Dangerous Items to Clear Out of Your Hot Car Today
We all know that July in Northwest Louisiana is absolutely no joke. By the time afternoon rolls around in Shreveport-Bossier, the heat index is easily soaring past triple digits, and stepping outside feels like walking into a warm, wet blanket.
But as brutal as that heat is when you're walking across the parking lot, it is nothing compared to what’s happening inside your parked car.
On a typical 95-degree Louisiana summer day, the temperature inside a locked vehicle can easily skyrocket to a dangerous 140°F in under an hour.
At those extreme temperatures, your car essentially becomes a high-pressure oven, and leaving the wrong items inside can lead to warped plastics, ruined valuables, or in some cases, literal explosions.
Before you lock up and head inside, make sure you clear these six dangerous items out of your vehicle:
1. Aerosol Cans (Sunscreen, Hairspray, & Dry Shampoo)
This is the big one. Aerosol cans are pressurized, and those warning labels on the back are there for a reason. Most cans specify they should not be stored at temperatures above 120°F. When left in a hot Louisiana car, the pressure inside the can builds rapidly until the canister fails, causing a loud, messy, and potentially windshield-shattering explosion.
2. Disposable Lighters
If you keep a cheap plastic lighter in your cup holder or center console, take it out today. Under extreme heat, the plastic casing on these lighters can expand, crack, and release highly flammable gas. In worst-case scenarios, they can violently combust, leaving melted plastic and burn marks on your upholstery.
3. Disposable Plastic Water Bottles
We all keep a stash of water in our cars to stay hydrated, but those single-use plastic bottles turn toxic in the summer heat. Extreme temperatures cause the plastic to leach harmful chemicals (like antimony and BPA) directly into your drinking water. Even worse, if a clear plastic bottle is left on your seat in direct sunlight, it can act as a magnifying glass, focusing the sun's rays into a concentrated beam hot enough to start a fire.
If you want to keep water in your vehicle, swap out the cheap plastic bottles for a high-quality, double-walled stainless steel flask. It will keep your water ice-cold and won't leach chemicals!
4. Medications & Vitamins
Whether it’s prescription pills, liquid vitamins, or just a bottle of ibuprofen in your glove box, heat ruins them. Most medications are designed to be stored at room temperature (under 75°F). When baked in a hot car, the active ingredients break down, making them far less effective or completely useless.
5. Electronics & Batteries
Leaving your phone, tablet, portable power bank, or even a vape pen in a hot car is a recipe for disaster. The lithium-ion batteries inside these devices can easily overheat, swell up, leak acid, or experience "thermal runaway"—which is a fancy way of saying they can catch fire.
6. Sunglasses and Eyeglasses
We’re all guilty of leaving our spare sunglasses on the dashboard, but the intense heat can warp plastic frames and actually cause the protective coatings on the lenses to bubble, crack, or peel right off.
Take five minutes before your next drive to do a quick sweep of your backseat, cup holders, and glove box. Your car and your wallet, will thank you!