Summer is here, and with it comes warmer weather. The higher temperatures the season brings can be a blessing or a curse. Sure, 90-degree weather is great for a day at the beach, but it’s not as fun coming back to a sweltering hot car afterward.
Why is your car so hot?
Believe it or not, it’s not just your imagination. It really is hotter in your car than it is outside. You can thank the greenhouse effect for this, which traps sunlight inside of your car. This leaves a whole lot of stagnant (and unbearably hot) air just sitting around with nowhere to go. Things can get pretty steamy this way – in fact, vehicles with dark interior or upholstery can reach temperatures of up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Yikes!
So how do you fix it?
While it’s impossible to prevent your car from heating up in the summer, there are a few things you can do to make things a bit more bearable. Read on for some easy ways to keep your car cool this summer.
Park in the shade.
This is probably the most logical solution, although that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the easiest to accomplish. With such an easy fix available, everyone is going to try to take advantage of it. It’s not uncommon to find every shady parking spot taken, but if you can manage to snag one it could make a considerable difference in the temperature of your car after sitting in the parking lot for a few hours.
Crack the windows.
Even if you can’t find a nice shady spot to park, you can still mitigate some of the damage by rolling your windows down a bit. It helps to circulate the air instead of leaving it trapped in your car, ultimately leaving your interior feeling less like an oven when all is said and done. You don’t need to leave the windows wide open – just an inch or two should do the trick. It’s enough to let fresh air in and keep bugs out.
Keep Car cool with seat covers.
Hot air isn’t your only enemy in the summertime. We’re all familiar with the unfortunate sensation of legs against sizzling hot seats. Leather upholstery in particular is notorious for getting red-hot in the summer. An easy way to prevent your seats from overheating (and burning your legs) is investing in a set of seat covers for your car.
While it may seem counterproductive to cover your seats with leather, faux leather seat covers are actually a great option. They provide the look and feel of real leather while also keeping your seats considerably cooler than the real deal. The key is to look for seat covers with a breathable mesh layer that allows air to circulate behind the fabric.
If leather isn’t your type, there are still tons of options out there. Cloth seat covers provide a quick and easy solution to hot seats and are a breeze to install. They also come in a wider variety of colors and patterns, while leather is typically limited to neutral colors like black, gray, and tan. On top of having more design choices, cloth seat covers will generally stay cooler in hot temperatures.
You aren’t limited to only two options. There are seat covers in plenty of different fabrics and materials for you to choose from. Neoprene seat covers are a popular option for their lightweight yet durable protection, while pet owners might want to opt for oxford seat covers, which provide superior protection against claws and paws – and the occasional “accident” too.
Use a steering wheel cover.
On hot days, blazing seats aren’t the only thing you need to worry about. Steering wheels fall victim to high temperatures too, and it’s not uncommon to climb into your car in the summer and immediately scorch your hands on the hot leather. Fortunately, this is easy to remedy. Just like your seats, you can cover up your steering wheel to offset some of the heat.
Steering wheel covers come in many varieties, just like their seat counterparts. A leather steering wheel cover will undoubtedly retain some more heat than a cloth steering wheel cover, but either option is a far better alternative to a red-hot steering wheel that’s been sitting out in the sun for hours.
Try this weird hack.
If all else fails, you can always resort to using some muscle. Before you get in your car, force some of the hot air out with this strange (but helpful) trick.
It’s as simple as rolling down the window and then swinging the door open back and forth a few times, almost like an oversized fan of sorts. This helps to recirculate the air in your car, making it more comfortable while you wait for the air conditioning to kick in. Sure, you might look a little goofy fanning your car door open and closed like a madman in the parking lot, but it might just be a price you’re willing to pay for a car that doesn’t feel like a giant oven after a long day.
