Within 30 minutes, the temperature inside a car can rise to close to 50° celcius. It’s well known that we should never leave people or animals unattended in a vehicle at any time but did you know there are also some other common items that you should never leave in the car on a hot day?
Items you should never leave in a hot car
- Just as a reminder – let’s start with the obvious – people and animals*
- Sunscreen – the ingredients in chemical-based sunscreens can degrade in hot temperatures, reducing their effectiveness as a protection against the sun. Worse still, containers can explode in the heat, creating a nasty mess (this goes for soft drinks too).
- Plastic containers and water bottles – these also degrade in the heat so anything that’s not BPA can release dangerous chemicals into your food or water.
- Smart phones – not only an attractive invitation to thieves but phones should be kept under 40°c to keep them in working order.
- Medications – all medications should be kept under 25°c to ensure they are effective. This includes things like EpiPens, as well as pills/tablets.
- Eye Glasses – these things are expensive, you don’t want the frames warping in the sun.
- Batteries – think about anything you may have in the car with a battery, when batteries explode it’s dangerous for everyone.
- Anything that can melt – from chocolates to lipstick, you want to avoid that mess.
- Should we remind you again…. people and animals, even for a super quick period of time.
So what can you do?
- Grab a tote and make sure you take these things with you when you leave your car behind. OK, so you’ll need a big tote for a labrador but you get the gist.
- If you’re only going to be gone for a short amount of time, pack an eske with some cooling bricks and put these items inside. Or maybe your car has a cooling area that can be used.
- Effective, properly fitted sunshades across every window and a reflective shade on the windscreen can reduce the temperature inside parked cars – but still not enough to leave people and animals behind.
- Throw a beachtowl over the seats that passengers are returning to (as well as the steering wheel). This will not only make it more pleasant on first contact but reduces the amount of heated surfaces the aircon has to cool down.
- Where possible, find the most shaded spot to park your car.
Getting back into a hot car
Sitting down into a hot car is not only uncomfortable (ever been branded by a seatbelt buckle?) but your car is full of different materials that on a hot day may produce toxins that you don’t want to breath in. Here are some tips for cooling down your car quickly.
