(ET) Proper Battery cleaning habits

For proper cleaning of flooded lead acid batteries Golf Car companies as well as battery manufacturers recommend a solution of baking soda and water be applied to the tops and sides of the batteries, wait a few minutes and rinse with water. Most Golf Car Service manuals will list under "Battery Care" how much baking soda you should mix with the water. Since your battery cables are located on top of the battery it is important to neutralize the acid that accumulates on the tops of the batteries to keep the acid from corroding your cable ends. If you have acid running down the sides of the batteries you have waited too long to clean your batteries and need to do it more often. Just rinsing the batteries off with only water will eventually lead to corroded battery hold downs and the acid will continue flowing down and corroding other vehicle parts that are located under the batteries. But not to worry if a small amount of the baking soda and water should "seep" in to a cell. The small amount of baking soda that is mixed with the water for your cleaning solution is too minute to cause any serious harm. This contamination happens all the time as can be seen when young high school kids are cleaning the batteries at the golf course. They can be a bit careless when not paying close attention. One thing you do not want to do is apply the baking soda dry on the batteries and leave it there. This can give way to an electrical pathway between the battery terminals and drain a battery down. More helpful battery tips can also be found at the US Battery website. They have a very good section on proper battery care and maintenance that you can print out. You can also now purchase baking soda in a large zip-lock bag that will help keep it dry. Eric