Spring Cleaning Your Car

It’s not just your home that may need a spring cleaning, don’t forget about your car too! The winter months can be tough on our vehicles, especially living somewhere that snows. Muddy shoes and wet clothes may have left your car in need of a little clean up. Let’s go through the steps of how to clean your car’s interior so you can get ready for road trips and summer fun!

We always start off with dusting wether we’re in the home or the car! Grab a lambswool duster and start pulling the dust down from your dashboard, your radio and everything that’s been living under a blanket of dust. Pull all of that grim down to your floors to vacuum up later.

Next, grab a trash bag (or just a grocery bag) and start collecting trash. Check the side of your doors, your cupholders, under you seats and in your trunk. Get rid of anything you don’t need!

Now let’s continue with our top to bottom cleaning method. We’re going to start with the windshield. Grab your favorite glass cleaner and get to work. Finish off your windshield with a microfiber towel to make it streak free.

Time to go in with a disinfectant! Grab a cotton towel and spray it with the disinfectant you prefer and start spot cleaning any hard surfaces. Pay special attention to your cup holders, steering wheel and other high touch areas like handles and buttons you use often. Remember to get these areas in the back of your car too! 

Let’s move on to vacuuming! This is the fun part where you really start to see a difference! Take out your floor mats give them a good vacuum, then move into your car. Vacuum your seats, the floors and be sure to get in any crevices, that’s where the crumbs like to hide! Get under seats and in your trunk too. Put your floor mats back in and you’re almost done. 

On to the last step, which sometimes isn’t even necessary! Give your upholstery a good look over for any stains. Do not use bleach or ammonia-based cleaners as they can damage leather and fabrics. Instead opt for a commercial cleaner or make your own. For leather seats “mix warm water and Castile soap or liquid dish washing soap together in a bucket. Use a ratio of 5 parts water to 1 part soap. Dampen a cloth with the solution and wipe down the seat surfaces. Don’t saturate the leather because too much water could pool in the seat seams and seep into the cushions. Excess water can also stain the leather. Wipe clean with a second damp cloth. Dry thoroughly with a towel.” If you’ve got fabric car seats try mixing a cup of vinegar, a few drops of dish soap and about a gallon of hot water in a bucket to help with any stains. Once again don’t totally saturate your seats in this, just find the spots that need cleaning.

There you go! Your car should be clean! Give the outside a good washing and you’re ready to rock n’ roll. While we are the experts in home cleaning we think our methods translate well to cars too. We hope you find these cleaning tips helpful. Let us know what sort of cleaning hacks you’ve used to make your car sparkle!