HOW VALVE STEMS WORK

Valve stems are those aluminium, steel or black rubber knobs, about the size of a pinkie finger, found on each tires wheel. Air gets into and stays in your tires because of the inner workings of your valve stems.

When you need to inflate your tires, you place the air pump onto the tip of the valve stem. Inside, the valve opens to let air in. Then, when you take the pump off, the valve closes and stays sealed because of pressure or a spring.

WHY VALVE STEM MAINTENANCE IS IMPORTANT

Many valve stems are made of a rubber material that can deteriorate over time from the weather and exposure to sunlight so you’ll want to check to make sure they’re in good shape. If you flex your valve stem, you should be able to see if there are any cracks or leaks.

A crack or a leak in your valve stem can be as big of a problem to your tires and your safety as running over a nail. But perhaps because they’re small, many drivers forget about their tire stems.