Shopping Easier With Laundry Baskets
When you go grocery shopping, put an empty laundry basket in the trunk. When you get home, you can fill the basket with bags, reducing the number of trips back and forth to the car and making your grocery trips much more convenient!
Make Grocery Shopping Easier With Laundry Baskets
Keep Some Kitty Litter In Your Trunk
Kitty litter should be kept in your trunk even if you do not have a cat. Extra traction, which kitty litter can provide, is required to get out of a deep snowbank or a slick patch of road. Try driving out again after pouring some around your tires. The non-clumping variety is recommended.
Keep Some Kitty Litter In Your Trunk
Another Kitty Litter Hack
You can also put kitty litter in a sock and keep it on your dashboard as another amazing hack. This may seem absurd, but it will prevent your windshield from fogging up. And, yes, this is a very important piece of advice.
Another Kitty Litter Hack
Need To Keep Things In Place? Use Command Hooks
If you need a place to keep your purse, bag, or mask from flying all over the place, hang a command hook at floor level. As a result, everything you need is easily accessible, neat, and tidy. Keep this tip in mind at all times, and you’ll never run out of space in your car.
Need To Keep Things In Place Use Command Hooks
Clean Your Wheels With Coke
You’ve probably heard the phrase “use Coke to clean this” a million times, but a mixture of cola and dish detergent will clean your rims and leave them gleaming. Some people worry that baking soda will just make things stickier, but the detergent you use prevents this.
Clean Your Wheels With Coke