Yes, you can clean away the corrosion on your battery terminals yourself. There is an easy homemade cleaner that is very effective in getting the gunk off the terminals, but it’s important to understand that corroded battery terminals can indicate an underlying problem with your car’s battery. 2000 Auto explains that if the battery is older than three years old, chances are it’s corroding because it needs to be replaced. Cleaning the terminals can help you identify any problems.
Homemade Cleaner
Before you do anything, make sure your vehicle is turned off and in park with the parking brake set. Pop the hood and inspect your battery. Check for anything unusual, such as bubbling or cracks in the battery case. If you see problems other than just the terminal corrosion, you need to replace your battery. If you don’t see any other problems, take 1 tablespoon of baking soda and mix it thoroughly with 1 cup of distilled water. This is the cleaning solution you will use to clean your battery terminals.
Scrub Away
Put on a pair of rubber gloves and disconnect the negative battery cable from the negative terminal first and then disconnect the positive cable. Grab an old but clean toothbrush and scrub away the corrosion with it and your homemade cleaner. You may need to work at it a bit to get all of the corrosion off the battery terminals. Keep scrubbing until the terminals are sparkling clean. Then, take distilled water and pour it into a clean spray bottle that hasn’t had anything else in it.
Rinse Well
Use the distilled water in the spray bottle to rinse off the battery terminals completely. Keep spraying until all of the baking soda solution and corrosion are removed. Once the battery is clean, take a lint-free cloth and dry the battery completely. Make sure to focus on drying the battery terminals so that there is no moisture when you reconnect the battery cables. If you need to, let the battery air dry before you reconnect the cables to avoid any electrocution dangers.
Protect the Terminals
Once the terminals and the battery are completely dry, take a small amount of petroleum jelly and rub it all around each battery terminal. This not only helps with the electrical conductivity, but it also protects the battery terminals from getting dirty again. You just need a thin layer of it on the terminals. Don’t put too much on. Next, reconnect the battery cables positive cable first, and then the negative cable.
Check your battery in about a week or two to see if there is any more corrosion. If there is, you have an internal problem and your battery needs to be replaced. 2000 Auto is the best auto service shop in Melbourne, FL, and we can help you with your battery problems.