Cars

Battery, Reviving

• Bayer Aspirin. To revive a dead car battery, open the cell covers, drop two Bayer Aspirin tablets into each battery cell, and reseal. Let sit for no more than one hour and then start the engine. The acetylsalicylic acid in the aspirin com-bines with the sulfuric acid in the battery to allow one more charge.

• Wilson Tennis Balls. If you need to disconnect your car's negative battery cable to work on the engine, you must prevent the live end of the battery cable connector from touching the car frame or other metal. To do this, cut a slit in a Wilson Tennis Ball and carefully insert the negative battery connector into the rubber ball. Since the rubber tennis ball does not conduct electricity, you can safely place the encapsulated battery connector aside.

Battery Corrosion, Removing

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To clean corrosion from car battery termi-nals, mix two teaspoons Arm & Hammer Baking Soda in one cup of water, pour it over the battery cable connections, and then use a brush to scrub the heavily corroded areas. After the baking soda bubbles away the corrosion, wash the terminals clean with water.

• Canada Dry Club Soda. Pour Canada Dry Club Soda over the corrosion on battery terminals to bubble away the decay.

• ChapStick. After cleaning corrosion from car battery terminals, smear ChapStick on the clean terminals to prevent the terminals from corroding again.

• Coca-Cola. To clean corrosion from car batter terminals, pour Coca-Cola over the terminals. The carbonic acid in the soft drink fizzes away the corrosion.

• Oral-B Toothbrush. When using any of the methods listed here to clean cor-rosion from car battery terminals, you can also use a clean, used Oral-B Tooth-brush to scrub encrusted battery terminals clean.

• Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. To prevent car battery terminals from corroding, coat the terminals with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly.

Bumper Stickers, Removing

• Conair Blow Dryer. To remove a bumper sticker from a car bumper, blow hot air at it with a Conair Blow Dryer for a few minutes. Let the hot air soften the adhesive and then peel off the bumper sticker.

• Cutex Nail Polish Remover. To remove a bumper sticker, saturate a clean cloth with Cutex Nail Polish Remover, place it on the bumper sticker, wait five minutes for the acetone in the nail polish remover to the dissolve the adhesive backing on the bumper sticker, and then peel off of the bumper sticker.

• Heinz White Vinegar. Soak a clean cloth in Heinz White Vinegar and cover the bumper sticker for several minutes until the vinegar soaks in. The acetic acid in the vinegar dissolves the glue, allowing you to peel off the bumper sticker easily.

• Miracle Whip. To remove a bumper sticker from a car bumper, rub Miracle Whip over the entire bumper sticker. Let it sit for fifteen minutes to allow the Miracle Whip to permeate the bumper sticker and dissolve the glue. Then peel off the bumper sticker with ease.

• Smirnoff Vodka. To remove the adhesive residue left behind by a bumper sticker, rub the remaining glue with a soft, clean cloth soaked with Smirnoff Vodka.

• Turtle Wax. To make bumper stickers easier to remove, apply a thin coat of Turtle Wax to the spot before applying the bumper sticker.

Dead Insects, Removing

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To clean dead insects from the hood and windshield of a car or truck, sprinkle Arm & Hammer Baking Soda on a damp sponge, wipe down the hood or windshield, and then wipe clean with a dry cloth. The baking soda is a mild abrasive that removes insects without harming the fin-ish of the car.

• Bounce. To clean lovebugs from the hood and windshield of a car or truck, wet down the vehicle and then rub the dead insects with a wet sheet of Bounce. The anti-static elements in the mildly abrasive sheet of Bounce make cleaning off the splattered lovebugs effortless.

• Coca-Cola. To clean insects off a car windshield, pour a can or bottle of car-bonated Coca-Cola over the windshield and squeegee clean.

• Jif Peanut Butter. To clean dried, dead insects from the hood and grill of your car, apply Jif Peanut Butter, let sit for five minutes, and then wash clean with soapy water. The oils in the peanut butter dissolve the stickiness of the splattered bug carcasses.

• L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose. Ball up a pair of clean, used L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose, dampen it with soapy water, and use it to gently scrub dead insects from the hood of the car. The nylon is a mild abrasive that cleans off the bugs without scratching the finish.

• Pam Cooking Spray. To prevent insects from sticking to the hood and grill of car, spray a thin coat of Pam Cooking Spray on the hood and grill before you set out on your journey. The cooking oil prevents dead insects from adhering to the finish and makes washing them off much simpler. After the car trip, simply hose off the hood and grill.

• WD-40. Spray WD-40 on the hood and grill of the car before going on a long road trip so you can wipe dead bugs off easily without harming the finish.

Fan Belts, Fixing

• L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose. If the fan belt breaks on your car while you're on the road and unable to get help, cut off one leg from a pair of clean, used L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose and use it to temporarily replace the fan belt.

• Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. To lubricate a fan belt, put a small dab of Vaseline Petroleum Jelly on the inside edges of the belts, start the car, and let the engine idle for a couple of minutes. The Vaseline Petroleum Jelly renews the life of the belt, grips the pulleys better than the spray-on lubricants, and eliminates squeals and slippage.

Hubcaps, Cleaning

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To clean chrome hubcaps, sprinkle Arm & Hammer Baking Soda on a damp sponge, gently scrub the hubcaps, and wipe clean with a dry cloth.

• Coca-Cola. To remove a stubborn hubcap, take a bottle or can of Coca-Cola, uncap it or pop it open, shake it up while holding your thumb over the opening, and then spray the Coca-Cola around the hubcap. Let it sit for a few minutes to let the Real Thing soften any grease and grime, and then remove the hubcap with ease.

• Efferdent. To clean chrome hubcaps, drop four Efferdent tablets into a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle, fill the bottle with water, and let the tablets dissolve completely. Shake well and then spray the blue solution on the hub cabs. Let sit for ten minutes, then rinse clean with water.

Key, Lubricating

• Pam Cooking Spray. If the key doesn't slide easily into the ignition, spray the teeth of the key with Pam Cooking Spray and slide the key in and out of the lock repeatedly to lubricate the tumblers.

• Vaseline Petroleum Jelly. To get a key to work in the ignition, rub a little Vaseline Petroleum Jelly on your key before inserting it into the lock. The petroleum jelly will lubricate the tumblers so the ignition starts.

• WD-40. If a key fails to start the ignition, spray a small amount of WD-40 into the keyhole and insert the key several times to lubricate the tumblers.

Polishing

• Colgate Regular Flavor Toothpaste. To polish scratches out of a car's finish, squeeze a dollop of Colgate Regular Flavor Toothpaste onto a clean cloth, gently rub over the scratch marks, and then buff. The toothpaste is a mild abrasive that won't scratch the paint. After all, toothpaste is strong enough to clean your teeth without scratching the enamel.

• L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose. Ball up a clean, used pair of L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose dipped in soapy water to polish your car. The nylon is a mild abrasive that does a magnificent job cleaning dead bugs off the hood without scratching the finish. (If you' d really like to be the talk of the neighborhood, wear the panty hose and roll yourself all over the car, having a grand old time.)

• Pledge. To give your car a quick, long-lasting, protective, shiny wax job, spray Pledge furniture polish on the car and buff with a clean, soft cloth. Pledge contains carnauba wax, the same ingredient found in many car waxes.

• Skin So Soft Body Lotion. To wax your clean car, squeeze Skin So Soft Body Lotion onto a clean, soft cloth and buff the car. Skin So Soft not only gives the car a terrific shine, but the body lotion also causes water and dirt to sheet off of the car.

Sparkplugs, Reviving

• WD-40. To revive sparkplugs on a rainy or humid day, spray WD-40 on the sparkplug wires. WD-40 displaces water, keeping moisture away from your sparkplugs so they will work properly. WD-40 also prevents corrosion of sparkplug wires and removes carbon residue from the sparkplugs.

Tar, Removing

• Coca-Cola. To remove tar from a car without damaging the finish, saturate a clean cloth with Coca-Cola and use it to gently rub the spot.

• Noxzema Deep Cleansing Cream. To remove tar spots from a car, apply Noxzema Deep Cleansing Cream to a cloth and rub the stain until it comes clean. The emollients in the cold cream dissolve the natural adhesives in the tar.

• Shout. To clean tar from the side of your car, spray the spot with Shout stain remover, wipe clean with a soft, clean cloth, wash off any residual Shout with soapy water, and rinse clean.

• Skin So Soft Body Lotion. Cover the tar stain with Skin So Soft Body Lotion, let sit for ten minutes, and then wipe off the tar with a soft cloth.

• WD-40. To clean tar from a car, spray WD-40 directly on the tar, immediately wipe the tar off, wash off any residual WD-40 with soapy water, and rinse clean.

Tree Sap, Removing

• Jif Peanut Butter. To clean tree sap from the hood of a car, cover the pine pitch with Jif Peanut Butter, let it sit for five to ten minutes, and then wipe clean with a soft cloth. The peanut oil dissolves the natural gum in the sap.

• Miracle Whip. To remove fresh pine tree sap from a car's finish, rub some Miracle Whip on the sap, let sit for ten minutes, and then use a clean, soft cloth and some elbow grease to wipe the spot clean. Miracle Whip removes sap without stripping the car's finish.

• Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer. To clean pine pitch from a car or truck, cover the sticky tree sap with Purell Instant Hand Sanitizer and wipe clean with a soft cloth. Purell dissolves the natural adhesives in pine pitch from a car like magic, without harming the paint.

Washing

• Dawn Dishwashing Liquid. Mix one teaspoon Dawn Dishwashing Liquid and one gallon water and use the soapy solution to wash your car. Dawn cuts through grease. But it also removes some or all of the protective wax, so you'll also have to re-wax the car.

• Downy Fabric Softener. Mix ⅓ cup Downy Fabric Softener and one gallon water, fill a trigger-spray bottle with the solution, spray a two-foot square section of the car or truck exterior, wait ten seconds, and buff dry with paper towels or a leather chamois cloth. Continue working in two-foot square sections until the entire vehicle is clean.

• Johnson's Baby Shampoo. To wash your car, add two capfuls Johnson's Baby Shampoo to a bucket of water and soap up your car with the biodegradable suds.

• Murphy Oil Soap. Squirt Murphy Oil Soap on a clean, soft cloth and wipe the exterior of the car clean. Murphy Oil Soap leaves a shine like car wax, and water will bead on the coating.

Waxing

• Armor All. To wax a car easily and effortlessly, spray Armor All on the exterior and buff it off with a soft rag. The Armor All gives the car a glimmering shine.

• Jif Peanut Butter. To remove white car wax from the black rubber trim and moldings of a car, wipe Jif Peanut Butter on the trim or molding and then wipe clean. The oils in the peanut butter remove the wax, returning the rubber to its original rich, black color.

• Kingsford's Corn Starch. When waxing and buffing a car, sprinkle one tablespoon Kingsford's Corn Starch on the cloth you're using to buff. The cornstarch absorbs excess wax, giving your car a beautiful shine.

Windshield, Cleaning

• Canada Dry Club Soda. To remove grease and grime from a car windshield, keep a bottle filled with Canada Dry Club Soda in the trunk of your car. Spray the glass with the carbonated soft drink and wipe clean.

• Coca-Cola. To clean road film from a car windshield, open a can or bottle of Coca-Cola, pour the Real Thing over the grease and grime on the windshield, be-ing careful not to let the Coca-Cola come in contact with the paint. Then rinse clean with water.

• Gillette Foamy. To prevent your windshield from fogging up, rub a dab of Gillette Foamy shaving cream inside your car windshield and wipe off with a clean cloth.

• Listerine. To clean the inside of a car windshield, saturate a clean, soft cloth with Listerine antiseptic mouthwash and wipe clean.

• Maybelline Clear Nail Polish. To fix a small chip in a car windshield, fill the hole with a few drops of Maybelline Clear Nail Polish, let the nail polish dry, and then add a few more drops until the chip has been filled.

• Stayfree Maxi Pads. To wipe a windshield clean, peal the adhesive strip from the back of a Stayfree Maxi Pad, adhere the pad to the palm of your hand, and use it to wipe down the windshield.