What Happens Inside Plastic Water Bottles Left in a Hot Car Will Shock You—Avoid This Dangerous Mistake!
Ever wondered if that innocent plastic water bottle lounging in your scorching car seat could double as a fire starter? Sounds like a punchline, right? But spoiler alert—it’s no joke. On those blazing summer days, that clear bottle isn’t just sweating inside; it might just be plotting to ignite your car’s upholstery. Yup, sunlight hitting water through plastic can focus beams hot enough to spark flames, turning your backseat into an unintended barbecue. Forget the usual “give your bottle an expiration date” warning—this one’s a wild card that might just make you sprint back to your ride with a fire extinguisher instead of a thirst quencher. Buckle up, because this bizarre hazard is more than just a quirky fact—it’s a fiery wake-up call for all of us who treat our cars like portable water fountains.
Leaving plastic water bottles in your car during summer is a bad idea—and not just because chemicals from the material can leach into your water when it gets too warm out.
A plastic bottle of water can actually set your car seat on fire if sunlight hits it at just the right angle. If you don’t believe that, just ask Dioni Amuchastegui, a battery technician with the Idaho Power Company.
Amuchastegui was sitting in his truck during his lunch break when he saw some smoke out of the corner of his eye. He looked over “and noticed light was being refracted through a water bottle and was starting to catch the seat on fire,” Amuchastegui said in a Facebook video from 2017. He recorded the clip to warn others about the dangers of leaving plastic water bottles in hot cars.
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