Keeping your car clean can pay you big dividends as it will add hundreds of dollars in value to your car when you think of selling it. Moreover who wants a car with dirty interiors. Cleaning the interior of the car needs more careful attention to details than cleaning its exterior. This is because there are a large variety of items in the interior of a car using a wide variety of materials which need different cleaning methods. Also some accessories and fittings inside your care may be very sensitive. The following are some car cleaning tips for the interior if your car:
1. Before starting to clean the interior you must remove all maps, clothes, CDs, glasses, mats, bottles, pens, food, rubbish, Minties and seat covers from the interior of the car. These are to be cleaned separately out side the car. Before taking up the cleaning process you must refer to the owner’s manual that came with your car. Many of the latest automobile components and accessories are quite sensitive to cleaners. For sensitive items use cleaners and cleaning techniques recommended in the owner’s manual. When it doubt clean a small portion first for testing.
2. There are some hard to reach places that cannot be easily vacuumed. You can easily blow the dirt out by connecting the vacuum hose at the outlet port of the vacuum cleaner. Blow in short spurts so that the dirt is not blown all over the vehicle. This can be done by putting the power switch of the cleaner on and off frequently.and at a slow speed. This will move the dirt to an accessible spot nearby making it easier to remove by vacuuming it up.
3. A toothbrush and a paintbrush are very useful while cleaning the interior of your car. Many hard to reach corners, crevices and cracks can be easily reached with these very useful tools. With one hand you can clean deep spots using the paint brush or toothbrush and with the other hand you can vacuum the loosened debris. This way all those tricky spots will also get cleaned up. Keep these two items handy as you will need them frequently when you clean up the car’s interior. You can use cotton buds also. As you can see these car cleaning tips don’t require you to use any expensive tools.
4. You can remove debris thoroughly from mats and carpets by using a sturdy brush to loosen them and running the vacuum hose right behind it. Be careful not to be too hard on the mat and carpet as you may easily or damage the material. Use enough force to do the job without causing damage.
5. You must be careful while cleaning the transparent plastic on the instrument cluster of your car. They are soft and can scratch easily. Use a plastic cleaner to do the job effectively.
6. Use a chewing gum remover to remove wax, gum and other such materials. The remover freezes the gum, etc., so that they can be easily scraped off. If chewing gum remover is not available at hand you can use dry ice instead. Use a paint scraper that is not sharp to gently remove it once the gum or wax freezes and becomes hard.. Chewing gum removers are usually available at janitorial supply ot auto detailing services.
7. Those places where you touch frequently are usually the dirtiest places in your car’s interior. These include the steering wheel, the door panel at the driver’s side, seat belts, the gear shifting knob, etc. The space between your legs when you sit can also get very dirty . You must locate these extra dirty spots and spend some more time for cleaning them thoroughly.
8. While cleaning the seat belts you can use a diluted solution of a mild laundry soap. This will keep the fabric of the belt intact. Avoid using ammonia containing products on seatbelts as it can weaken the webbing and loosen it to a life threatening degree! These car cleaning tips will protect your vehicle from causing permanent damage while cleaning.
9. Clean the windows inside and out with a glass cleaner and with paper towels. Finally buff the windows lightly with a cotton towel. For windows you must avoid ammonia containing products as they can damage the tint. You should wipe the dashboard and the car panels with a cloth dampened with clean water. Use a mild soap or all purpose cleaner to remove the grime from these areas.
10. For getting rid of smells use vinegar. It works very well and is quite cheaper than the products commercially available. To start with use a 20 -1 (water-vinegar) solution and scrub the interior thoroughly with a soft cloth. If necessary you can increase the concentration. As you can see, you will save a lot of money you would have otherwise spent on a professional cleaning job, by using these car cleaning tips.
To conclude, be gentle while cleaning your car’s interior as the materials used these days are lighter and less sturdy to make the vehicles lighter, than earlier, when the emission standards were not so stringent. If you are not careful you may end up causing permanent damage to some interior parts. The above car cleaning tips will help you to keep your car’s interior in top condition for a long time and add much value when you sell it.
