Often it’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary, but unfortunately it’s often also the simplest problems that are the most extraordinarily annoying to fix.
Whether it’s forgetting where you left your car in the car park or just forgetting where you’re going altogether, nobody said that being a motorist in the 21st century was going to be easy.
As a result, we’ve compiled a quick and simple list of some of the handiest hacks you can use to simplify your life as a driver and concentrate on the things that really matter.
1. De-ice your doors with hand sanitiser
Winter’s often the toughest season on cars as well as their drivers, and there’s nothing worse than going out in the morning to find your doors have seemingly frozen solid.
Residual moisture on the doors can often cause them to seize up when the mercury plummets and it freezes over, effectively sealing the doors shut and sometimes even making it impossible to get your key in the lock.
If you’re in a pinch, hand sanitiser is a handy solution for getting them open. The high alcohol content causes the ice to melt quickly and effectively, while squirty bottles are easy to carry and can be directed into all the door’s nooks and crannies.
2. Look at the fuel gauge to find where the fuel cap is
If you’re driving a new car that you’re not used to, a company car or a rental, it can sometimes be hard to remember which side the fuel cap is on when you go to fill it up again.
To avoid potential embarrassment, there’s usually an arrow on one side of the fuel gauge icon, which points to the side of the car that the cap is located. If there isn’t an arrow, it’s usually the side that the nozzle and hose is on the icon.
3. Make a bin from a cereal container
Letting your car get clogged up with rubbish and waste food isn’t just off-putting to passengers, but it can actually cause a harmful build-up of nasty bacteria and viruses inside the vehicle.
To help keep things tidy, you can craft a makeshift bin from a plastic cereal container. Available from most bargain shops and supermarkets for a couple of quid, these containers usually come in different sizes as well.
Simply pop a plastic bag or black bin bag inside, feed the top through the lid of the container, and you’ve got yourself an instant bin that can be stored in the car’s footwell or in the boot.
It’s particularly handy if you’re travelling on long journeys with kids, or if you’re a regular abuser of your local McDonald’s drive-through!
4. Protect your paint with pool noodles
If your garage is tight and you’re worried about scratching the paintjob on your car, you can prevent banging the sides of the doors off the wall with a pool noodle.
These simple flotation aids can be bought online for a few pounds each, and all you have to do is use a knife to slice one in half lengthwise and then stick it on to the side of the wall at waist height.
You can use Blue Peter’s favourite double-backed sticky tape, nails or even glue to stick it to the wall, instantly giving a protective foam barrier that’ll mean no more dents and no more tears.
5. Use floormats for traction if you get stuck
If you find yourself stuck in snow, mud, sand or any other situation where you’ve got low grip, then those floormats under your feet can come in extremely handy.
The absolute worst thing you can do if you get stuck is to gun the accelerator and hope to God that your car frees itself, as this will usually only cause you to dig further into the quagmire.
Instead, take the floormats out and place them under the wheels of your car in order to increase traction. If your car’s front-wheel drive, put them under the front wheels and vice versa for a rear-wheel drive car, then carefully apply power to avoid spinning the wheels.
You might end up with a couple of soggy mats, but then surely that’s a much better alternative to the embarrassment of having to call somebody to tow you out, right?
6. Lighten your keychain to keep your car running smoothly
It might sound odd, but keeping the weight on your keychain down can actually help you avoid problems with the car’s ignition system.
A lot of vehicles now come with button-activated keyless ignitions, but a majority of the motors still on the road use the traditional keyed system, which is deceptively fragile.
Too much weight from extra keys, keychains and other accessories can pull the key down while it’s in the ignition slot and, over time, wear out the insides of the ignition switch.
If this fails things can be pretty bad, as the ignition doesn’t just start the car itself but also activates the electrics.
7. Cool a hot car quickly with science
In the summer, if your car has been sitting in the sun for a long while and you’ve forgotten to roll the windows down, the chances are it’s going to be pretty toasty inside.
Rather than waiting for the air conditioning to puff out the heat, you can instead use a handy tip for cooling your car down in seconds that harnesses the power of physics.
All you have to do is roll up all of the windows except for the one on the front passenger side. With that done, all you have to do is simply open and close the driver’s door between five and ten times quickly.
This creates a vacuum effect, which sucks the stuffy air from the interior out while simultaneously drawing in the cooler air from the outside to quickly reduce the inside temperature. Science!
