Basic Tips and Tricks for a Cleaner Car

Eating fast food inside your car is one of the quickest ways to create clutter. The bags, the cups, the grease and the crumbs create an unpleasant and unhealthy mess. By skipping out on the drive-thru, you can drastically cut down on the amount of trash that enters your car, not to mention the amount of money flying out of your wallet! Even if you abstain from eating in your car, keeping junk out altogether is still a tall order. Stop potential messes by keeping a small trash bag in the car at all times. Simply empty it whenever you stop to get gas.

How to Clean the Interior of Your Car

If the inside of your car has gotten a bit out of hand, it’s worth investing a few hours to thoroughly clean out your car. Getting rid of trash and clutter has a refreshing effect. It will motivate you to keep your car clean for longer periods of time. Here are some cleaning techniques you’ll need to know to get the job done:

• Vacuum the inside. Before you start any detailing, make sure you’ve vacuumed up any leftover clutter and debris. Use the professional-grade vacuums at a nearby carwash or a small to mid-sized hand vacuum cleaner to get the job done quickly and effectively.
• Get gunk off the floor mats. After you’ve vacuumed thoroughly, the best way to eliminate the dirt and grime that gets tracked into your car is to remove the mats from your car. Give them one to two good passes with a power washer. Leave the mats outside to dry thoroughly before replacing them—wet floor mats can cause harmful mold to form in your car.
• Clean your seats. Your approach to cleaning your car seats will vary depending on whether they are made of cloth or leather upholstery. Cloth upholstered seats can be cleaned simply and effectively with an everyday carpet steamer. Cleaning your leather upholstery, however, requires a slightly finer touch, as well as some specialized products. To keep them from becoming cracked and faded, apply leather cleaning oils. This helps remove dirt build-up and restores your leather’s natural qualities from the damage of sun exposure.
• Clean all hard surfaces. Clean your console, radio buttons, armrest, and steering wheel with a cloth and correct surface cleaner. For plastic or wood paneling, a simple household surface cleaner should do the trick. For easily accessible areas, simply spray cleaner onto a dry cloth and wipe it down. For harder-to-reach spots like your A/C vents, use a lightly damp toothbrush to reach in and scrub.