car cleaning

I many countries cars are like second home for their owners. They spend lot of time driving either to work or business trip or by traveling.

Car maintenance is important to keep cars running for many years. Keeping car clean inside is essential as we tend to spend more time inside the car.

Often the AC vents, heating unit gets dusty and we cannot afford to breath dusty air. If we have pets, then pets hair also get stuck to seats and on sides.

Instead of taking car to car cleaner every time, try cleaning car interior at home by these simple tips.

1. Use vacuum and brush duster to clean all knobs – volume, temperature, AC knobs, break – brush of dust using duster
2. Replace air filter: To get rid of bad and stinky odor, replace air filter once a while
3. Trash removal: Keep a carry bag inside car always. Don’t throw trash in back seat or in car trunk or on road side. Instead, collect in carry bag and segregate trash for proper disposal at home.
4. Magic eraser: Using magic eraser to remove any stains or sticky items off of leather or vinyl or fabric material of seat or interior
5. Use old toothbrush: If things are sticky and stuck between fabric and vinyl texture, use an old toothbrush and scrub it off.
6. Clean seams: Use a fine bristled brush or tooth brush to remove dirt and other particles from the seams.
7. Kids car seat: Use lint roller, toothbrush, steam cleaner to clean kids car seat as it might contain things that can infect and irritate kids skin. Food particles, ice cream, milk, cereal, fruit pieces – many such things probably stuck to kids seat should be removed and seat should be kept clean to avoid any sickness.
8. Mats: Floor mats might contain small stones, mud and spilled drinks. Take out mats and vacuum the surface. If it is machine washable throw them in washing machine for a good wash. Or use stain remover and wash mats outside using brush and soap.
9. Pet hair: Remove animal hair by dampened gloves by running the hand over the surface. Use rubber glove to attract hair. You can also spray water and fabric softener mix on surface and run glove over it.  Buy a pet hammocks and drape it on seat where your pet sits.
10. Dusting: Use a can of compressed air to dust in air vents and fans. Use a clay bar to remove stubborn materials from car surface.
11. Shampoo seats: Using diluted all purpose cleaner and sponge shampoo the seats and inner surfaces.
12. Headlights: Try removing cloudiness from headlight using good toothpaste. Apply non gel toothpaste on headlight and wipe using clean sponge/micro fiber cloth.
13. Windshield cleaner: Use a proper steel wool and glass cleaner and treat windshield with recommended windshield coat to remove any streaks that can block and blur your view while driving. Clean windshield wipers using alcohol and soft cloth.
14. Remove marks, birds excreta, tree sap using rubbing alcohol. Soak cotton swab in alcohol and rub it against the unwanted, dirty spot. Allow it to loosen and use a soft cloth to remove it. Wash surface using soap and water.
15. Car windows: Use old newspaper to clean car windows. Spray window cleaner and ball the newspaper up and down to wipe the liquid.
16. Keep all things that you carry in your car in proper place. Your sun glasses should be kept in its pocket, all coins that you collect -place in a cup or small box.
17. Dashboard: After dusting, use little olive oil to wipe the whole dashboard surface to get fresh look
18. Remove smell: Using baking soda – sprinkle baking soda on surfaces. Leave it for few minutes and vacuum it. Hand good, mild air freshener inside car.
19. Keep all small tools that are necessary for car cleaning – ice scrapers, scrubbers, newspaper, washer fluid, brush etc in a small box in car trunk along with small car vacuum cleaner.
20. Keep a food tray with compartments: When you need to have food or grab a bite, place it in food tray that comes with shallow compartments. This way, food won’t spill and won’t be messiness.

Removing unwanted things, dust and keeping windows, wind shield clean helps for a good drive.

Your journey and driving will be more joyful when you have a clean car!

Image credit: Photo by Clément M. on Unsplash