Rub Your Windshield With an Apple, See What Happens

Is your windshield wiper not working so great? Or maybe the rain doesn’t run off the glass efficiently? Cut an apple in half and rub it over the windshield. Then, watch the apple work its magic.

Water will slide off the glass with ease. This works because the “malic dissolvent” has nanoscopic scales with self-cleaning abilities. Those scales effectively bounce the water off on a microscopic level. It’s called the “lotus effect” after the lotus leaf which has the same chemical properties as an apple. It’s also great at cleaning off splattered bugs, dirt, and debris.

If you live in a climate with harsh cold winters, you must be familiar with sticky windshield wipers. Take a cloth and soak it in an ethanol-based liquid. Simply wipe the blades of the wipers, and they won’t stick to the glass, even during the coldest days. Ethanol has a very low freezing point of negative 170 °F. So even if you travel through the Arctic Circle, your windshield will still be operable!

But you might have a bigger obstacle: actually getting into your car! The keyhole freezes up easily, especially when the vehicle isn’t in a garage. There are a few options to avoid this. You could place a magnet large enough to cover the keyhole completely, keeping the frost from entering the hole. Applying lubricants like WD-40 will help avoid frost and keep the keyhole well-maintained.

The freezing point of this substance is as low as negative 80 °F. Coating the key as well is also a good idea. Other alternatives like hand sanitizer will work, too. As the keyhole is small, your warm breath can help thaw it out. Make sure to use a towel ring around it. You don’t want to get stuck!

Okay, the car is unlocked, but now the door is stuck! To avoid this from happening, use cooking spray. It works with a car door just as it keeps food from sticking to the pan. Apply a small amount along the door frame and rubber the night before. It will remain in its lubricant form and won’t freeze. Plus, it will also repel any water as a bonus.

The ice on the front windshield may be so thick that you can’t chip it away. You can make your own de-ice formula of 3 parts vinegar and 1 part water. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which lowers the melting point of water and prevents it from freezing up again. So it will be a lot easier to remove that icy blockade from your car!

A foggy windshield inside the car is easy to avoid. But before you find out how to fix it, do you know why it occurs? The mixture of warm and cool temperatures moving between your car’s interior and exterior is the main cause. A dirty windshield makes it much worse. The dirt particles attract moisture as the temperature changes.

If your windshield is fogging up more than usual, put some shaving cream on a clean towel, spread it over the interior of the windshield, then remove it with another towel. The ammonia in the shaving cream not only cleans all the dirt but also evaporates, ensuring there are no streaks after cleaning.

The side mirrors of cars are vulnerable to ice buildup overnight but scraping it off can cause damage. Using a plastic bag and tying it on the night before will prevent the ice from forming.

You can create your own air freshener for driving on those hot and sticky days! Use an empty glass jar, place candle wax inside, and close it with a lid with some holes punctured into it. When the heat rises, the wax melts, releasing a pleasant fragrance.

Most bad smells come from the seats. The odors of spilled drinks, crumbs, and even human scents build up over time. Not to mention my dog who would get car sick from time to time. Spread baking soda over the seats and leave it to rest for a few minutes.

Most smells are acidic in nature, and baking soda acts as a neutralizer by absorbing them. It removes the smelly acids and turns them into odorless byproducts, like salt. Now just remove it with a vacuum cleaner.

Plastic headlights have a protective layer of polycarbonate covering them. But it disappears after a few years due to UV rays from the sun, rain, and road grit. Once this protective layer is removed, the headlight is vulnerable to oxidation. The sun’s rays then damage it even more, causing it to turn yellow and foggy, making it harder for light beams to escape.

An easy way to clear those lights back to their former glory is by using toothpaste. The hydrogen peroxide in it will help to remove the foggy buildup on the light. Then without harming the glass underneath, it further provides it with a nice shine.

Cupholders are dirt and grime traps and are the most difficult spots in the car to clean. Try using a cup that’s wrapped into an old sock and then moisten the bottom with a cleaning product. Simply put the cup into the holder, force it down and twist. And voilà, the hard-to-reach dirt and grime will stick to the bottom of your cup! You can also avoid getting dirt in there ever again by putting a cupcake holder inside.

Do you think you forgot to lock your car, and now you’re pretty far away from it? No worries, there’s no need to run back awkwardly. Put your fob onto your chin. This will increase its range by several car lengths. The fluids inside your head respond with the electromagnetic signal of the fob, making you an effective conductor. Hey, you could get a job with an orchestra!

The sun’s shortwave radiation is absorbed through the upholstery inside your car. These surfaces then radiate the energy that’s received, causing your car to become hot very quickly. When you enter this trap of hot air, cooling it down with air-con takes a long time as the hot air struggles to escape. Open your front passenger window, then open and close the driver’s door quickly like a fan. This method will push out the hot air and take in cold air a lot faster.

It’s important to repair any small cracks that are in your windshield. The vibrations from driving and cold weather make the cracks expand. A good quick fix is using clear nail polish. Park your car somewhere in the shade and apply the nail polish, ensuring it enters all the little cracks. Now, drive into the sun, so it dries faster. The nail polish creates an adhesive that will prevent further cracking.

A simple dent in the side of your car doesn’t look like much. But having it fixed could be worth hundreds of dollars just to pop it back out! Take a plunger and cover the dent with the plastic end. Push to release the air until the pressure is tight enough so that it holds in place. Now give it a little tug.

This will help for dints larger than a fist. But if you have a smaller one, wait for a cold day, get a bucket of hot water, and slowly pour it over the dent. The heat will cause the metal to expand, and the dent will pop itself out. That should save you some cash, but don’t tell your mechanic!

Unfortunately, cars only have limited cup holders, so when it’s your turn to bring the takeout, the drive back could get messy. Using your shoes can help you out. You can also adjust them to different sizes by tying the shoelaces. They’ll provide the same support for your beverage as they do for your heels.

Even vacuum cleaners can fail at accessing many areas of your car. So, cleaning slime is the best solution. It changes into any size needed and easily removes dirt, dust, grime, and even hair. It’s easy to make.

All you need is one and a half cups of warm water, a quarter cup of laundry booster, and five ounces of white school glue. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, then knead into a ball until you have the ultimate cleaning device! Not only is it great for the car, but for all those other impossible-to-clean places that build up dust, like keyboards, USB ports, and even holes in your smartphone.