Best Practices

Keep A Lid On It

I don’t necessarily mean lid, it’s actually called a cap but it serves the same purpose. You know the type of cap that keeps things enclosed. Soda bottles, pill bottles, shampoo bottles to name a few. But there is a cap that is greatly underestimated. It was brought to my attention that our gas caps on our cars play a pretty significant role and they are being extremely understated. Yes, it’s the gas cap; we don’t pay much attention to it. Most of us have had few encounters with it and it so taken for granted. It is just there doing its job…to keep the gas liquid and the fumes contained. But is it really doing an adequate job and how would we know. Or do we even care? Well according to information put out by the Car Care Council by not having a tight fitting cap on your car you could loose up to 30 gallons of gas a year. And it is said that 147,000 gallons of gas vaporize into the air in the United States annually. Well, that doesn’t sound too good for the environment or for our pocket book. So a few tips for making sure that you’re not adding any more to your carbon footprint and save a few bucks.

1. Make sure that the attendant is properly twisting the cap the proper amount.
2. Check to see how worn it is.
3. If it hisses when you take it off it is probably has a good seal.

And did you know that every time you open your fuel tank that the fuel evaporates, so try to limit your fill ups. And of course don’t have the tank so called “topped off” it just adds more toxins into the air and your car is not going to utilize that portion efficiently. Every little bit we can do to reduce the pain at the pump and the save the environment is a good thing.

Vickie Wheatley