How To Extend Your Battery Life

Reader Don felt compelled to share this tips about proper love and care of your electronic items’ batteries so they last longer and you don’t have to buy more unnecessarily…

  • Do not set your laptop on a bed, couch, pillow, or in some cases your lap. This will heat up the laptop due to poor ventilation and destroy the battery.
  • Kill it once a month. Once a month allow the battery to go through a complete charge cycle. If you are using a laptop or cell phone, just pay attention to the warning message that tells you to plug it in and you should be fine.
  • Do not expose to extreme heat, this will drastically shorten their life spans. One day in a hot car (90 degrees plus) and you will not be able to hold more than a 10 minute charge
  • Do not expose to extreme cold (below 40 degrees can start to harm battery life). If you do, allow the battery to warm up to room temperature before using it.
  • Use your laptop (phone, iPod, etc) at least once a month. If you let the laptop sit in a drawer too long without using it, you will damage the battery and affect its ability to hold a charge.

With a little caution and best practices, you can make your batteries last longer and save money. In some cases, replacement laptop batteries can cost as much as $500 to replace

(Photo: Brymo)

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