It’s summer in Arkansas. The humidity is at an all-time high. It’s early morning. You’re running late to work. You didn’t have time to start your car to get it nice and cool, so now you’re sitting in a sauna. Why did you even bother to shower? You’re now drenched in sweat, and your day hasn’t even started yet. Sound familiar? We at McLarty Daniel feel your pain and see your hot box of a car, but we’re here to help!
Stay Ice Cold with Cooled Front Seats
While we offer cool new and used cars, trucks, SUVs and vans to drivers in Bentonville, Springdale, Bella Vista and the greater Northwest Arkansas area, we have a few tips to keep you and your car cool this summer. No sweat, no gain, they say. Last time we checked, your car’s not a gym. So instead, we say happy temperature, happy life, right?
Let Your Hair Down in a Convertible
Before we jump right into our tips, we can’t stress enough the most important thing you can do to make sure your car is cool is to plan ahead. If you get in the mindset of knowing your car is going to be hot, you can then prepare ways to beat the heat. Check the weather forecast and the highs for the day. If you see it’s going to be a high heat index, make sure you allot time in your schedule to make cooling your car a priority. Now that you know to plan for it, we can help with ways to keep you and your car cool.
Follow these Tips to Keep Cool for the Summer:
Park in a Covered Area: If possible, park your car in a covered area like a garage. If your garage is full of other items, it’s time to declutter. Your number one use of a garage is to house your vehicle. It needs love, too and a space to call home. Don’t be lazy and leave it in the driveway all night. Tuck it in for a good night’s sleep, and in the morning, it’ll be at a manageable temperature compared to sitting in direct sunlight. If you don’t have access to a garage, park in a shaded area. This applies to not just your home. If you’re out and about, find parking garages or shaded areas with trees. The more your car is out of direct sunlight, the cooler it will stay.
SPF for Your Car: Not everyone has access to a garage, or a shaded area isn’t available, and we’re forced to park our beloved friend in the direct sunlight. Think of your car as you would your own body. We wear protective gear against the sun, such as sunglasses, hats, long sleeves and sunscreen. Your car needs the same TLC. Make sure your sunroof is closed so no sunlight is beating down into your car. You can purchase window sunshades that keep the heat out, as well as a dashboard sun visor. It’s also a good idea to cover your steering wheel with a towel or purchase dashboard and seat covers. If you’ve ever sat in hot leather seats, you’ve felt the pain of burning your bare thighs. Find all the necessary preventative protection there is and get it for your car. You won’t regret it when it comes to keeping cool.
Full of Hot Air: So far, we’ve parked our car in a covered area, but if not, we’ve used a sun visor and all the preventative measures we can to keep our car cool. Now comes the time to get back in your car after you’ve been at work all day or it’s been parked directly in the sun. Your car is still going to be hot. This goes back to planning ahead. If your car has a remote start, you can make sure your air conditioning is turned on before you get out of your car so that when you remotely start it, it’ll kick on. Start your car five to 10 minutes before you leave, and you’ll arrive to a cooled-down car. If your car doesn’t have a remote start, you can still help alleviate the heat. Open all the doors and roll down the windows. The quicker you can get the hot air out, the better. Turn on your car’s air conditioning, and instead of pulling the air from inside the vehicle, make sure to pull it from outside. The air inside your locked-up car is going to be way hotter than the air outside. Once your car is cooled down, then you can switch the circulation back on. It also helps to turn on the lower vents and close the top vents. As much as we want to blow that cold air in our face, it’s not cold yet. If you blow air from the lower vents, it will push all the hot air up and out of the car, allowing you to cool it down faster.
While there are many different ways to keep your car cool this summer, we hope these simple tips work for you. If you need a new or used vehicle, come see us at any of our six perfectly air-conditioned McLarty Daniel locations that serve NWA.
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