Have You Ever Wondered What That Weird AC Button in Your Car Does?

The official start of summer has been a hot one here in western Kentucky and southern Indiana. Our high temperatures have been sitting in the mid 90s and the humidity has been thick. The 'feels like' temps have been pushing 100 degrees. That combination of heat and humidity has made getting into the car a sweaty chore and it's taking our air conditioners a considerable amount of time to turn that hot air into cool air.

Well, here's a fun tip that will help you out dramatically. Have you ever wondered that this button does?

Yeah, that button! You have probably noticed it on your dashboard before, but you may not be aware of what it actually does. Well, it's called the recirculation button and nearly every vehicle has one. If you're unsure when you're supposed to use it, you're now in luck!  In the summer, I use mine all the time!

If you don't use that recirculate button, the AC in your vehicle is basically pulling in air from the outside of the car. If that air is hot and humid, your vehicle has to work hard to cool it. If you push that air recirculation button, your vehicle will simply take the air from inside your car and recirculate that- instead of sucking in really hot and humid air from outside the car. In other words, it's taking in and recirculating that cooler air that's already inside the car. If you use the recirculation button, your car is going to get cooler faster and there will be considerably less wear and tear on your vehicle's AC system.

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Here's a pretty good explanation of how it works and a tip about rolling down your windows to let the exceptionally hot air out.

And, by the way, I have a additional tip for you- a personal one. I can't stand the smell of exhaust or freshly mowed grass. So, if I happen to get behind a vehicle that's blowing nasty exhaust out of its tailpipe or I drive by a yard where someone is mowing the grass, I will use that air recirculation button then too. It cuts off the absorption of air from the outside and just pulls the air from the inside. Sure, I will still smell that exhaust, but it won't suck the fumes into my car.