Driving with cloudy or foggy headlights can be downright deadly. Your headlights are the only thing between you and the complete darkness of the road, where accidents could happen at any time. Indeed, nighttime driving is particularly dangerous for teens and the elderly. The fatal crash rate is nearly twice as high for 16-year-olds at night, and older people need to be mindful that their vision might not be as sharp at night as it once was.

Many people try to avoid going to the mechanics by restoring their headlights on their own. This is a good idea, but only if you use a headlight renewal kit — these professional headlight restoration kits are specially designed to be easily used. However, many people attempt to use elbow grease or other homegrown methods, which can actually backfire. Here are three other sure-fire ways to ruin your already clouded headlights:

Glass Cleaner

Let’s just get this straight right now: Windex simply isn’t the same thing as headlight restoration spray. It will do much more harm than good; in fact, the ammonia in the solution will actually cause your headlights to turn yellow!

Sandpaper

It might seem like it makes sense to scrub off the tiny abrasions on your headlight with sandpaper, but this technique, again, causes even further damage to your headlights. The original abrasions were caused by oxidation, which can effectively be removed by professional products, but the tiny cuts your sandpaper causes are permanent and you may need to get the whole apparatus replaced.

Toothpaste

There is a myth floating around out there that says that you can use toothpaste to clean headlights. This is simply not true — it’s a misconception that dates back to when head lights and other car parts were made out of glass, instead of plastics and UV film. The toothpaste will do damage to that film, and get into the little crevices surrounding the light. Leave the toothpaste where it belongs, in the bathroom.

A DIY headlight restoration and headlight cleaning kit is a cost effective and safe way to restore visibility to your night trips. Basically, leave the headlight restoration up to the professionals — or the professional headlight renewal kits, which contain the correct materials and solutions for maximizing light.