HOUSTON – Under the Houston sun, a vehicle can turn into a slow-burning oven. Everyone knows to not leave kids and pets in cars during the summer heat, but those are not the only things to think about getting into cooler temperatures.
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Millie Thompson told Local 2 she forgot a lip balm container in her hot car and she is dreading cleaning up the mess.
"Right now, I have a thing of (lip balm) in the console and it has melted onto the change and I don't want to remove it because it's gross," said Thompson.
A long list of items can not only be messy, but costly and dangerous if given the chance to bake inside a car.
Pharmacist Chris Barnett at Westchase Specialty Pharmacy told Local 2 that medications can lose their effectiveness when left in high temperatures.
"As soon as those oils and waters separate out, they may or may not mix back together in the right form and even those tablets that look like they are going to be stable have medication inside them that may not be," said Barnett.
This applies to over-the-counter pain relievers, antibiotics, antacids and all sorts of first-aid supplies.
"I know it is convenient to carry that stuff around and you need it on the spot. But unfortunately, as soon as you start to warm them up and they start to melt, you can't guarantee they will work the same way," said Barnett.
Barnett told Local 2 this can also apply to birth-control.
"Some medications have a very small window in which you have to keep them and 'the pill' certainly qualifies," said Chris Barnett, a pharmacist at Westchase Specialists Pharmacy. "That has some bigger risks if it is not doing what you hoped it was doing. Plus, anything that is made of rubber and especially lubricated rubber is going to be real sensitive."
The same is true for things such as sunscreens, lotions and gels. When these items melt and then return to solid form in cooler temperatures, the effectiveness may have been compromised.
"If it was warm enough to feel a difference in your hand, it is probably too warm," said Barnett. "The active ingredients in sunscreens that prevent sunburns are not very stable in heat, so they may not work as well if they get too warm."
Barnett suggested treating medication like your lunch. Keep it in an insulated cooler with an ice pack and only bring what you need for that day.
Also on the list -- your sunglasses. Sun-baked sunglasses can warp and even burn the skin if left in direct sunlight.
While scientific proof may be limited, there are plenty of stories from people about soda cans exploding, lighters combusting and aerosol cans popping.
Shauntrice Campbell told Local 2 her car was so hot a leather-covered book melted and left an imprint on her seat.
"I was shocked it happened that quickly. I was only gone for 30 minutes or so," said Campbell. "From then on, everything leaves with me when I get out of the car."
James MacInnis with Computer Hospital told Local 2 that taking everything out of a hot car is a good idea, especially when it comes to things such as laptops, tablets, cellphones and cameras.
"These days people are carrying gadgets of all shapes and sizes which are basically little computers that can be adversely affected by heat," he said.
Heat exposure can accumulate over time causing parts to warp, bulge or break. Where one day in a car may not destroy the device, MacInnis told Local 2 that repeatedly doing this will eventually cause a major malfunction.
"It is always best to let them come back to room temperature before you start operating them," said MacInnis.
The heat has also been known to cause problems with batteries and shorten the life expectancy of electronic gadgets.
Another item on the hot car watch list is wine. Nate Rose works in Spec's wine department. He told Local 2 that no time is a good time to leave a bottle in the car when things are hot.
"Wine when it is under vacuum starts heating up, it literally push it's way out of its cork," said Rose. "If you pick up a bottle of wine and see a stream of red or a cork pushing through the seal that wine has been overheated at some point."
While an overheated red or white may not be undrinkable, Rose said it will not taste the way the maker intended. He said a clean label and being able to turn the cover on the top of the bottle is a good sign the wine has not been overheated.
The best bet for keeping your best wine tasty is to keep it under 85 degrees.