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We try very hard here to publish articles that are relevant to parenting and/or parents. At first, spring cleaning your car may not seem like a qualifying topic, however the spring cleaning we’re focusing on today has to do with safety. Yes, we’re talking about headlights, people.

I think I’ve told the story before: on our last van the headlights got so bad that I had to keep them on bright all the time, just to be able to see. If a vehicle with brighter lights drove right behind, the van would actually cast a shadow and visibility would go down.

We tried replacing the bulbs, but that wasn’t the problem. It was the lenses on the headlights. Have you ever priced out new headlight assemblies? I think it was $400. That’s just crazy! The van was barely worth that much at the time.

Anyway. The good folks at Sylvania sent out the following infographic, article, and video, and given my headlight experience, this seemed like a good time to remind everyone that good headlights mean safety for the whole family.

Sylvania Spring Cleaning infographic
Now that the weather is about to warm up, millions of Americans will kick off the season with the yearly ‘spring cleaning’ ritual. We tend to focus on our yards and homes but often neglect our vehicle.

1. Restore visibility.Millions of cars have faded, cloudy plastic headlight lenses caused by exposure to the sun, which can impair nighttime driving visibility and cause glare. The American Optometric Association reports that 90 percent of all driving decisions are based solely on visual cues. The DIY Headlight Restoration Kit from SYLVANIA will restore lens clarity and provide durable, long-lasting protection. The key product differentiator is a UV block clear coat, which protects headlights from future UV damage and comes with a lifetime warranty. It takes less than an hour and doesn’t require any special tools or experience. Not only does restoring your lenses provide safety benefits, it also improves the appearance of your vehicle, enhancing the value.

2. Give it a bath. Winter is hard on both the exterior and interior of the vehicle. Give it a thorough wash to get the salt off of the outside. For the inside, just vacuuming may not be enough; power wash the floor mats to ensure all of the salt is gone. Salt removal is important to both the exterior and interior because it can cause scratching and marring as well as premature rusting.

3. Freshen the air. Cabin air filters purify the air circulating in the cabin and remove allergens, but many drivers don’t know they exist, let alone need to be replaced on a regular basis. On most vehicles, these filters are easy to install and can be replaced right in the driveway. Filters get the most dirty in fall when leaves and other debris make their way in to the system. Drivers should check and replace in the spring (or take it to the shop) to ensure clean air is entering the cabin of their vehicle, protecting the health of passengers.

This video is a little longer than I usually post (it’s 6 minutes), but I was fascinated enough to watch it through, then again when I showed it to Hubby. I wish I’d been aware of this product a few years ago when I was driving our last van. Because wow, that was occasionally scary.

Earnest Parenting: help for parents who want clean safe cars.