Cleaning Hacks: DIY Car Detailing Methods You Can Do at Home
Being able to take pride in your car is something we all look to achieve, and perhaps the best way to maintain that goal is by keeping your vehicular investment shiny, clean, and fresh. A spotless car doesn’t only help the car retain its value, it also can help your mood on those long commutes between your destinations. The best part is that keeping up with your car’s cleanliness can be easy.
How Should I Prepare For A Deep Clean?
The beginning stages of any cleaning job always surround a general pick up, and a car is no different. Emptying everything from your vehicle should be the first step, trash, cups, debris, wrappers, etc. This also includes items that usually take up a permanent residence in your vehicle, such as car seats, GPS, and emergency supplies from the trunk. You’ll need plenty of room to clean all around your car, and the essentials can be put back after you’ve finished.
What Cleaning Tools Do I Need To Get Started?
Once your vehicle is emptied, you’re ready to begin cleaning from the inside out. The tools you need can be picked up at any store that specialized in car maintenance, or likely down any auto aisle of your local superstore. Purchasing the right tools and cleaning products can help you skip the regular trips to expensive detailing services that you would usually take your car to.
- Microfiber cleaning cloths
- Water spray bottle
- Squeegee
- Scrub brush
- Upholstery and leather cleaner
- Glass cleaner
- Vacuum
- Air fresheners
Start With The Vacuum
The interior of cars varies widely, from upholstery, leather, seat protectors, or rubber floor protection. No matter what the inside of your vehicle looks like, the best place to start is with a general once over with a vacuum cleaner.
A vacuum lets you get into small spaces that would be very hard to reach by hand or cloth and allows you to give the dust on your dash or ceiling a once over before moving on to the floorboards. By doing the roof and dash first, you’re allowing particles of dust to land on the lower carpet before you’ve gone through all of the work to clean it.
If you’re a pet owner, you’ll already know that dog or cat hair is particularly difficult to remove from a car. If the vacuum doesn’t seem to be doing the trick, misting your carpet and seats with a water spray bottle, and then taking a squeegee to the fabric can aid you in removing the fur. The water also helps the vacuum, making it easier to suction up. If your furry friend is a regular car companion, consider purchasing pet-friendly seat protectors.Treating Floorboards With Care
The longer you’ve owned your car, or the older it is, if you purchased it used, the more dirt, dust, and stains the floor has likely collected. To rejuvenate the worn carpet in your car, a scrub brush with stiff bristles and foaming upholstery cleaner can make a world of difference.
If you come across a particularly stubborn stain, consider letting the cleanser sit on that spot of carpet for several minutes, allowing the foam to penetrate the difficult mark. The additional soak time makes removal all the more likely when it comes time to scrub the spot by hand. This cleaning method can be carried throughout the car onto all the fabric surfaces, including car upholstery and back window fabrics.
Take note that if your car has a leather interior, specialized oils should be used, rather than the foaming cleaner. The oils protect and condition the leather, and make cracks in the material far less likely. Rubber mats on floorboards should also be removed, and perhaps sprayed down with a pressure washer or hose.
Wiping Down Surfaces
Once the vacuuming is finished, it’s time to break out the microfiber cloth and the proper cleaners for your car’s hard surfaces. Before beginning, always make sure to read the labels of all cleansers, ensuring that what you’re about to use is compatible with the materials in your vehicle. By using a microfiber cloth, you’re going to prevent damaging scratches to sensitive surfaces, while collecting small dust particles, as they stick to the soft fabric.
Vacuums, microfiber fabrics, and handheld dusting wands can also be great for your car’s electronics. These items help pick up dirt that is usually in hard-to-reach, small areas, all while keeping your car’s command center safe from harmful liquids and chemicals that could cause them severe damage.
For the windows, you’ll likely want to grab a new, clean microfiber cloth, and use the glass cleaning solution. The outside of the windows can be done with water, soap, and a squeegee, but the interior is far more sensitive due to the fact that mass amounts of water and soap can cause mayhem inside the car. Microfiber cloths also let you put some elbow grease into those tough smudges that children may leave behind in the back seat, without scratching up the glass.
Achieving That “New Car” Smell
Now that the interior of your car is shiny and spotless, the final step is to grab a freshener or spray that features your preferred scent. Scents come in endless varieties, and thanks to long-lasting air pods that attach to the air vents, they can last you for months at a time. Picking out a freshener to hang from your mirror is also an option, but if the entire car needs a sweet smell, there are also countless scented fabric sprays that you can use to give your car seats a once over.
The Pros of DIY Car Detailing
If you’re about to sell your car, or if your ride was just in desperate need of good once over, learning to do-it-yourself detailing tricks can save you from a big price tag at your local detailing service center.
Once the inside of your car is finished, your local Wash ‘N Go car wash is a fast, affordable, and exceptional quality route to take for the cleaning of the outside of your vehicle. Their high performance, state of the art equipment is not only environmentally friendly, but it’s also going to get the job done.
How Do I Learn More?
To learn more about interior cleaning tips, contact the experts at Wash ‘N Go at (619)-423-2757. Our professionals are happy to answer any questions you may have.
