How 10-minute ‘chop & change’ trick makes your AC colder using NO extra fuel
A MECHANIC has shared a 10-minute “chop and change” trick to make your air con colder without using any extra fuel.
As the latest forecasts see Brits set to bask in 26C sunshine over the next few days, now is a great time to give yourself the best chance of beating the heat.
Reggie Curtis, known as the Flat Rate Mechanic YouTube, shared some cheap and easy DIY hacks to boost your AC this summer.
He explained that an often-forgotten maintenance job could actually be vital to staying cool and saving money.
Reggie said: “As a mechanic over the years, I’ve been very surprised as to how many people weren’t aware of this.
“It’s very inexpensive…to [change your cabin air filter in your vehicle].
“It’s typically located in the glovebox.
“There’s two tabs on the side of the glovebox and it just folds down to access that filter really easily.”
As the name suggests, this is the filter through which air passes when it is sucked into the cabin by the air conditioning system.
However, after a while, the filter can get dirty and become blocked by debris.
When this happens, less air can pass through, meaning the air con has to do more work to pull enough into the car.
And it’s particularly an issue in the transition from winter to summer as the filter can become loaded with damp detritus like wet leaves, as well as the increasing quantities of pollen around in spring.
As a result, all the air coming into your motor passes through a layer of damp and pollen, which can worsen hayfever and lead to foul smells and mould in the interior.
Not only that, but the extra effort it takes to filter and cool the air means your air con uses more fuel, costing you money in the long run.
Fortunately, it’s easy to change and a new one only costs about £10.
As Reggie mentioned, in most cars you can just pull the tabs in the glove box to “chop and change” the filter.
In some models, you will need to remove the entire glovebox, but this only requires 10 minutes and a screwdriver.
The filter should be changed every year as a rule of thumb, but the exact intervals can be found in your owner’s manual or on the label on the front of the filter.