Does the interior of your car look like a storage unit? Run down this list and see how many of these items look familiar:
● Sports equipment.
● Gym gear.
● Donation items (to drop off “sometime”).
● Merchandise to return to department store
If the interior of your vehicle looks like a storage unit, see below to lighten the load.
What about gas mileage?
The heavier the load you are hauling around in your car, the lower your gas mileage.
Not only that … the more stuff in your car, the more difficult it is to clean. If you can’t get your car’s interior professionally cleaned because you’d have to move so much stuff in there … it’s time to do a spring cleaning of your vehicle.
Cleaning your car’s interior
● Pick a day when the sun’s out. Grab a stack of garbage bags, some cleaning spray, a microfiber cloth and a vacuum.
● Round up all the papers, food wrappers and random trash under the seats. Stuff all the trash in a garbage bag.
● Vacuum out all the winter “yuck.”
● Spray down hard surfaces with cleaner and wipe off the dust and dirt.
Remove items from your car
Let’s face it: We leave items in the vehicle because that’s where we need to have them when we need them! So what is the solution?
● Seasonal items: The trick is remembering to remove all the gear once the season is over. This will free up space — and when you’re not carting around a bag of baseball bats, your car will weigh less. (Of course, you’ve got to have a designated place where you’re going to put this stuff. Oh! Maybe that’s part of the problem.)
● Workout gear: If you’re hitting the gym on a regular basis, good for you. But work out a routine for regularly bringing that gym bag inside to empty and air out. Launder items as needed, then restock before returning to the car.
● Donations and returns: A medium-sized bin on a storage shelf in the garage can hold items for errand day and returns. Schedule a day that includes a round trip of shopping and drop-offs. Until then, putting those items in the garage bin will free up more space in your car.
Improve gas mileage through maintenance
One of the best ways to increase your car’s gas mileage is through regular vehicle maintenance. Repairing an out-of-tune vehicle or one that has failed an emissions test can improve fuel economy by an average of 4 percent.
Fixing a more serious problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can boost gas mileage by up to 40 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Regular fuel injection service – indicated by your vehicle owner’s manual – is one of the most critical steps you can take to enhance fuel economy.
This should be done once a year or about every 15,000 miles. Replacing your car’s fuel filter according to your vehicle manufactures specification can also provide better gas mileage.
This is a fuel carbon-cleaning process which cleans the injectors, the intake valves and the combustion chamber,.
Carbon deposits make the car run sluggish and it takes more gas to run the vehicle engine efficiently.
Tires also play a critical role in how well vehicles conserve gasoline. Properly inflated tires, regular tire rotations and wheel alignments can increase mileage by up to 7 percent.
The federal government indicates keeping tires at the correct inflation level can improve mileage by up to 3.3 percent, while under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.3 percent for every 1 psi drop in the pressure of all four tires.
Another important maintenance step is replacing the engine air filter regularly. Replacing air filters about every 15,000 to 30,000 miles can increase gas mileage by up to 6 percent.
It is the combustion of air and fuel that energizes the engine,” and “Air filter replacement or at least cleaning it on a regular basis will keep the dirt and residue from entering the engine.
Other maintenance items to think about are regular oil changes, addressing issues related to a “Check engine” light and using the recommend fuel grade.
For more tips like these, read our car repair blog.
