Prevent Engine Damage - Get An Oil Change and Go Green

 Prevent Engine Damage - Get An Oil Change and Go Green

An oil change is an important step in maintaining your automobile. Dirty fluids or those that have drained away without the driver's knowledge can wreak havoc on the engine and working components of a vehicle. Improper disposal of motor fluids can wreak havoc on the planet earth. Want to do the smart thing for both? Here are some things to think about regarding environmental friendliness and the car in relation to an oil change.

- Drive smart: No need to race down the roads like a speed demon or to screech out at every green light. Accelerate a bit more sanely and drive the speed limit. This burns less fuel, oil and allows a vehicle to last longer.

- Green filters: Did you know that the automotive industry has created green filters that will extend the life of the lubricants in a car? That's right; they want to save the planet, too. There is a device on the market called a MicroGreen Extended Performance Oil Filter. It is a canister that spins on and features a bypass micro-filter in it. This allows the fluids to be cleaned during the operation of an engine. An estimated one-hundred hours of driving will do the cleaning trick.

- Detergent and anti-oxidants added to the oil by the manufacturers will keep the engine cleaner which will result in cleaner fluids as well. This trickles down to less frequent need for an oil change and less product required.

- Dispose of fluids properly: Motor oil is not the only automotive fluid which needs to be changed out regularly and recycled. Anti-freeze, windshield wiper fluids and more should be changed out and recycled. If a do-it-yourselfer is changing out their own vehicle's oily sludge, their local auto parts shop will be happy to take the discard off of their hands. A simple way to do this is to drain the dirty lubricant into some large container, then pour it through a funnel into empty milk jugs. Haul the jugs to the auto parts shop and the clerks will recycle it for free. This kind service helps the motorists and all of the inhabitants of Earth. Pouring the discard into the ground or water supplies can contaminate huge bodies of water and adversely affect the local ecosystem, which extends to humans as well.

- Maintaining one's automobile with regular service will allow it to be functional for many years to come. A well maintained car will mean less gas wasted and no need beyond a burning consumerist desire to run out and buy the latest model.

- Try alternative modes of transportation on occasion: Americans love their automobiles, and we are all pretty spoiled with our cars. Most of us expect to own one; it almost feels like a right rather than a privilege. At the age of 16, most American citizens become drivers on the roads. We have highways and streets to take us everywhere and that's how we expect to get there. One way to help the environment is to carpool more often, take public transportation, bicycle or walk to our destinations. While this isn't always feasible, every alternative mode of travel helps.

Be kind to the planet and your automobile at the same time. An environmentally friendly oil change and a bit of forethought regarding transportation will do the "green" trick.