In freezing weather it is sometimes difficult to open your car doors. There is a simple and inexpensive trick to avoid this pitfall.
The hazards of winter are numerous for motorists. The cold has several effects on a car, the best known being the formation of frost on the windshield of those who sleep outside. There are others, like the one that makes it difficult to open the doors. When you pull the door handle to get in and sit down, it literally remains “glued” to the bodywork. This phenomenon is quite common in winter and has a simple explanation. The car door frame is made up of rubber seals whose function is to create a waterproof barrier to prevent water from entering the passenger compartment. However, it is still possible for water to seep between the rubber strip and the door.
Nothing too annoying except when the temperatures become negative because this water will turn into ice. And it is this gel which will form a sort of bond between the metal body of the car and the rubber seal, a bit as if they were one. The primary reaction is to force the handle to open the door. It can work, but not always. Above all, we advise you not to do it too much as you risk damaging an element of the door. You can also try to “warm up” your door, with a hairdryer for example, provided you have an extension cord and you don’t live in a building. And it’s not optimal when you have time to go to work or drop the children off at school or daycare.
In fact, as the proverb indicates “prevention is better than cure”, it is upstream that we must act. Because there are tips to prevent the rubber door seal from becoming a suction cup on the bodywork. Especially one that costs next to nothing and might save you time in the morning. To do this, simply place a little bit of talcum powder in the hollow of the rubber seals in your door frames the day before a very cold day. Used for many purposes, talc is a mineral substance very often used in the manufacture of facial powders, baby powders and other cosmetic products.
One of the main characteristics of talc is that it has high absorbency. Thanks to it, humidity or drops of water deposited on the rubber seals will be absorbed. If there is no more water on it, no more gel either, and therefore no risk of creating an area of adhesion between the door frame and the body of your car. Talc can be bought in all pharmacies as well as in supermarkets where it can be found for less than 10 euros per kilo. Enough to last several winters and never find yourself at the door of your car again.