11 Fantastic Ways to Use Vinegar in Your Car

Keeping cars clean is one of the biggest challenges many car owners face. But what if there was a simple product that you already have in your pantry that could keep your car clean? Turns out, there is! Vinegar’s good for so much more than salad dressing - it makes a great household and car cleaner. It’s gentle and all-natural, so you don’t have to worry about putting harsh chemicals into your car. Here are 11 ways you can use vinegar to clean your car:

1. Keep car windows frost-free overnight in winter by coating them with a solution of 3 parts white distilled vinegar to 1 part water.
2. Polish car chrome with full-strength white distilled vinegar on a soft cloth.
3. Remove unwanted decals and bumper stickers by covering them with a cloth soaked in white distilled vinegar, or by repeatedly spraying them with full-strength white distilled vinegar. They should peel off in a couple of hours.
4. Rid the windshield wipers of road grime by wiping them with a white distilled vinegar-soaked cloth.
5. Remove the leftover odor after a rider has been carsick by leaving a bowl of white distilled vinegar overnight on the floor.
6. Get rid of hard water stains on your car with a rinse made from 3 parts soft water to one part white distilled vinegar.
7. Wipe vinyl upholstery with a mixture of equal parts white distilled vinegar and water.
8. Remove winter road salt residue on car carpeting by spraying with a mixture of equal parts white distilled vinegar and water, then blot with a soft towel.
9. Remove the hazy film that builds up on inside windows by spraying with white distilled vinegar.
10. Remove dirt and stains from car carpeting with a mixture of half white distilled vinegar and half water.
11. When doing car maintenance, soak rusty bolts and screws with white distilled vinegar to make them easier to remove.

Read more uses for vinegar in your car here: http://bit.ly/VMV3Xc

How Can I Keep Rust Away From My Car?

One thing that scares car owners is rust. This pesky problem can make a car almost undriveable. However, you can keep your car from declining into a rusty junkheap. It requires monitoring and regular maintenance, but with some work, you could keep rust at bay. What causes rust in the first place? Here’s a technical explanation for the curious:

Rust is iron oxide, a molecule consisting of two iron atoms and three oxygen atoms. It's the product of an electrochemical process called corrosion. To create rust, three factors must be present: an anode, a cathode and an electrolyte. An anode is a piece of metal that will readily release electrons under the right circumstances. Cathodes are metals that will accept electrons. Electrolytes are liquids that facilitate the movement of electrons.

As electrons flow from the anode to the cathode via the electrolyte, the anode metal corrodes. In the case of metals with iron in them, part of the anode metal becomes rust. As the metal corrodes, it weakens. That's not something you want to have happen to your vehicle.

There are several points on your car that are more susceptible to rust. For example, your car's engine, frame, chassis, exhaust system and trunk compartment can develop rust. Optional equipment, like trailer hitches, can also fall prey to corrosion. Rust can even attack painted surfaces on your car.

Getting rid of rust is challenging. It's easier to take steps to prevent rust than it is to eradicate it. In the case of rust, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Read the full article (and get some great rust prevention tips!) here: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/vehicle-maintenance/prevent-automotive-rust.htm

8 Tips for Safe Driving

Learning to drive safely is about more than simply learning the basics. While maintaining control over the car and using good judgment are important, there are also a few tips you can use to drive as safely as possible. Protect yourself - and your car - by following these easy safe driving tips:

Obey the three second rule: Every driver should know and heed the three second rule: When the vehicle ahead of you passes a fixed object (such as a tree or telephone pole) slowly count "one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand." If you reach the object before completing the count, you're following too closely. Double your following distance (to six seconds) in poor weather.

Maintain appropriate speed: Speed, as such, doesn't kill. If it did, airliners traveling at 500 mph would have the highest accident/fatality rates of any form of transportation. But air travel is in fact much safer than driving -- and few cars travel at 500 mph. The problem is inappropriate speed. For example, while it may be perfectly legal to drive 65 mph on the highway, if you don't slow down when it's raining heavily (or snowing) and your visibility as well as your car's stopping ability are reduced -- you increase your chances of having an accident. Similarly, if you are driving an unfamiliar road, especially a country road with many blind curves, you may not be able to negotiate the road at the same speed a local might with equal safety. Use your judgment -- and adjust speed to match conditions and your comfort level.

Get all eight tips by reading the full article here: http://autos.aol.com/article/safe-driving-rules/