If you want to keep your car in top cosmetic and running condition, it’s important to keep up on some basic maintenance tasks. Cars today don’t require the constant upkeep that they used to, so people tend to forget that any maintenance at all is needed. But if you don’t pay attention to the scheduled maintenance of your car, it will slowly degrade and break down, perhaps even causing an accident. In the end, it will cost you much less in both effort and cash to regularly maintain your car than to fix it after it breaks.

The most wear-and-tear on your car happens under the hood, so it’s crucial to take care of your engine at scheduled intervals. Check your oil monthly and change it if necessary. Be sure your car is parked on a level surface so the dipstick will read accurately. If you’re losing oil, get the leak checked out by a professional and fixed fast. Running your engine on low oil can result in disaster, sometimes causing damage that costs too much to justify repairing. Aside from checking the oil, have it changed according to the mileage or date scheduled from its last change, and don’t forget to change the oil filter too. Also under the hood, check the air filter, fuel filter and spark plugs.

Every couple years, you’ll want to get the cooling system drained and flushed, and the transmission fluid replaced. At the same time, replace the drive belts and hoses. An important component to check and replace is your timing belt, if it has one instead of a chain. If your timing belt snaps while you’re driving, the damage could be catastrophic. For all of these components, check your owner’s manual for the mileage indicating when a change is due.

Check your tire pressure once a month and before long trips. Not only does air slowly leak from all tires, but the pressure changes according to temperature. So in the summer, when it’s hot, your tires can reach pressures ten PSI higher or more than in the winter months. Don’t inflate to the maximum pressure indicated on the tires themselves, but instead check your manufacturer’s recommended pressure. You’ll find this information in your owner’s manual, but it’s also usually written on a sticker in the driver’s door jamb or inside the glove compartment. When checking your tire pressure, also check for uneven wear or anomalies like cuts or bulges.

Wash your car regularly to keep it free of dirt, road grime and salt. Be sure to wash inside the fender wells and under the bumpers. After you wash the car, apply a wax coat for extra protection.

If you get into an accident, your car will probably need some repairs. After you work out compensation from the insurance company, they might recommend a mechanic or body shop. Even so, you may ask the question, should I use the auto body shop my car insurance company recommends? The short answer is, you don’t necessarily need to go to their recommended service provider.

For other maintenance tips, consult your owner’s manual, and consider setting up reminders on your smartphone.

Our cars work so well today that we hardly think about all the things that could go wrong. We pile into vehicles with friends and family and don’t even think twice about the potential risks of dangerous automobile defects. This is normal, and you shouldn’t be scared to ride in a car, but knowing the deadliest defects should prompt you to keep an eye out for malfunctions and industry recalls.

Defective fuel system. If you’ve ever seen the charred and smoking remains of cars after a wreck, you’ve seen the results of defective fuel systems. Gas tanks, fuel lines and components like pumps and filters are designed to prevent fires and explosions even in the event of a crash. When they fail, the results can be deadly.

Defective steering system. If a problem occurs in the steering column or hydraulics used for power steering, the results can be disastrous. If you detect any looseness in the steering of your car, get it checked out immediately. The problem could simply be related to underinflated tires or bad joints near the wheels, so you won’t necessarily face a huge bill for getting this very important issue fixed.

Defective brakes. Brakes rely on applying friction near the wheels using pads and discs, so these parts naturally wear down through use. If you hear squeaking when you brake, you need new pads. But defects in the braking system, such as with brake fluid leaking from the lines, can also lead to disaster when you’re driving at speed down the road. Anti-lock braking systems can also experience defects. If your brakes feel squishy, you need to have a mechanic take a look.

Defective seats. We don’t think much about the seats when we’re driving, as long as everything is going well, even though this part of the car is where we make the most contact. In the event of a crash, seats are designed to keep you secured, upright and away from the cabin. If the seat-back collapses or the seat itself breaks free, your car’s safety will be seriously compromised. For this reason, make sure your seat adjusters are working properly, and if they’re not, it’s a sign of a defect you can’t afford to ignore.

Defective seat belts. Closely related to the proper function of seats are the seat belts, which are the most important safety feature in your car. The locking mechanism in these devices, both at the buckle and retractor, must be in proper working order to provide any safety at all. If you’re having trouble pulling out your seatbelts, locking them into place or getting them retracted, have a mechanic check it out. Sometimes these problems can discourage people from using their seatbelts at all, which leads to the worst-case scenario in an accident.

Defective airbags. Last but not least, airbags are in installed in new vehicles today as a mandatory safety feature along with seatbelts. What should you know about defective airbags? When they malfunction, airbags can become the most dangerous component in your car. For this reason, keep an eye out in the news for manufacturer recalls, especially regarding airbags.

Everyone has that one person in their life who is impossible to buy a gift for – either because they’re extremely picky or they already have everything! With the holiday season upon us, that time has come again, to find the gift for the person who is hard to please, who has everything. It can be a difficult, if not impossible, task.

When it comes to buying something that they can both use and will enjoy using, it helps to think about what nearly every woman cares about: their hair.

Veteran hairstylist and founder of Sultra, Dana Story, had this to say, “When gifting something for a female in your life, why not gift them something to style or care for their hair? Every woman has hair. They take time styling it, so a styling tool can be a useful gift.”

Miropure Enhanced Hair Straightener Brush

Even if you have frizzy curls that do what they want, the Miropure brush can get the job done in half the time of typical flat irons sold for much higher cost.

R + Co Day + Night Set

For that on-the-go friend or the daughter pulling all-nighters, this kit has a dry shampoo and a blowout balm that will boost volume, all without having to get your hair wet.

Aquis Turban

Traditional towels can be rough on your hair, promoting breakage, damage, and split ends. End the hair torture by picking up the Aquis Turban. Cut the frizz and get shinier hair by using this microfiber hair turban.

Oribe Collector’s Set

Get 12 deluxe-sized samplers from the Oribe brand, including best-sellers and favorite hair care products like the Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, Gold Lust Dry Shampoo, and Mystify Restyling Spray.

Tangle Teaser Thick & Curly Detangling Hairbrush

That girl on your list with the untamable kinky, curly, frizzy hair will simplye love this one. This brush will smooth single-strand knots and get those curls detangled, and she’ll use it every day.

T3 Source Handheld Shower Head

Don’t forget that styling and hair care begins with the water you use to wash! This T3 shower head gets rid of those unwanted minerals that can be lurking in your city’s water supply, including rust and dirt.

Sultra Bombshell 1.5-inch Clipless Curling Iron

This curling iron, voted a best in beauty by Allure magazine, creates shiny, voluminous curls. Even heat distribution and no clip means no line of demarcation to muss your fabulous do! From Sultra, the brand that helps treat your hair while styling, working to repair and prevent damage.

Hopefully, there has been something on this list to gift even the hardest to impress friend or coworker on your list. Gifting something that they’ll use every day means that you’ll never be far from their thoughts, and they might just thank you when you’ve cured their frizzies!

If you’re wondering what the most effective method of lowering emissions by greenhouse gases is, you’ve come to the right place. There is an enormous need to improve the efficiency of air conditioning units.

Air conditioners don’t receive much blame for their impact on emissions and inefficiency of energy, and since they are used so prevalently and appreciated by many, it’s important to acknowledge the actions that we can take to ensure that our units are as efficient as possible.

Air conditioning units have been a favorite of mankind for many years, nearly as long as automobiles have been in existence. Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, once labeled it “One of the signal inventions in history”. Tropical climates can be much more productive than they would be without air conditioning. Over 70,000 deaths associated with heat waves in Europe have decreased 10x. It has even been found that children are able to get better grades in classrooms that are air-conditioned.

However, there is a definite need to improve the efficiency of air conditioners or produce energy without releasing carbon into the air so that the contribution to global warming can be mitigated.

Importance of Air Conditioning Unit Upkeep

The air conditioning models available today that are the most efficient only use roughly one-third of the electricity that average units use. If standards for energy-efficient units could be raised, this would make a drastic difference. Some countries don’t have air conditioning equipment standards at all.

Fortunately, there are signs that consumers can watch for to determine how efficient their AC unit is running. The 5 signs your AC may have problems include bad airflow, issues with moisture, odd sounds, strange smells, or a lack of cold air. If any of these are observed, it might be beneficial for your power bill and for the environment to have a licensed professional perform an inspection.

Also, manufacturers must find an alternative to harmful refrigerants. One type in particular, hydrofluorocarbons, is more than 1,000 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide in keeping heat in Earth’s atmosphere. Fortunately, an international plan to stop using this kind of pollutant is being adapted. This will begin to take place in 2019.

Implementing New Construction with Built-in Cooling Features

Finally, additional efforts can be taken to design malls, offices, and cities to use fewer air conditioning units to begin with. They can be immensely helpful, but the overwhelming quantity sometimes isn’t necessary. Decisions can be made before the construction phase to include self-cooling features, including balconies that create shade, natural systems of ventilation, or simply roofs that overhang. An easy way to make a noticeable improvement in air temperature is to use white paint for the roof.

While energy-efficient air conditioning units are a great starting point, cooling overall needs to be developed further. Air conditioning can still be made useful without sacrificing the environment. Manufacturers can make great strides if they can develop units that still allow air-conditioned luxury without contributing to heating the planet.