Household Hints by Rosemary - Winter Car Care

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In our neck of the woods there's been a new law established that you must have winter tires on your vehicles by December 15th. Agree with this law or not, it's a good idea to prepare your car as well as your home for winter.   Take your car in for a winter tune up, spray the carpets with a scotchguard* protection and spread newspapers under the boot mats to help keep moisture and salt out.
Apart from the standard oil change, and tune up for the colder weather you should always have winter ready, break down gear.   Even though you may have CAA* or another roadside assistance program there are times when you may not have a phone to call them or they can't reach you quickly and you have to stay comfortable until they arrive or take care of the problem yourself.
In your trunk keep two large bags of kitty litter sealed in larger plastic bags over each rear wheel, apart from giving you extra weight if you get stuck in a snow bank or on ice, you can spread it to give you traction. It goes without saying a good shovel and flares, as well as a couple of containers of windshield washer fluid. Store the washer fluid in a box, or a soft drink case to prevent it from tipping over. Make sure your spare tire is properly inflated and the jack is in place with all necessary pieces.
Both my husband and I are inclined to grab a light car coat if we're going door to door and he often wears shoes instead of boots.   We were once caught in a break down under these circumstances and learned our lesson. Since then we're prepared, and stash a large plastic bag with hats, mittens, warm boots and extra heavy jackets. This is a good use for articles that are no longer in the best shape as they may have to do tire changing duty. Also in a separate sealed plastic bag: a car blanket, a candle and matches, as well as a flashlight.
In the glove compartment, keep a small address book with telephone numbers for CAA*, your local towing company, the police and any other emergency number you may need while away from home. Check your cell phone battery before leaving the house and make sure it's fully charged. Check the weather before you leave home as well as traffic reports for road conditions, if in doubt, stay home.
If you do get in trouble, pull your car to the farthest possible position off the road, place flares, or put a lit flashlight on the trunk while you work, or while you're waiting for help. If you're waiting, make sure you bundle up, and if for any length of time, light the candle ~ it can generate enough warmth to stave off frostbite, only run the engine for a very short periods of time and make sure the exhaust isn't blocked with ice or snow, which can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Mostly, just use common sense, drive carefully and safely.