The saying “It’s better to be safe than sorry” is true when it comes to maintaining your car’s interior. If you drive a lot or have children or pets, your car’s interior, with all its nooks and crannies, can be difficult to manage. But you can’t always bring a vacuum cleaner, brush and detergent to clean your car. We’ve got some quick tips and tricks on how to clean car interior.
How to Clean Car Interior
Follow these steps to learn how to clean car interior effectively:
Place a trash can in your car
Placing a trash can in your car is the best way to keep it clean and tidy. This will save you time and effort in picking up trash later. Waste can be found in many different parts of the car, such as the compartment, footwell, floor or even between the front seats and the dashboard. Equipping your car with a trash can can prevent waste from spreading.
A waterproof trash can with a lid can be a great choice. You can hang it on the front seat headrest. Just make sure to throw away the trash when it’s full.
Clean the cup holder
Your car cup holder can become sticky and dirty from spills, crumbs and condensation. A great tip for cleaning these cup holders is to take an old sock and rub it around the holder to clean and remove all the dirt. You can spray the socks with an all-purpose cleaner before cleaning for best results.
Additionally, these cup holders can be prevented from getting dirty or sticky by placing silicone liners or cups in them. The cup and silicone lining prevents any spills or dirt, making cleaning the cup easier. All you have to do is remove them from the racks. Sticky stains can also be minimized by immediately disposing of the cup containing the cold beverage or coffee after you have drunk the beverage.
This will help prevent any unwanted spills or condensation.
Keep your car fresh with an air freshener
The pleasant fragrance also soothes the senses and helps you feel refreshed throughout the journey. Several brands in the market produce excellent quality air fresheners and car fresheners.
These can be found easily at affordable prices. Also, make sure to change the air freshener periodically to keep our car interior fresh and clean.
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Using an Organizer
Whether you have kids or not, the back and front seats of your car can still get quite messy. Your kids’ shoes, dirty hands, or food they eat while riding can get dirty. These problems can easily be solved with the help of a car seat organizer. An effective seating organizer with various compartments that can be used to store toys, travel games, snacks, accessories, and more and can be easily hung in the back seat of your car.
This also prevents the back of your car seat from getting dirty with your child’s shoes. You can also create your car organizer using a shoe box. For the front seats, you can try using a partition with compartments. These compartments will also reduce clutter.
Clean up spills as soon as they happen
Clean up spills on your car Spills or stains are always harder to clean up later. It’s best to clean up the mess immediately and it will only take a few minutes. This way, you can protect your car from permanent stains.
Keep a microfiber towel handy in your car for quick cleaning of stains on seats or carpets.
Shake floor mats before leaving the vehicle
Car floor mats accumulate the most dirt on the car, especially from shoes. Once you get into the habit of keeping your car clean, shaking dirt off the floor mats should be at the top of your list. If you shake off dirt after your last ride or at least once a week, your carpets won’t be too dirty with a lot of dirt build-up.
This will also reduce your car cleaning efforts in the future.
Using Car Seat Covers
Using seat covers is the best way to protect your car seats from permanent stains and dust. When these covers get dirty, you can simply remove them, machine wash them, or send them to the dry cleaners and re-cover them. If you own pets, you can use waterproof seat covers instead of regular rear seat covers whenever your pet travels with you.
This will keep your car seats from being ruined by their muddy paws and fur.
Vacuum the inside of your car
A lot of trash can end up on the floor of your car from snacking during your trip. Vacuuming your car regularly is essential to protect it from dirt and clean out those food particles.
Vacuum the floors, front seats, back seats, and even the trunk at least once a week. A vacuum cleaner with a small nozzle is ideal for cleaning your car because it can easily reach every corner of the car, including the pedals and side door panels.
This way, every little centimetre of your car will be free of dirt.
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Organize and Store an Emergency Kit
If you are travelling with the elderly, children or even people prone to motion sickness, they may feel unwell during the trip. Always keep an emergency kit in your car containing essential medications, bandages and ORS solution.
Avoid spreading medications on your dashboard and keep them organized in the box. There is also a box of moist tissues in case someone vomits. Not only will this help you prepare for your needs, but it will also keep your vehicle clean and tidy.
Remove excess items from the vehicle
Leaving items in the vehicle and allowing them to accumulate over time will make your vehicle feel cluttered and cluttered. Make it a habit to bring what you carry with you every time you get off the bus to go home. This way, you won’t have to carry a lot of things with you when you plan to clean out your car.
Pro tip: don’t forget to look under your car seat.
How often to clean
Cleaning your car might seem like a daunting task, but here’s some good news: It’s something you only need to do about once a month. And if you’re diligent about regular maintenance cleaning, the job will become easier to complete because you won’t have to perform such a thorough cleaning every time.
Another fun bonus: When you have a clean car, it’s easier to maximize space, which means you’ll be able to fit more sports equipment, groceries, or whatever Anything else you need to get around town.
Additional tips for keeping your car’s interior clean
To minimize the amount of work you have to do each time you clean your car’s interior, follow these tips to keep things tidy:
- Don’t eat in the garage. This applies to both you and your baby, especially messy, crumbly foods or sticky objects like pacifiers.
- Wipe your pet’s paws before placing them in the vehicle, and if you have an SUV, consider securing the pet securely in the cargo area.
- You can also keep a lint roller in the glove compartment to quickly tackle pet hair whenever your dog or cat is with you.
- Keep a small trash can in your car for snack wrappers, empty cups, and all those pesky bills piling up.
- Place the car seat protective cover on the seat. If you have small children, you can also purchase protective mats to place on the front seat backs to prevent mud stains on leather, vinyl, or cloth seats.
- Apply a leather conditioner, such as Furniture Clinic Leather Protector, or a fabric protector, such as Scotchgard Auto Fabric & Carpet Water Shield, to the chair to help prevent spills and make stain removal easier.
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