Beach days seem easy enough, since you just put on some shades & throw some snacks in a cooler as you prepare for good times. However, that’s exactly when stuff goes wrong, like your phone melting down or your beach chair locking up—these mistakes happen to the best of us. Here are thirteen beach day fails and the ways to fix them. Don’t worry because there’s nothing you can’t solve.
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Wet Sand Inside Your Car’s USB Ports
You throw your bag in the car after a beach day, and somehow the sand has gotten its way into the USB port—the next thing you know, your phone won’t charge. The easiest fix is to keep your electronics zipped up in their own pouch, or just wrap them in a clean sock to stop any sand from getting in. Even if you can’t see them, those tiny grains could wedge deep and stay hidden until they mess something up. Blowing into the port won’t help because it just pushes the grit further in, so it’s better to block it from the start.
Sunglasses Warped From Dashboard Heat
When you’re finished, you’ll probably put your shades on the dash as you’re packing up, but then the sun does its thing and warps them, and they don’t sit right on your face anymore. Once they’re bent, there’s no real way to fix them, and it’s even worse when the lens coating starts bubbling. The solution is to just stash them in the glovebox or under a towel, which will stop the high heat from softening the plastic and slowly twisting the frame.
Sticky Stuff From Salt Spray
Salt spray makes everything feel tacky & grimy, but a quick fix for this is to rub your belongings down with baby wipes, so keep a pack in your car. The salt dries into a gritty film that doesn’t really come off with just water, and that’s why you should give your belongings a once-over before loading up. If you have a cooler, wipe down the handles and keep the lid cracked open so that nothing weird grows inside.
Wet Wipes Shriveling in the Heat
Speaking of baby wipes, you might reach for a wipe to clean off your hands and end up with a warm, crinkly napkin that smells like “almost lemon,” which is exactly what happens when your wet wipes bake in the sun. Keep them buried at the bottom of your bag, or better yet, put the whole pack in the cooler, as cold wipes are quite amazing anyway. Don’t open the seal until you need them either, because once that adhesive starts peeling, the wipes dry out rather quickly.
Sunscreen Smudges On Car Door Handles
Sunscreen gets everywhere, including on your car door handles, which makes them a lot harder to hold. To stop that from happening, throw a small towel over the door handle before you start packing up. If you have kids, you’ll probably see little fingerprints smeared all over the window, too, and that stuff builds up fast, especially if your car’s been baking in the sun. You should use a clean cloth to wipe things down before anything sets in, or else you’ll need an actual degreaser later.
Sand Clogged in Folding Chair Hinges
Whenever your beach chair refuses to open, you can probably blame the sand jammed in the joints, which gets in when the legs sink into damp sand. The best way to fix this is to give the chair legs a rinse at the beach shower before folding them up, because once that sand hardens, those hinges won’t budge without a fight. Waiting too long could mean you start seeing rust around the edge—don’t forget to shake the chair out hard before rinsing, and dry it off when you get home.
Phone Overheating From Streaming Music
If your phone flashes that “too hot to function” warning, it’s not you, it’s the sun, as phones cook fast out there, so you should either pre-download your music or wrap your phone in a cool towel between songs. Sitting in a shady spot helps, too, and if you’re using Bluetooth speakers, you should keep those out of the sun as well—they overheat just as fast. You should also avoid leaving your phone on top of the cooler lid because it’s like a stovetop in direct sunlight.
Wind Flipped The Umbrella
You thought you had your umbrella secure until a gust of wind flipped it into the sea—most twisty umbrella spines don’t survive many crash landings like this. It’s better for you to dig deep, perhaps elbow-deep, and pack the base with wet sand. It’s even better if you bring your own sand anchor or one of those twist-in stakes, especially since most umbrellas don’t come with anything, and just jamming the pole in the ground isn’t enough.
Spray Sunscreen That Clogs Mid-Use
As you’re halfway through sunscreening your shoulder, you realize that nothing came out and your spray bottle completely gave up—it’s almost always because there’s sand in the nozzle or buildup. As such, you should pop the cap off and rinse it under a bit of water, then shake the bottle a lot and try again. It also helps if you store the bottle upright instead of tossing it sideways in your bag, and don’t wait till you’re already sweating to use it because once your hands are wet, everything starts to clog up.
Beach Ball That’s Overinflated in the Sun
If you bring a beach ball with you, make sure you don’t fully inflate it because if you do, the heat may cause the air to expand and the ball to burst. Leave room to grow, especially if you blew it up in an air-conditioned car or if the seams were weak to begin with, as it won’t even last the hour. Inflate it a little, keep it in the shade, then top it off later if you need to, although you probably won’t.
Mildew Smell in Roll-Up Beach Mats
As you unroll your beach mat, you might be hit with a whiff of “damp attic,” which is just mildew that comes from rolling it up wet. Instead of rolling it right away, lay it over your car or a railing for a while before packing up—the sun’s also free, so use it. If you forget and roll it up wet anyway, don’t leave it in your trunk, but instead, open it as soon as you get home and hose it off. Let it dry out on a fence or deck for a day before putting it away, and if the smell sticks, vinegar & water usually sort it out.
Cheese That Melts Into a Wrapper
Any string cheese you brought will probably end up glued to its plastic, even if you keep it in the cooler, because they can only do so much when it’s 90°F. To solve this, freeze a sponge in a zip-top bag the night before and stick it on top of your snacks—it works better than ice packs and won’t leak. You should also keep your snacks in a solid container instead of a soft lunch bag, or perhaps even use a frozen bottle of water to keep your stuff firm.
Tiny Shell Cuts On Your Feet
The sand looks soft until you’re limping back with what feels like 12 paper cuts from broken shells, so if you’re walking along the shore, always make sure to wear a pair of cheap water shoes or even thin flip-flops. You’ll barely notice you’re wearing them, and it’s a lot easier to deal with than cut feet—don’t wait until you’ve already sliced something. Most of those cuts don’t bleed much, but they’ll sting like crazy in saltwater and feel sore for days.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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