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In winter, vehicles are put to the test, even if they are not cars electrical. Even if we do not live in a very cold country, the continental climate means that temperatures can still drop below zero in certain areas of France. A car that spends the night outside sees its battery's charging capacity decrease, its oil thicken and its tire pressure drops. Logically, certain objects should therefore not be left inside when you are not driving.
Carbonated drinks
Indeed, if you leave your bottle of Badoit or Coca-Cola lying around in your car in subzero temperatures, it could explode. Why ? Due to the solubility of gases in liquids and the expansion of water when it freezes.
To put it simply, the solubility of CO2 present in carbonated drinks decreases with cold, which has the effect of increasing the gas pressure in the bottle. Water, when it freezes, tends to take up more space and its volume increases by approximately 10%. Result ? By combining these two effects, the risk of a bottle exploding increases considerably.
Food
Even if not all foods are affected, some are very sensitive to cold. This is the case for eggs, which must not freeze in their shells, or even cans of food and breast milk.
Electronic devices and electric
It may seem obvious, but the batteries contained in devices like smartphones, tablets or laptops do not tolerate low temperatures.
Lithium-ion batteries work through a set of complex chemical reactions. These are considerably slowed down by the cold, which at the same time increases the internal resistance of the battery.
Repeated exposure to cold will therefore force the battery to work harder to provide the same amount of energy, which drastically reduces their lifespan .
Drugs
Like many chemical substances, the compounds present inside drugs are quite sensitive to temperature variations. Injectable drugs could crystallize and the stability of certain molecules may be compromised.
The best example remains l’insulin. Even if it must be kept in the fridge, it does not tolerate freezing very well. Its protein structure is negatively affected by freezing and it may not properly serve its purpose once administered into the body.
The anti-frost scraper
Even if it is the ultimate object that we like to have on hand when it comes to leaving home by car in the middle of winter, it’ ;is a bad idea. Often made of plastic, this small object can be damaged by too low temperatures.
To be effective , it must also be fairly flexible, a characteristic that it will lose if left for several hours in too cold conditions.
In short, as you will have understood, your car should not be a secondary storage area during the winter. Although it seems logical that most of the items on this list should not spend the night at -5°C, a little reminder never hurts.
- Winter, and especially subzero temperatures, put cars to the test.
- Consequently, objects that remain inside suffer , they too, the effects of low temperatures.
- Objects that should definitely not be left lying around in a car: soft drinks, food, electronics, medicines and anti-frost scraper.
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