blueman wrote in :

Perhaps not technically home repair but my car is like an extension of
my home...

Anyway, I noticed that there is a lot of "crud" (grainy white/green
stuff - looks like dried toothpaste) on the positive (red) terminal of
my car battery.

Car otherwise works & looks fine.

Question:
- Is it important to clean the crud off?


Sure is. It will keep building up until it literally severs the battery
cables and destroys the hold-down clamp..


- What is the best & also easiest/fastest way to do it?



Replace the battery, quickly.

That corrosion happens because the battery-to-post seal is broken, either
through age or (far more common) mishandling. You can clean it off and even
install those neutralizing-felt washers, but it /will/ come back again.

Clean off the existing corrosion on the cables using a thick paste of
baking soda and water. Do this before installing the new battery. And when
you tighten the cables onto the new battery, be GENTLE. The terminals only
need to be tight enough that you can't rotate them by hand AND NO MORE.
Counter your tightening force with opposite force applied to the other side
from the tightening nut.



--
Tegger