This is the second part of this article outlining the proper maintenance of car AC system.
Using the AC all the time
It’s well-known that AC’s can dehydrate you. AC’s dehumidify the air inside the car cabin, and with that it also extracts moisture from your body – from the skin surface and lungs. It’s one of the reasons people who travel extensively in air-conditioned cars also get headaches from the loss of moisture. Because of the cool cabin, you don’t feel the need to drink as much water as you would if you were sweating it out without an AC, but you still need to drink much fluids to make up for the lost amounts. Extensive use of AC can lead to problem like dry skin, itchy eyes and dry nose.
Solution: Even in a car with the AC on it is essential to keep drinking as much water as you can to replenish the body fluids lost due to evaporation due to the AC. Take breaks on your journey every 2-3 hours and step out to sweat a bit if needed!
Do you feel drowsy after being in an air-conditioned car?
Some cars have super-effective ACs that can chill the cabin quickly. And most people will use the AC on recirculation mode mainly to continue recirculating that chilled air inside the cabin, to make the AC more effective. If you use fresh-air mode, the AC has to work harder to try and cool down the warm outside air it draws in, and hence for fast cooling it is better to use recirculation mode.
However, there is a big downside to this, especially on cars with nearly air-tight cabins on long highway drives. Using only recirculating mode can lead to carbon-di-oxide build up inside the cabin and that can lead to drowsiness, because of the lower oxygen percentage. To much CO2 build-up again gives symptoms like headaches and nausea.
Solution: Don’t constantly use AC recirculation mode only. Every now and then, if you have a manual HVAC system in your car, switch to fresh-air mode to get some outside air into the cabin. Or easier still, roll down a window a little for a couple of minutes to allow the stale air to vent out. In cars with automatic climate control – this isn’t a big problem, because the unit usually shifts to fresh air mode once the set ambient cabin temperature is reached. Also read: How to prevent drowsiness while driving
TIPS TO MAINTAIN YOUR CAR AC
Here are five tips to maintain your car AC:
– Clean the AC condenser located in front of the car near the radiator regularly with high-pressure water.
– Get the car’s coolant drained and replaced and AC refrigerant (gas) checked and topped-up if needed once a year, just before summer, and check for leaks. Use the AC regularly all-through the year.
– Use the blower at maximum speed with the windows down to blow out hot air and dust in the ducts before you start out and only then switch on the AC.
– Clean the AC filter (if equipped with one) regularly, as we live in dusty conditions.
– Don’t switch on the AC immediately after starting the car – wait till the engine warms a little and similarly switch off the AC first before switching off the car.
