Juggling your responsibilities, your kids, and your work-life eats up an unbelievable amount of time, and taking your car in for regular maintenance just doesn’t seem practical for a mother who’s always on the go. To help you keep your car in the best condition possible without having to send it in to be serviced, take a look at these car maintenance tasks you can do yourself.
While you may have to take your car to the mechanic to get the oil changed, tires rotated, and a tune-up performed, there are three car maintenance tasks you can do yourself.
Replacing the Air Filter
The air filter under your hood keeps dust, dirt, and debris from clogging up the engine to ensure air can pass freely through the system. This is a small but important component that needs to be replaced at least annually. Luckily, it is very easy and cheap to obtain and replace this part yourself.
The air filter is easy to identify as part of a black rectangular box with metal clips on the side. All you have to do is remove the filter—taking note of which way it faces—place the new one in its place, and reattach the clips to ensure it doesn’t go anywhere.
Related: How Air Filters can Help with Allergies
Clean the Headlights
At some point, it’s inevitable that the headlights on a car will become cloudy as a result of UV rays and road grit, decreasing the effectiveness of the lights and potentially posing a driving hazard. You needn’t pay for all-new headlights, however, as headlight restoration kits are much more reasonably priced. You just need to spare some time to properly clean the headlights and restore the protective coating that was worn off by the grit and sun.
Related: 15 Essential Winter Driving Tips
Add a Coat of Wax
One of the easiest car maintenance tasks you can do yourself is cleaning and waxing your car. Handwashing your car may seem like a drag when you can just go to an automated carwash, but washing by hand allows for greater attention to detail and reduces the risks of water spots or soap stains.
Once you’ve given your car a thorough wash, you can choose from a variety of waxes that will add a glossy shine to the paint and provide a protective layer against the sun’s harmful UV rays. Waxing also adds greater resistance to scratches from any debris that comes into contact with your car.
Related: What is the best at-home wax kit?
By completing these car maintenance tasks you can do yourself, you will be able to keep your car in the best condition possible without having to send it in to be serviced.
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