The News Wheel
No Comments

The Violence of Hairspray

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

Items That You Shouldn't Leave in Your Car This Summer

Ayres surveying the damage to her windshield

A shattered windshield from…a can of hairspray?! That’s what Vancouver resident Karmen Ayres found when she left work on a hot day and went to unlock her car.

The sun can not only blind drivers but also raise the internal temperatures of their cars to uncomfortable, sometimes harmful levels. According to a Stanford study, a car’s interior increases an average of 40 degrees Fahrenheit in just 60 minutes. Other sources claim that car interiors can easily reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Check out this video for a visual of just how quickly a car’s internal temperature can rise.

Sun damage is clearly something that impacts both drivers and their cars. Exploding and/or melting objects can cause some serious harm to your car. With the extreme temperatures that summer brings, it’s especially important to be vigilant about which items you keep in your car. Here’s a list of other heat-sensitive items that you shouldn’t leave inside your car this summer:

Aerosols
This can include bugspray, air freshener, shaving cream, and (as mentioned before) hairspray.

Disposable Lighters
There’s a reason that the labels say to avoid exposure to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or higher temperatures.

Medications
Don’t be fooled by the solid, rigid appearance of your pills. Apparently heat can alter the chemical composition of prescription drugs.


Stay Safe: Learn what the most common vehicle warning lights mean


Sunscreens
Labels usually advise storing sunscreens at temperatures under 77 degrees Fahrenheit. This is because sunscreen chemicals like oxybenzone and avobenzone start degrading in your car. When sunscreen starts to chemically break down, this lowers the SPF level indicated on the bottle.

Sunglasses and Eyeglasses

Eyewear is another item that you shouldn’t leave in a hot car. The heat can warp plastic lenses and frames.

Electronics
It’s widely known that it’s a bad idea to leave electronics in the car. Heat can shorten battery life of common items like cell phones, digital cameras, laptops, cordless power tools, iPods, and electronic games and toys.

Plastics
Plastic items are another thing you shouldn’t leave in the car: credit cards, plastic shoes like flip flops, and bottled drinks. Bottled drinks?! Yep. Plastic water bottles are often made form polyethylene terephthalate  that releases BPA when exposed to heat. This chemical can negatively interfere with your hormone levels.


DIY Summer Road Trip Prep: How to perform a coolant flush


CDs and DVDs
If you cherish your tunes and movies, you will want to refrain from leaving these bad boys in the car.

Makeup
Cosmetics are another thing that not only melt in a hot car, but they can also change in color, consistency, and chemical composition. Heat will shorten the shelf life of your makeup, especially foundation. If you have to keep your makeup in your car, consider trying a Cool-It Caddy invented by a brilliant woman from Arizona who got sick of losing makeup to extreme heat.

Food
It’s common knowledge that food can spoil if left exposed to the heat for too long. However, it’s all too easy to forget a bag of groceries in the car, or a new chocolate bar that you snagged at the drugstore and left on the passenger seat.

These tips should help you keep your car clean and safe this summer, and spare you the grief of having to pay for car damages or replacements for any cherished items.

News Source: AutoBlog, Stanford University