Keeping your car clean and tidy doesn’t have to be difficult. Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be proud to drive around town in your sparkling clean car.
1. Wash at home.
Car washing is the only way for your car to be beautiful and shiny, so why not try washing it yourself at home? With the automated car wash, you can have the car cleaned while you get your nails done, but it will cost you.
Park the car in a shaded area and then wash it off with a hose. Start with the roof, work your way down the sides, and then to the tires. Then scrub the car with a sponge dipped in water and mild liquid soap. Rinse and repeat if necessary.
2. Use car wash facilities.
You can drive to an automatic car wash to clean your car if you don’t feel like doing it at home. It’s going to cost you, that’s for sure, so compare the pros and cons before you go.
The good thing about automated or drive-through car wash services is that they make the experience of owning a car hassle-free. No more worrying about bird droppings or liquid stains or anything – just drive to the nearest car wash, pay for the cleaning and drive through.
3. Neat inside out.
The purpose of car cleaning is to prevent wear and tear on the car, but there is more to it than that. It’s also about being comfortable in the car and not about itching and dirt because someone didn’t clean the interior.
The first rule of thumb is to check the seats. Food scraps and other small particles tend to get stuck between the pillows, so check these areas often. Then sweep the floor from small stones and dirt that got into the car. Just remember to clean the seats first before doing the floor and not the other way around – otherwise you’ll have to do the floor all over again.
4. Use car seat covers.
One of the hardest things about owning a car is taking the seats out to have them washed. It’s a tedious job and it gets worse every time. In addition, it is impossible not to get the seats dirty, especially with children. You really need to start thinking about investing in seat covers.
For seat covers, simply remove the covers when you need to wash and tidy them up. The seats remain. These covers protect the seats from stains and dust and all sorts of fabric damage. It doesn’t get any better than that. Seat covers will change the way you see your car.
5. Keep a trash can nearby.
Having a trash can in the car will save you a lot of time and effort by significantly reducing the need to clean up once in a while. Some people have a habit of just tossing their trash—candy wrappers, plastic bags, crumpled paper—wherever they can’t find a trash can nearby. Don’t let “somewhere” be your car. Keep a small trash can behind either the driver’s seat or the passenger seat and keep your car from smelling like pit lane.
With any of these five tips, keeping your car clean shouldn’t be a problem. Remember that it’s much easier for you to clean it up little by little and often than to leave it for weeks (or months!) only to have to spend an entire weekend dealing with one big mess.