Preparations are important before Winter even comes to your area (if you get winter...). Checking over your car and getting it "winterized" is probably a good chore to do toward the end of Autum. (Duh!). So I thought I'd go through what we do to our cars, and what I've been taught to do since I could wash a tire on a car with my Dad watching over me holding the hose...

We actually didn't do this for this season yet because, well, we're getting a "new" car. Working on our present car when we're going to get rid of it seems to be a waste of money. But, when we do prepare the car, this is what we'll be doing!

The first thing I was told to do is drive my car around to warm it up. This is basically a way to get rid of moisture in the engine's exhaust. You don't want to wait too long to get this step to work. Sometimes it's too cold (in some areas) to try this when winter already hits! So, go out, drive around some, and enjoy one last semi-decent day for driving!

While you are out, it is somtimes said that a good undercarriage scrub will help go a long way once winter hits and salt hits the roads. So go to a car wash, or do it at home like we do, and scrub that undercarriage real good. Then wash the car itself. Once that is done, head to your favorite gas station and fill up the tank with some good fuel and an engine cleaner.

Why an engine cleaner? Welllllll, they boost fuel efficiency, they eliminate sludge and slime that is produced by engines over time, they cut emissions down, extend engine life, prevent carbon fouling which can rob power from a good engine, and, well it just preserves and restores fuel to a fresh state, and keeps it that way. There are many types of brands of these available at Automobile Parts stores. I suggest reading the bottles and finding what you can afford, what you like, and so on. There are different kinds for different fuels so make sure you get the right stabilizer for your car!

The next step, after your car is cleaned up reallllll nice, is to wax it. Trust me, wax your car. Even if you think "Eh, it's not exactly a show room piece...", do it. Do a real good job of it too. The wax will help protect the car from some of the icky stuff that's about to pound into it with the force of cold and elements!

Once that's finished, grease the doors and other hinges that need greased, and check pieces inside that may need some WD-40 or something similar. The more these are coated and protected the more the winter can't hurt them, or have them freeze shut. Ew. So check those areas! A manual on your car can help you locate important areas to grease and check on for this proceedure.

Now we get serious and under the hood. Check the battery and it's charge. Make sure it's in good shape. The cold can suck a battery dry. So checking it periodically after low temperatures and storms is also a good idea. Clean the battery connections off if necessary, too, it will help the battery stay in tip top condition. If you can, keep a new battery inside where it is protected to make sure you have a backup, just in case. You will also need to:

• check the oil, replace and change out everything if needed. The filter and the oil.
• check the coolant area. Get some anti-freeze in there. Make sure you do it per specifications for your automobile. They're all different. Your manual will tell you what to put in it.
• use WD-40 on bolt heads, tie-rod ends, and electical terminals under the hood as well. Don't get wild with it, just a few sprays here and there will help. It will protect these things from the cold.
• check tire pressure and tires. Replace the tires if needed. Some say to add tire pressure to the tires in winter. My Dad has on a few of his cars by about 8 pounds. I've never done that, but I probably should. Cold air makes tires contract so air will be low in tires. And don't forget to check your spare tire or your donut out. Keep it in top condition, use WD-40 on it's bolts and things to keep them lubricated to get them off easily and to protect them from the cold. Check your jack as well, some can rust.
• check your windshield wiper fluid. Get something in that container that will be good for cold, cold, coooooold weather! Not sunny days in summer. You dont want them to freeze up on you if you get splashed with some slushy muddy stuffs on the road. Store the unused cleaner in the trunk, just in case you need more. Salt, dirt, scum, and just everything winter brings is much tougher to clean off of windshields so you'll be using more. Keeping some close is not a bad idea. It's being safe.
• While you're in that department, check your windshield wiper blades. If they are old or look worn out or torn, replace them as soon as you can.
• Brakes are another concern on cars in winter. Slippery, cold, icy roads mean a lot of trouble when you need to stop. So make sure your breaks are in the best of conditions.
• check lights on the car, the heater, and the defroster.These are very, very important for more than one reason. So don't skip this step if you feel like skipping one or two.
• check all the ties and clamps on hoses on your car, check belts, check equipment to make sure everything is clamped down or bolted down properly.
• check the air filter, replace if needed. That's another important area.

Once you go through everything with the engine (be sure to check your manual for other items that are relevant to your specific car) you need to check the interior part of the car. With the mats of the car, with salt, snow, and melting it is a good idea to get a back up mat set to change around. Get a set that's simple and fits with your car. You don't have to get too expensive.

A friend of mine actually made protective covers for the cars she and her husband own. She uses a vinyl table cloth, cuts to fit the area using the mats from the car for a guide, sews the edges up, and puts them under the mats to protect the flooring. Then she puts the mats "up" to dry in her garage with simple clamp like hangers she picked up from shoping at a department store. The other set of mats then go in the car, leaving the used one's out to dry. She switches mats every other day or so. This may sound like a lot, but her car is clean as can be, and not worn out anywhere - and her mats are still very, very nice!

The last thing to check is the most important, if you ask me, cause I'm a Mom: The items to keep in the car. This will be in a new post all on it's own!