We use our cars as an extension of our homes, sometimes even as storage for those items you either don’t want to take inside, or simply forget.
But with temperatures falling, there are five items you’re going to want to remember to take out of your vehicles.
Cellphones
Apple warns that its devices shouldn't be stored in anything below minus 4 degrees. It should be above 32 degrees to use them. Samsung suggests similar guidelines, the Detroit Free Press reported. It's all because of the lithium-ion batteries, which don't work well in the cold. Once they warm up, usually the devices are OK to use, but the Free Press reported that repeated exposure to below zero temperature can be an issue.
Medication
Medication can lose their potency with temperature swings. The New York Times reported that heat and cold can affect drugs. Medications should be stored between the temperature of 68 and 77 degrees. Insulin and suspension medications may not be effective if they freeze.
Soda and beer
While a cold beer or a cold soft drink may hit the spot, there’s a limit as to how cold the bottled or canned drinks can get.
Coca-Cola freezes at 30 degrees. Beer's freezing point is about 27 degrees depending on alcohol content, NJ.com reported.
This is the mess you will find if you let them in a freezing cold car:
Canned food
Canned food will act like beer and soda, and expand when frozen. That could expand the seals on the cans, allowing the food to spoil, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If a can freezes, thaw in a refrigerator, then smell and look at the food. If it doesn’t look or smell normal, throw it away.
Musical Instruments
Don’t let your kids shirk their responsibility to practice their musical scales. If you, or they, leave a musical instrument in the car, they can be damaged. Wood can crack or the instruments can go out of tune. If forgotten in the car, then warm them gradually, the Free Press reported.