5 Steps To Clean Your Dirty Car Battery You Didn’t Even Know You Had

Yesterday, I had to get my oil changed.  I was down to 5% on that little monitor that I have in my car, which is kinda scary.  I never let it get that low, but I put it off as long as I can.  I mean, it's flippin' expensive and I really should learn to do it myself, but so far in my life, that hasn't happened.  Come to think of it, that's NEVER going to happen for me.  You have to actually get UNDER THE CAR, so.... no, no and no.  Off I went to Valvoline in Epping.  There are other places around the Seacoast to go like Prompto in Dover or Jiffy Lube in Portsmouth, but Valvoline is on my way home, so that's the place I went.

Anyway, all went well with the oil change until they asked me to start the car.  I turned the key and it turned over, but then didn't catch and shut off.  Pretty amazing how everyone's head turned to look at my car.  It was an audible, "Uh-oh."  I tried again and it started.

The technician said that it may have been because of the "enormous amount of corrosion" on my battery.  Truth be told, I would have appreciated that she told me that BEFORE I was just about to drive away, but what do I know.  Turns out, it looks like it's an easy fix, according to this YouTube video I found.  Also, my friend Crazy Carl from Lebanon, Maine also said it's easy, but he's not a great source, admittedly.  I mean, his name is Crazy Carl, so....

Here's a step by step guide to doing it yourself.  I have faith that you can do it!  I know that disconnecting the battery sounds a little intimidating, but you'll be okay.  Just try.

Repeat steps 3-5 on the POSITIVE side and re-attach the cables, positive side first and you should be good to go!

But Sarah, what is the Vaseline for?  Glad you asked.  Put Vaseline on the connections before you attach them back to on your battery.  The Vaseline serves as a buffer from the corrosion that could build up and your nice clean connections.