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How to Season a Wok and Daily Wok Care

If you have read our post, “What is the best wok to buy?” you now know that our personal preference here at The Woks of Life is a classic carbon steel wok, and you may have even gone out and purchased one. While we think carbon steel is the best all-around wok, it’s important to know how to season a wok. Most carbon steel woks do require a seasoning process before the first use and continued care and maintenance to build that perfect nonstick patina.

Basic carbon steel wok models typically range from 12 to 14 to 16 inches in diameter and are made with 14 gauge steel, which is about 1.6mm thick. Most basic carbon steel woks made for home use have a long wood handle on one end and a wooden helper handle on the other so you can use two hands to lift the wok. Many Chinese grocery stores stock these basic woks, so try shopping locally and check your options online before making your final purchase. We have a few links and resources on our Chinese cooking tools page and on our recent post on how to choose the best wok for you.

We’re going to walk through a detailed first-time seasoning process that you should apply to every new carbon steel wok. (That said, friendly reminder to also be mindful of any manufacturer’s directions and warranties you may have!)

After you go through the initial wok seasoning process, all you need to do is cook with your wok often and follow our easy directions to care for it properly! Cooking with your carbon steel wok regularly means that the steel will be exposed to lots of oil at high temperatures and over time, it will season naturally. I made dinner at a friend’s house once, and I was horrified at his wok. It was covered in crusty layers and was downright greasy. His “method” of seasoning was not scrubbing the wok clean after use.

Do. Not. Do this.

Just follow those steps and essential pointers, and your carbon steel wok will age gracefully and form a beautiful seasoned patina that any Chinese cook would be proud of.

Let’s do this.

When you are seasoning a wok for the first time

Your carbon steel wok will ultimately come with some oils and dust on it from the factory, so it is always best to give it a quick wash with some mild soapy water. A scrub sponge with a green scouring pad on one side and sponge on the other is all you need; sometimes, for tougher crusted-on food we use a heavy-duty wire scouring pad.

Towel dry your wok and transfer it to your gas stove. Wrap the helper handle and even the lower portion of the long wok handles with heavy duty aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. (The photos did not show this because I forgot to do it, but I added some foil halfway through the process.)

Set your wok on the burner set to the highest heat. Make sure you clear the stove area, because things will get quite hot. Keep a dry towel or a heatproof kitchen mitt handy.

Once the wok heats up, it will start to turn a dark brown color and begin to smoke. This indicates that the residual oils from the wok are burning off. You cannot see much smoke in the photos, because we have our trusty kitchen hood going at full blast.

Next, the wok will begin superheating and the impurities from those industrial oils will burn off. Tilt the wok to superheat one area at a time and the wok will turn black and blue as the carbon steel heats through.

Continue tilting the wok while you systematically burn off the impurities, making sure to heat all areas of the wok. It may not turn brown in all areas, but be diligent at this step to ensure even seasoning.

(At this point, I realized I needed to cover the handles with heavy duty foil! I quickly wrapped the handle as best as I could but you should do this before you start.)

(My wok handles got a bit scorched, but hey it adds character, right?)

This heating process will take some time depending on how hot your gas stove is.

Continue heating and tilting until the wok is done. Once your wok has been heated, the carbon steel will take on a blue tint.

Turn off the burner and set the wok back on the stove. Pour one cup of water into the wok slowly to cool it off quickly. Be careful of the hot water splashing.

When your wok is completely cooled, move it to your sink, and use some mild detergent and your scrubbing pad to give it a light scrub. Rinse your wok thoroughly with clean, cool water.

You may see some dark spots in the metal from impurities in the carbon steel, but it’s nothing to worry about.

Wipe down the excess water with a paper towel, and place the wok back on the burner to dry it with medium high heat.

After the wok is thoroughly dried, add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil with the wok at low heat.

Spread the oil around the wok by tilting it until you get an even coating around the wok and heat for about a minute.

Turn off the heat and fold a paper towel twice and begin wiping down the wok. Use your wok spatula to start, since the wok will be hot. After it cools, you can hold the paper towel with your hands to continue wiping it down.

I like to reheat the wok again before cooking on it until just smoking. Then turn off the heat and give your wok another light scrub with water only. You can see that the vegetable oil will begin to form a patina already!

Towel off any remaining water, reheat the wok, and oil it again using a folded paper towel.

It’s normal for some cooking oil residue to remain on the wok, which over time forms that nice nonstick patina, a characteristic of a nicely seasoned wok, but wipe down the wok again to remove any surface residue. You will be repeating this process every time after you cook. For now, your new wok is seasoned and ready for your first stir-fry dish!

Cook your first dish after Seasoning your wok!

You can start start cooking right away with your seasoned carbon steel wok! We chose to start with a leafy green dish like stir fried spinach.

Heat the wok until just smoking, and add oil, minced garlic, and your spinach greens.

Stir-fry the spinach until they are wilted, season with white pepper and salt, and serve!

Now that you know how to season a wok, follow these easy steps on how to care for your seasoned wok over time.

After your wok is cool enough to handle, move it to your kitchen sink, and use your scrubbing pad and some water to lightly scrub and rinse the wok clean. (No soap required for a dish like this!)

Towel the wok dry, reheat, and after it is cool enough to touch, wipe the entire wok down with a paper towel and a few drops of vegetable oil. Your wok’s ready for storage until your next dish!

When you haven’t used your wok for a long time

Did you buy a carbon steel wok years ago and promptly forget about it? We’re here to get you to dust it off and get back into the swing of Chinese home cooking. But after a long time of no use, it may be a little worse for wear. That said, woks are more versatile than they seem. We always have ours on the stove to cook eggs, steam buns, make scallion pancakes, or even toast a piece of bread.

So here’s what you should do to revive your wok:

Scrub it thoroughly with a small amount of mild dish detergent using a pot scrubber and make sure to get the entire surface area as clean as possible.

Hand dry and heat the wok over high heat (but not smoking), and let cool.

Rinse and scrub the wok again lightly another time, and dry the wok over the stove.

Heat the wok on low and pour in one tablespoon of oil, swirling the oil evenly. Remove from the heat.

While the wok is still warm, use a paper towel to spread the oil on the entire inner surface of the wok.  There should be no standing oil.

Your wok is now again ready to use!

Sometimes a wok can rust on the bottom like this one pictured below. You can give the wok a good scrubbing to remove the surface rust and wipe it down with a few drops of oil on a paper towel. In general, regular use of the wok and heating it to a high temperature will prevent rusting on the outside, but be sure to heat the wok to dry the inside and outside after each use.

Regular wok care for after each use

After you’ve removed the food from the wok, wash the wok. Some people think seasoning a wok means leaving the oil and film from your last meal, but that’s a common misconception. In general, just a light scrub with water is needed after light cooking.

Use a circular scrubbing motion with a scouring pad.

Clean it thoroughly! Don’t be afraid to use some dish soap to cut any heavy oil residue, but no need to scrub it to death either. You want to clean burnt and crusty pieces and any excess oil just like you do with any other pan. This is especially true after cooking dishes with heavy sauces or braising, when some of the sauce may be crusted on.

If needed, scrub the exterior of the wok with the scouring pad. It’s fine if the outside of the wok is a little rough.

Rinse the wok and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel or paper towel. Place the wok back on the stove and heat until all the water has completely evaporated.

Let the wok cool and wipe the inside of the wok down with a few drops of oil and a paper towel. Wipe the oil all over the wok to give the surface a light coating. It’s perfectly normal to see some of the brown wok residue on the paper towel after a good wipe-down.

After any thorough washing (or if you don’t use your wok every day), it is best to add a bit of vegetable oil to your wok after it has dried out. If you do see some rust form the next time you use it, it is likely that it was not completely dried or you may not have used enough oil.

This is our large 20 inch wok that we use on our range with the dedicated wok burner. We use this for steaming large dishes, cooking during the holidays and for parties, and when blogging, of course (lots of surface area for photographs)! You can see the beautiful shiny patina after using it almost every day for the past 12 years.

Tips for maintaining a seasoned wok

If you just cooked an especially strong food (e.g. a fish or a curry dish), you may have to wash and heat the wok twice. Heat helps rid the wok of the residual flavors. There’s nothing worse than cooking a lightly seasoned dish and tasting the fish you cooked last night.

If you haven’t used the wok in a long time, you should wash the wok before using it. This is just common sense. If you find the wok has a rusty spot, then you probably did not heat it long enough to get rid of all the moisture or did not use enough oil to wipe it down. Pay attention to these two important steps!

Never put your wok in the dishwasher!

Always wash and dry your wok after cooking and wipe it down with vegetable oil, even after a simple steaming.

Wash your wok promptly after you cook with vinegar or any other acidic ingredient. It will wear away the patina of the wok. You can use a stainless steel wok or a pot to cook hot and sour soups or dishes like our sweet and pungent pork, Peking spare ribs, and sweet and sour fish.

If you see buildup or if your wok is looking worse for wear, you can follow the steps for a new wok above to re-season it anytime.

Seasoning & Caring for Your Wok

While we think carbon steel is the best overall material for a wok, carbon steel woks do require a seasoning process before first use and continued care and maintenance to build that desirable nonstick patina. Here are instructions on how to season and care for your carbon steel wok.

Author: Bill

Recipe type: How to and cooking methods

Cuisine: Chinese

Serves: 1 seasoned carbon steel wok

Ingredients

carbon steel wok

aluminum foil

scrub pad

Gas stove or outside burner is best

Dry towel

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions

If your wok has wooden handles, wrap them in heavy duty aluminum foil to prevent them from burning.

Set your wok on your stove set to the highest heat. Make sure you clear the stove area, because things will get quite hot. Keep a dry towel handy or better yet, a silicon or heatproof kitchen mitt in case the wok handles get too hot.

Once the wok heats up, it will start to turn a dark brown color and will begin to smoke. This indicates that the residual oils from the wok are burning off.

Next, the wok will begin superheating and the impurities from those industrial oils will burn off. Tilt the wok to superheat one area at a time and the wok will turn blue.

Continue tilting the wok while you systematically burn off the impurities. The wok may not turn brown in all areas but you will see a degree of change in the carbon steel so make sure you heat all areas of the wok. This heating process will take some time depending on how hot your gas stove is.

Continue heating and tilting until the wok is done. Once your wok has been heated, the carbon steel will take on a blue tint.

Turn off the burner and set the wok back on the stove. Pour one cup of water into the wok slowly to cool it off quickly. Be careful of the hot water splashing.

When your wok is completely cooled, move it to your sink and use some mild detergent and your scrubbing pad to give it a light scrubbing. Rinse your wok thoroughly with clean cool water.

You may see some dark spots in the metal from impurities in the carbon steel but it is nothing to worry about.

Wipe down the excess water with a paper towel and place the wok back on the burner to dry it with medium high heat.

After the wok is thoroughly dried, add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil with the wok at low heat

Spread the oil around the wok by tilting it until you get an even coating around the wok

Turn off the heat and use a twice-folded paper towel to begin wiping down the wok. Use your wok spatula to start since the wok will be hot.

I like to reheat the wok again before cooking on it until just smoking. Turn off the heat and repeat the washing again, giving your wok another light scrub with water only.

Repeat this process one more time and your new carbon steel wok is ready for cooking your favorite dishes!

3.5.3251

Source: https://thewoksoflife.com/2018/08/how-to-season-a-wok/

[northsyria04-blog]

How to Season a Wok and Daily Wok Care

If you have read our post, “What is the best wok to buy?” you now know that our personal preference here at The Woks of Life is a classic carbon steel wok, and you may have even gone out and purchased one. While we think carbon steel is the best all-around wok, it’s important to know how to season a wok. Most carbon steel woks do require a seasoning process before the first use and continued care and maintenance to build that perfect nonstick patina.

Basic carbon steel wok models typically range from 12 to 14 to 16 inches in diameter and are made with 14 gauge steel, which is about 1.6mm thick. Most basic carbon steel woks made for home use have a long wood handle on one end and a wooden helper handle on the other so you can use two hands to lift the wok. Many Chinese grocery stores stock these basic woks, so try shopping locally and check your options online before making your final purchase. We have a few links and resources on our Chinese cooking tools page and on our recent post on how to choose the best wok for you.

We’re going to walk through a detailed first-time seasoning process that you should apply to every new carbon steel wok. (That said, friendly reminder to also be mindful of any manufacturer’s directions and warranties you may have!)

After you go through the initial wok seasoning process, all you need to do is cook with your wok often and follow our easy directions to care for it properly! Cooking with your carbon steel wok regularly means that the steel will be exposed to lots of oil at high temperatures and over time, it will season naturally. I made dinner at a friend’s house once, and I was horrified at his wok. It was covered in crusty layers and was downright greasy. His “method” of seasoning was not scrubbing the wok clean after use.

Do. Not. Do this.

Just follow those steps and essential pointers, and your carbon steel wok will age gracefully and form a beautiful seasoned patina that any Chinese cook would be proud of.

Let’s do this.

When you are seasoning a wok for the first time

Your carbon steel wok will ultimately come with some oils and dust on it from the factory, so it is always best to give it a quick wash with some mild soapy water. A scrub sponge with a green scouring pad on one side and sponge on the other is all you need; sometimes, for tougher crusted-on food we use a heavy-duty wire scouring pad.

Towel dry your wok and transfer it to your gas stove. Wrap the helper handle and even the lower portion of the long wok handles with heavy duty aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. (The photos did not show this because I forgot to do it, but I added some foil halfway through the process.)

Set your wok on the burner set to the highest heat. Make sure you clear the stove area, because things will get quite hot. Keep a dry towel or a heatproof kitchen mitt handy.

Once the wok heats up, it will start to turn a dark brown color and begin to smoke. This indicates that the residual oils from the wok are burning off. You cannot see much smoke in the photos, because we have our trusty kitchen hood going at full blast.

Next, the wok will begin superheating and the impurities from those industrial oils will burn off. Tilt the wok to superheat one area at a time and the wok will turn black and blue as the carbon steel heats through.

Continue tilting the wok while you systematically burn off the impurities, making sure to heat all areas of the wok. It may not turn brown in all areas, but be diligent at this step to ensure even seasoning.

(At this point, I realized I needed to cover the handles with heavy duty foil! I quickly wrapped the handle as best as I could but you should do this before you start.)

(My wok handles got a bit scorched, but hey it adds character, right?)

This heating process will take some time depending on how hot your gas stove is.

Continue heating and tilting until the wok is done. Once your wok has been heated, the carbon steel will take on a blue tint.

Turn off the burner and set the wok back on the stove. Pour one cup of water into the wok slowly to cool it off quickly. Be careful of the hot water splashing.

When your wok is completely cooled, move it to your sink, and use some mild detergent and your scrubbing pad to give it a light scrub. Rinse your wok thoroughly with clean, cool water.

You may see some dark spots in the metal from impurities in the carbon steel, but it’s nothing to worry about.

Wipe down the excess water with a paper towel, and place the wok back on the burner to dry it with medium high heat.

After the wok is thoroughly dried, add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil with the wok at low heat.

Spread the oil around the wok by tilting it until you get an even coating around the wok and heat for about a minute.

Turn off the heat and fold a paper towel twice and begin wiping down the wok. Use your wok spatula to start, since the wok will be hot. After it cools, you can hold the paper towel with your hands to continue wiping it down.

I like to reheat the wok again before cooking on it until just smoking. Then turn off the heat and give your wok another light scrub with water only. You can see that the vegetable oil will begin to form a patina already!

Towel off any remaining water, reheat the wok, and oil it again using a folded paper towel.

It’s normal for some cooking oil residue to remain on the wok, which over time forms that nice nonstick patina, a characteristic of a nicely seasoned wok, but wipe down the wok again to remove any surface residue. You will be repeating this process every time after you cook. For now, your new wok is seasoned and ready for your first stir-fry dish!

Cook your first dish after Seasoning your wok!

You can start start cooking right away with your seasoned carbon steel wok! We chose to start with a leafy green dish like stir fried spinach.

Heat the wok until just smoking, and add oil, minced garlic, and your spinach greens.

Stir-fry the spinach until they are wilted, season with white pepper and salt, and serve!

Now that you know how to season a wok, follow these easy steps on how to care for your seasoned wok over time.

After your wok is cool enough to handle, move it to your kitchen sink, and use your scrubbing pad and some water to lightly scrub and rinse the wok clean. (No soap required for a dish like this!)

Towel the wok dry, reheat, and after it is cool enough to touch, wipe the entire wok down with a paper towel and a few drops of vegetable oil. Your wok’s ready for storage until your next dish!

When you haven’t used your wok for a long time

Did you buy a carbon steel wok years ago and promptly forget about it? We’re here to get you to dust it off and get back into the swing of Chinese home cooking. But after a long time of no use, it may be a little worse for wear. That said, woks are more versatile than they seem. We always have ours on the stove to cook eggs, steam buns, make scallion pancakes, or even toast a piece of bread.

So here’s what you should do to revive your wok:

Scrub it thoroughly with a small amount of mild dish detergent using a pot scrubber and make sure to get the entire surface area as clean as possible.

Hand dry and heat the wok over high heat (but not smoking), and let cool.

Rinse and scrub the wok again lightly another time, and dry the wok over the stove.

Heat the wok on low and pour in one tablespoon of oil, swirling the oil evenly. Remove from the heat.

While the wok is still warm, use a paper towel to spread the oil on the entire inner surface of the wok.  There should be no standing oil.

Your wok is now again ready to use!

Sometimes a wok can rust on the bottom like this one pictured below. You can give the wok a good scrubbing to remove the surface rust and wipe it down with a few drops of oil on a paper towel. In general, regular use of the wok and heating it to a high temperature will prevent rusting on the outside, but be sure to heat the wok to dry the inside and outside after each use.

Regular wok care for after each use

After you’ve removed the food from the wok, wash the wok. Some people think seasoning a wok means leaving the oil and film from your last meal, but that’s a common misconception. In general, just a light scrub with water is needed after light cooking.

Use a circular scrubbing motion with a scouring pad.

Clean it thoroughly! Don’t be afraid to use some dish soap to cut any heavy oil residue, but no need to scrub it to death either. You want to clean burnt and crusty pieces and any excess oil just like you do with any other pan. This is especially true after cooking dishes with heavy sauces or braising, when some of the sauce may be crusted on.

If needed, scrub the exterior of the wok with the scouring pad. It’s fine if the outside of the wok is a little rough.

Rinse the wok and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel or paper towel. Place the wok back on the stove and heat until all the water has completely evaporated.

Let the wok cool and wipe the inside of the wok down with a few drops of oil and a paper towel. Wipe the oil all over the wok to give the surface a light coating. It’s perfectly normal to see some of the brown wok residue on the paper towel after a good wipe-down.

After any thorough washing (or if you don’t use your wok every day), it is best to add a bit of vegetable oil to your wok after it has dried out. If you do see some rust form the next time you use it, it is likely that it was not completely dried or you may not have used enough oil.

This is our large 20 inch wok that we use on our range with the dedicated wok burner. We use this for steaming large dishes, cooking during the holidays and for parties, and when blogging, of course (lots of surface area for photographs)! You can see the beautiful shiny patina after using it almost every day for the past 12 years.

Tips for maintaining a seasoned wok

If you just cooked an especially strong food (e.g. a fish or a curry dish), you may have to wash and heat the wok twice. Heat helps rid the wok of the residual flavors. There’s nothing worse than cooking a lightly seasoned dish and tasting the fish you cooked last night.

If you haven’t used the wok in a long time, you should wash the wok before using it. This is just common sense. If you find the wok has a rusty spot, then you probably did not heat it long enough to get rid of all the moisture or did not use enough oil to wipe it down. Pay attention to these two important steps!

Never put your wok in the dishwasher!

Always wash and dry your wok after cooking and wipe it down with vegetable oil, even after a simple steaming.

Wash your wok promptly after you cook with vinegar or any other acidic ingredient. It will wear away the patina of the wok. You can use a stainless steel wok or a pot to cook hot and sour soups or dishes like our sweet and pungent pork, Peking spare ribs, and sweet and sour fish.

If you see buildup or if your wok is looking worse for wear, you can follow the steps for a new wok above to re-season it anytime.

Seasoning & Caring for Your Wok

While we think carbon steel is the best overall material for a wok, carbon steel woks do require a seasoning process before first use and continued care and maintenance to build that desirable nonstick patina. Here are instructions on how to season and care for your carbon steel wok.

Author: Bill

Recipe type: How to and cooking methods

Cuisine: Chinese

Serves: 1 seasoned carbon steel wok

Ingredients

carbon steel wok

aluminum foil

scrub pad

Gas stove or outside burner is best

Dry towel

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions

If your wok has wooden handles, wrap them in heavy duty aluminum foil to prevent them from burning.

Set your wok on your stove set to the highest heat. Make sure you clear the stove area, because things will get quite hot. Keep a dry towel handy or better yet, a silicon or heatproof kitchen mitt in case the wok handles get too hot.

Once the wok heats up, it will start to turn a dark brown color and will begin to smoke. This indicates that the residual oils from the wok are burning off.

Next, the wok will begin superheating and the impurities from those industrial oils will burn off. Tilt the wok to superheat one area at a time and the wok will turn blue.

Continue tilting the wok while you systematically burn off the impurities. The wok may not turn brown in all areas but you will see a degree of change in the carbon steel so make sure you heat all areas of the wok. This heating process will take some time depending on how hot your gas stove is.

Continue heating and tilting until the wok is done. Once your wok has been heated, the carbon steel will take on a blue tint.

Turn off the burner and set the wok back on the stove. Pour one cup of water into the wok slowly to cool it off quickly. Be careful of the hot water splashing.

When your wok is completely cooled, move it to your sink and use some mild detergent and your scrubbing pad to give it a light scrubbing. Rinse your wok thoroughly with clean cool water.

You may see some dark spots in the metal from impurities in the carbon steel but it is nothing to worry about.

Wipe down the excess water with a paper towel and place the wok back on the burner to dry it with medium high heat.

After the wok is thoroughly dried, add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil with the wok at low heat

Spread the oil around the wok by tilting it until you get an even coating around the wok

Turn off the heat and use a twice-folded paper towel to begin wiping down the wok. Use your wok spatula to start since the wok will be hot.

I like to reheat the wok again before cooking on it until just smoking. Turn off the heat and repeat the washing again, giving your wok another light scrub with water only.

Repeat this process one more time and your new carbon steel wok is ready for cooking your favorite dishes!

3.5.3251

Source: https://thewoksoflife.com/2018/08/how-to-season-a-wok/

[joiedevivrevehicles]

Basic Car Maintenance Tips You Can’t Do Without

So you just bought a new car. Congratulations!

You’re thrilled with your new ride and you want to look after it – but when you lift the bonnet you can’t help feeling a little overwhelmed. Where do you even start?

There’s no denying that cars are getting more and more complicated every year, which makes them ever harder for the regular person to maintain. But the good news is that there are still lots of things you can do yourself to keep your vehicle in peak condition between your regular services.

The simple car care tips in MotorCartel’s quick car maintenance checklist can save you big dollars every year. And best of all, they don’t require tools, specialised knowledge, or the expensive services of mechanics and workshops.

So if you’re keen to learn basic car maintenance skills so you can give your new wheels the care it deserves, then this is the article for you!

Maintain engine oil levels

Always keep the oil level up to the ‘maximum’ mark on the dipstick. The more oil there is in your engine, the longer the oil will take to degrade – providing better lubrication for the engine and making it last longer. Don’t go overboard though! The markers are there for a reason, so always fill up as the dip-stick indicates and no more.

Protect the cooling system

Keep the liquid in your radiator topped up to a maximum, and the reservoir bottle topped up to half way between its indication markers. The radiator is an air-tight component, so as the coolant heats up and expands the overflow spills into the reservoir, and as the liquid cools back down it contracts and sucks the coolant back into the radiator. Theoretically it’s possible to fill the radiator up via the reservoir overflow bottle, as long as you never let it go empty, but it’s better to check both just in case.

Oh, and do make sure you only ever fill the radiator when the engine is cooled, not straight after using the car, as pressure can form in the radiator under heated conditions. If you open the cap too soon you could end up with a jet of boiling liquid and steam in your face!

It’s a good idea to use coolant rather than straight water in your radiator. Coolant liquid has a higher boiling point than regular water, so it keeps the engine at the right temperature more efficiently and maintains the engine integrity for longer.

There are variant coolants that allow water and coolant mixes, but it’s wise to use the type suggested in the car’s manual, or one recommended by your local mechanic.

Protect the fuel system

Keep the fuel tank full at all times. This reduces evaporation and prevents the formation of condensation, which forms inside the fuel tank and causes surface rust on the interior walls. If this happens fine rust particles will eventually mix in with the fuel pump, prematurely clogging your fuel filters and blocking or damaging the fuel injectors.

So remember, the fuller the petrol tank remains, the better your cars fuel systems will serve you over the long haul.

You should also consider adding in a bottle of good quality fuel system cleaner at least twice a year, this helps to remove the gums and varnishes that form naturally in the pipes which can lead to fuel injector failures.

Protect the battery

It’s a good idea to neutralise battery acid accumulations periodically, by pouring a solution of food-grade baking soda and luke-warm water over each individual terminal. Ensure you’re wearing proper protective gloves whilst doing so and carefully wipe the battery terminals clean with a rag. Be sure to dispose of the rags safely afterwards.

Keeping the battery clean prevents current leakage through the dust, acid, and grime that builds up on your terminals and conducts electricity in damp or wet conditions. This will increase its lifespan.

Maintain tyre pressure

Check the pressure in your tyres at least once a month when the tyres are cold. Check the user manual, the inside of your car door or the side of the tyres for the correct pressure.

Maintaining correct tyre pressure saves fuel, extends tyre life and reduces wear on your steering and suspension components.

Protect the bodywork

Thoroughly clean your car and then apply a good quality, silicon-based car wax to the entire outside surface at least once every six weeks. Wax forms a thin film layer on the paintwork that protects the paint against the fading effects of the sun. It also protects it against rust formation caused by salt spray in coastal areas, as well as the effects of acidic pollutants in the atmosphere, particularly in city regions. These pollutants can eat through paint to attack the metal of the bodywork, eventually allowing rust to set in as the paint protecting the metal begins to degrade.

You may have noticed that we don’t suggest polishing your car. It’s actually not a good idea to polish your car too often, it is in fact an abrasive action that slightly grinds away the top layer of your paint each time, exposing the fresh new shiny paint underneath. As good as it makes the car look, do it too often and you’ll eventually end up grinding away your paint!

We recommend polishing only once every couple of years, and then protecting that great shine with the use of a good quality wax.

Protect the windscreen and wipers

Make sure you add some pH-neutral window cleaner to the windscreen washer reservoir. There are dozens of brands on the market, but be sure to check for pH-neutrality to prevent possible damage to the paintwork and trimmings.

Avoid using regular dish-washing liquids or similar detergents as these can clog your wipers. Only use a good quality car window cleaning product that are designed to be added to the window cleaner’s tank.

Keep the interior clean

Don’t just vacuum the insides and hang an odour disguiser on your review mirror! Regularly give your interior a good clean with some seat and carpet cleaners. There are plenty of great products on the market that’ll keep your interiors smelling fresh and looking fantastic.

The benefits of basic car maintenance

These basic car maintenance tips will not only go a long way to ensuring your car runs at peak efficiency, they will also help to maintain the appearance – and thus the resale value – of your car.

And the best part is that merely by using this handy vehicle maintenance checklist to help you learn basic car maintenance skills you can boost the power, the fuel economy, and even the reliability of your car without tools or technical expertise.

However, none of these car care tips eliminates the need for regular servicing, which should be done at scheduled intervals (with a maximum of 10,000 to 12,000kms between services).

Items like brake discs and pads (even if they are not noisy), timing belts and tensioners, serpentine belts and idler pulleys all have limited life spans, and must be replaced at prescribed intervals by a trained mechanic. Replacing these parts requires special tools and in-depth knowledge, so leave them to your regular workshop to inspect or replace.

Nonetheless, in the long run following these basic car maintenance tips will serve you and your car well and help you get years of pleasure from your hot new wheels.

Group1 Renault offers various excellent service and maintenance plans with their vehicles. Enquire about the Renault Captur’s available maintenance plans or take any of the great Renault vehicles available for a test drive today!

Article source: http://frenchcarsfavourites.blogspot.co.za/2017/05/basic-car-maintenance-tips-you-cant-do-without.html