The Ultimate List of Car Hack And 15 More For Winter!

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Taking care of your car and keeping it clean can be a chore. However, if you know some of the best cleaning hacks for your vehicle, the stress of keeping your car cleaned is quickly removed, and you may notice that it is not that difficult to do.  These hacks often use very inexpensive items and in some cases, are items you may already have on hand. However, each one of these will make a difference in how nice your car looks compared to what it may have looked before.

Freshen The Air

 You eat in it, drink in it, play in it…you might even sleep in it. Your car is much more than four wheels and a steering wheel so that it can get pretty darn stinky inside. Keep it smelling fresh and clean with this quick and easy car hack.

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Remove the lid from an old salt or pepper shaker, add some scented candle wax from an old candle and replace the lid. Hide it under the seat, in the console, or the side of the door. The fragrance will release into the air for a better smelling car.

Cup Holder Protectors

 This car hack with change your change holder forever! You know how everything from loose change to candy wrappers, spilled soda, etc., etc., ends up in your console and cup holder? Now, with this hack, you can keep your cup holder as clean as a whistle.

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Take cupcake liners, paper, or silicone will work, tuck them into the cup holder, and you’ll never have to worry about a sticky, unsightly mess down there again. They’re replaceable too, so keep a few extra in your glove box for quick clean-ups!

Nail It With Nail Polish

 If a rock flies up onto your car and chips the paint, or you parked too close to another vehicle and got a big ding, no worries! Find a bottle of fingernail polish that matches your car’s finish and use it to touch up the chip.

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Keep the bottle in the console or glove box for immediate repair. The nail polish is a quick fix that will keep the chip from getting larger until you can get to the repair shop.

Double Duty Hand Sanitizer

Nothing is worse when it is the dead of winter, and you can’t unlock the car door because the locks are frozen solid. Enter Super Hand Sanitizer! Grab your hand sanitizer and squeeze it into the locks.

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The alcohol in the sanitizer is also a quick car hack to thaw the keyhole. Tuck a few bottles in your glove box and keep one handy in your handbag for winter emergencies.

Do It Yourself Car Mats

It is nearly impossible to keep the floor of your car clean. Dirt, grime spilled beverages, crumbs, and other yucky things soil the floor pretty fast. Here’s a car hack from the bottom up  that will make it easy to keep your car floor cleaner, longer.

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Get some carpet scraps or samples from your local carpet supplier. They usually cost next to nothing, look attractive, and will keep your original car floors looking as good as new.

Hold, Please

Hello, beautiful! If you don’t have one of those handy, hands-free mobile phone holders for your car, check this car hack out. Take an ordinary rubber band, weave it through the air vent and wrap it around your phone.

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It’s as magic as the phone is attached to the vent, so you can say “hello” to your new hand’s free phone holder.

Olive Oil Car Conditioner

Yes, it’s good in your favorite soups, salads, and stews. It’s also great to condition your hair and skin with the kitchen pantry staple. But did you know you can use good old olive oil to state your car’s dashboard?

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Take a soft towel, pour on some olive oil, and wipe down the interior of your car. The leather will instantly look better than ever, thanks to this amazing oil.

Furry Friend Clean Up

This is a doggone good car hack that will keep your car’s upholstery fur-free. You can still take your best fur baby for a ride without covering the seats. After you are finished with your joy ride, take a spray bottle of water and a squeegee.

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Spray the water on the fur and use the squeegee to remove the fur magically. Now that’s the cat’s meow.

Windshield Wiper First Aid

It never fails. Right in your line of vision, there is a smear that gets worse and worse with every swipe of the windshield wipers. This car hack will keep your windshield sparkling clean and disinfected too.

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All you will need is a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a cotton ball or clean towel and a little elbow grease. Pour the alcohol on the towel and slowly wipe the rubber part of the wipers until they are clean. The smear will be gone.

Bugged By The Bugs

Your last road trip was awesome, but you returned with more than you bargained for. The front bumper is full of bugs, and a journey through the car wash just wasn’t enough to remove them all. Grab a few dryer sheets from the laundry room for this car hack.

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Simply wipe them over the buggy bumper. These multi- task wonder wipes will remove the bugs in an instant!

Tidy Up With Toothpaste

You and your old car have been through thick and thin, and there are still some good miles left on your old faithful. The only problem is that the headlights are cloudy and not lighting up the road like they used to. Enter this car hack that will be a game changer.

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Take some toothpaste and rub it over the headlight. Let sit for a few minutes and wipe it off with a wet cloth. The headlights will look as good as new and be minty fresh, too!

Mouse Proofing

Mice tend to flock to a place that is warm when the cold weather hits. Well, your car motor is one hot place that the mice tend to love.

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Well, to keep the mice out of your car’s motor you have to put some dryer sheets under the hood. Make sure you remove the dryer sheets before leaving though.

Socks Under The Wipers

Having your windshield wipers freeze to the windshield is a major problem in winter and makes it impossible to use right away. Well, to avoid that problem you just take some older socks and slip them over the wipers.

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You may want to raise the windshield wipers first to keep them from getting frozen with the socks.

Get Crafty Get Cleaning

It’s almost impossible to clean the individual vents in a car. Your fingertips are too big; the brush only goes in half-way, so you give up. Not anymore, thanks to the foam paintbrushes.

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They come in all different sizes, so take the smallest one, dampen it with water or cleaner and insert it into the vents. The foam will immediately act as a dirt magnet…not that’s car hack crafty!

Coffee Filters

Ahh, a pure coffee filters an item that any coffee lover will know right where they are located in the store but also have in the house quite often. Since that is the case, you need to realize this is something that you can use in your car, as well. Now, you may be scratching your head and trying to figure out how, but it is easy.

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Coffee filters are a lint-free material, which means they do not leave any of the lint trappings behind. This makes it perfect for getting the dusting done on your car and wiping off the dashboard and other parts of your vehicle. However, what is even better is the coffee filters still make it easier for you to get the dusting done using an inexpensive item and not have to buy anything extra if you drink coffee.

Microfiber Mitts Can Be Used To Clean The Car

When you use a car wash, you may notice that your car gets scratched after it has been run through the automatic washer. However, what you need to realize is that you can easily avoid those scratches if you decide to take time and put forth the effort to hand wash the car. Well, even hand washing can lead to scratches if you are not careful as the brushes can have stiff bristles that make it hard to scrub the car.

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Well, to avoid those scratches, you can use a microfiber mitt. When you use these mitts, it is very easy for you to clean your car and avoid scratches. Then you have your vehicle looking great and know it will not have any scratches in the paint.

Get Rid Of Bumper Stickers

Bumper stickers always seem like a great idea, but after a while, your thoughts may change, or you decide to sell the car. Well, no one wants to have the bumper stickers on the car when they buy a new vehicle. Since that is the case, you often need to get rid of the bumper stickers on the vehicle.

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The quickest way to remove the bumper stickers is by taking your hairdryer and having it only a few inches above the sticker. When you do this, you will start to heat the middle of the sticker and work out towards the edges. What you do then take your credit card on metal and a razor blade on glass and peel up around the corners. Once the sticker is off, it will still have a little bit of sticky feel behind it, and that is when you will want to make a cleaning solution that is safe for your paint to remove the rest of the sticker.

Remove Musty Smells

Sometimes you get into your car, and it feels damp and musty. Maybe you left the windows down during a rain shower, or your windows aren’t as tight as they used to be. Here’s a car hack that is easy as can be.

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Sprinkle some baking soda into a jar or small container and set it under your car seats. The soda will absorb the moisture and musty odors and leave your car smelling as fresh as new. You can even go one step further and sprinkle baking soda directly on the seats and floor. Let it work its magic overnight, then vacuum it up the next day.

Ice Pop Makers

Organization is a great thing to have inside of your car. At the same time, though, if you do not have a lot of organizing space or have an open slot for a center console, then you need to head to the local dollar store. When you are here, you need to look for the ice pop makers, the ones you put the water or whatever into and have the stick sticking out of.

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These are a great item to have in the car as it will keep the items organized, but also tend to be small enough to fit perfectly into the storage consoles that you have in your vehicle.

Acrylic Trays

If you want to have a better idea than the ice pop makers or want a more stylish look, then check out the acrylic trays. These trays are going to be great for keeping the odds and ends type of stuff in the car organized.

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If you do opt for the trays, you need to make sure you check out the size you can get. Remember, the acrylic trays do come in a variety of sizes, and if you buy one that is too large for your vehicle, then you will not be helping yourself out at all in how they are being used in your car.

Loose Change In Old Gum Or Mint Containers

If you are like most of us, you buy a pack of gum, then realize that you need to get more glue right away. Well, when you do that and after you have emptied the larger plastic gum containers, pop your loose change into the boxes.

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When you put the change into the gum containers, you are getting all the difference into a box that has a lid but also can hold quite a bit of change. If you are particular, you can get a container for each type of coin and then have your coins wholly organized and ready for you to use each time you go to the store.

Pineapple Skins

Now, you may think that using pineapple skins will not be that good of an idea, but what is interesting is the pineapple skins, the parts you usually would throw out makes a great car freshener. You have to put some of the rinds in the Ziploc bags.

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The smell is going to provide you with a fresh tropical scent, and all that you have to do is replace the bags when they start to get older to keep the smell clean for a more extended period. At the same time, if you are worried that people will think the bags are unsightly put the bags in a location that will still circulate the smell in the car, but also be out of the visible site of most people.

Removal Of Pet Hair

Pets are one member of the family that comes with us everywhere we go from time to time. However, what you need to realize is not all pets are going to avoid shedding, and some pets will shed all over your vehicle. When this happens, and you try to clean the car of the pet hair, you quickly find that the vacuums and rollers do not work that well.

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The best solution you have will be to take a pair of rubber gloves and rub them all over the areas that are covered in hair. By doing this, it makes it easier for you to get the pet hair into bigger clumps. When they are put into bigger clusters, it allows you to get the nose picked up more comfortable than what you thought it would be.

Pet Hammock

As mentioned, a lot of people like to travel with their pets, and that is going to be something that is a lot of fun but can be hazardous as well for the pets. To help the pets start to feel better about how they are traveling and the comfort level of the pets, you may want to look at the pet hammock.

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These hammocks are going to sling like the pets that yours would be doing. However, at the same time, the pet hammock keeps your pets from falling off of the seat when you have to stop quickly, and the pets usually would be flying off of the place.

Cleaning The Smaller Crevices

The air vents are nearly impossible to clean because you can never get your fingers into the cleaning spot. When you are cleaning the smaller crevices, it is easy to do if you use cotton balls or even cotton swabs. These are a lot easier to get into the more minor spots and have a good chance of picking up the dust that you usually would have missed when you are cleaning your vehicle.

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If your vehicle has long fins on the vent, then you may need to get the long-handled cotton swabs. Granted, these cost a little bit more in the way of money, but they are going to make it easier for you to get the smaller crevices cleaned out.

Bungee Net For Storage

Almost all vehicles now have the handles in the back that drop down from the roof for the passengers to hold onto. Yes, they are a great idea, but you will find these are a great storage space as well. How is that possible you are asking? Well, you have seen the bungee type of net, like what you would put across the back of a hatchback?

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With that, all you have to do is keep the bungee nets and then you can run the net in between the handles on the roof and that provides you with extra storage that is off of the floor space that you had.

Crayon Stains

Any parents know that it is only a matter of time before you start to get crayons in the car. Well, once the crayons are in the car it is only a short time period before you start to get the stains from the melting crayons in the car. It used to be thought that these were impossible stains to get rid of and definitely would not be something that you can remove easily.

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Now, you can rest easier knowing that you have a simple solution to the problem that you have. You simply have to take an iron and a paper bag. These when combined tend to lift the stains out of the upholstery in your vehicle and know that it will not have the crayons staying in the vehicle.

DIY Air Freshener

Air fresheners are expensive and definitely can cost a fortune if your vehicle smells horrible or if you are a really warm area. Well, to avoid the expense of having to buy these all the time you can rest easier knowing you can make your own air fresheners.

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To make these you take some baking soda and essential oils. When combined these two items not only help remove the smells in your vehicle, but provide you with a great scent as well based on the oils.

Hubcaps

The hubcaps can get dirty if you are not careful and if you have bad breaks the hubcaps can look horrible just a short time after cleaning them. Well, when you are looking at your hubcaps you can really make them shine by just using some baking soda and dish soap.

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These two items when combined properly, a half cup of baking soda to a tablespoon of soap with 2 cups of water is a very powerful cleaning agent. It will make your hubcaps start to shine.

Emergency Fixes

Having a great looking vehicle is just the start of keeping your vehicle looking great. What you need to realize s not all the cleaning that you do will make the vehicle look great if you do not know some of the emergency fixes that need to be done.

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A toilet plunger may not look like a great item to have carried around in your car. However, what you need to realize when being used, the plunger works excellent at removing some of the minor dents that are in your car door. To do this, you will take some hot water with soap on the area around the cut. Then you will put the plunger in the middle of the cut and use it a couple of times and check. You want to make sure you check on the dent every so often and make sure it is popped out.

Makeshift Cup Holder

Having your cup of coffee in the morning is very important and if you do not have a cup holder it is nearly impossible to hold and drive at the same time. Well, to overcome the issue you can take an empty tape roll.

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Not the smaller medical type of tape, but if you take the duct tape rolls that are empty they tend to make a great cup holder. If it still has tape on it, then you can use the tape to help hold the roll in place.

Command Hook Car Hack

This will solve the age-old question, “where do I put my handbag, so it doesn’t spill,” when you are driving down the road? Command Hooks to the rescue!

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Remove the backing, stick to the console, and a handy hook will be ready for you when you are. Great for hanging shopping and gift bags, too.

Shower Power Organizer

Kids and family road trips equal lots of stuff, and your car can turn into a big, cluttered toy box. This is a car hack that is easy and effective.

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Grab a shower organizer from the dollar store and hang it over the back of your seats. Tuck everything you need in the individual pockets and keep your car neat and tidy, and you’ll be good to go for your next outing.

Carry Out Warmer

Pizza night? It’s double duty for your passenger side seat warmer. Instead of paying extra for delivery, we have a car hack you probably didn’t think about.

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Keep your pizza or any carry out warm by turning up the heat on your passenger side seat. It’s just the right temperature to keep it warm and toasty.

Your New Shopping BFFs

The power of the multitasking laundry basket offers a car hack that will take you inside out and outside in. Place one or two, whatever will fit, laundry baskets in the trunk or hatchback of your car.

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They will come in handy for organizing everyday items like sports equipment and other supplies but will come in handy after a shopping spree. Pop shopping bags into the baskets so they are organized and ready to carry into the house. You have to remember to replace them!

Battery Corrosion

Battery terminals are going to corrode over time. This not only causes problems with the motor, but it can cause your vehicle to stop getting the electric that it needs to operate When this happens, you can remove the corrosion by using the pop that you are drinking.

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You simply pour some of the pop on the batteries corroded areas and it will work on removing the corrosion from the battery.

Fan Belt Repair

The fan belt is one of the belts that never seems to break when you are near a repair shop. However, a quick repair that will let you make it to the repair shop is a pair of pantyhose.

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Simply putting these around the area that the belt would normally be feeding around pulleys to get you to the sop.

Shoe Lace To Unlock The Doors

Older cars that have the pull locks are going to be easier to use this on than what the modern electronic cars are. However, you can take the shoelace and thread it through the window and catch the lock with a little slip knot on the end of the laces.

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Then you just have to pull up on the laces once the lock has been caught and then you are going to have the car unlocked. This idea may not work for some of the modern cars that do not have the pull-type of locks, though.

Sock With Cat Litter

Winter Proofing – Winter is a hard time on your cars and it is easy to see why. However, what you will find is when you take the car out with these ideas in mind it will help get your vehicle ready for winter months.

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Nothing is worse than getting in your car taking off and then all of a sudden getting the windows fogged up on you. Well, that is what happens quite often in the vehicle and it can easily be solved. The moisture in your vehicle is what causes the windows to fog up and the cat litter in a sock will absorb the extra moisture that your vehicle may have.

Penny Test For Tires

Tires are going to be one item that you need to have properly prepared for the winter months. When the tires are worn they tend to make it harder to drive the vehicle, but also make it harder for the car to handle properly in the roads.

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You can check the tire health by using a penny, but some people will mention using a nickel to check the tires and either method works perfectly.

Credit Card Scrapper

Did your ice scrapper break on you and you do not have another one? Well, if the frost I not overly thick on your vehicle then you can use your credit card to gently scrape the ice off of the windshield.

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If the ice is really thick this will not work, but if it is thinner you will get the window cleaned.

Cooking Oil On Doors

The car doors freezing is never any fun, but it does happen from time to time. To prevent that from happening you just have to take some cooking oil and spray it on the rubber lining.

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Then it will take the rubber and keep it from freezing to the metal.

Plastic Bags Over Side Mirrors

When your side mirrors stat to get ice or even worse frost on them they are useless for you to use.

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However, this can be avoided by taking some plastic bags and putting over the mirrors to keep the mirrors free from ice.

Traveling With Kids

Almost everyone has seen the movie National Lampoons Vacation with the kids bugging each other. However, to avoid the bickering and fighting that is common with kids when they are traveling, you need to get a shower caddy. These caddies are going to be used to not only separate the kids but also be used to store the toys that your kids are going to want.

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What else is great about the caddies is some of them you can take and get as a cinch sack style. When you have the cinch sack style, it makes it easier for you to get the shower caddy ready to be stored in the car and not have to worry about everything flying when you have to slam on the brakes on the highway.

Car Sick Remedy

Motion sickness is no fun when you’re driving down the highway. There’s nowhere to go, so what do you do? It’s simple and effective.

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Tilt your head to one side for a few minutes and it will relieve nausea. Another tip is, remember to always drink plenty of water during long road trips. Keep a bottle or two in your cup holder and sip while you drive.

Right At Your Fingertips

It’s nerve-racking when you look in your rearview and see flashing lights of a police cruiser. Your mind starts spinning, “what did I do?” To make the conversation with the officer a little easier, organize your car’s registration and insurance information nicely and neatly tucked into a file folder.

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So, when this happens to you, all you have to do is simply open the glove box and hand the folder to the nice police officer. Maybe you’ll just get a friendly warning.

Lost And Don’t Know Where To Go?

We’ve all been there. We follow the GPS, our maps and intuition, but it happens. We’re lost, lost, lost. The best thing to do is go through a fast-food drive-through, order a snack and ask the attendant how to get to your final destination.

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It’s a win, win because not only are you refreshed, thanks to the soda and fries, you’ll end up right where you wanted to go. Now, that’s what we call a supersize.