Oooh! Shiny. Don’t you want YOURS to look as clean as this one? Tis the season for spring cleaning and there is no better place to start than with your car. Instead of spring cleaning your entire house or garage, which tends to be a nebulous overwhelming task, your vehicle is well confined. Let’s break it down:
Let’s work our way in from the outside:
Start with your tires, you can use an equal mix of vinegar and water to help get them extra clean. Next up is the washing of the vehicle: Using the two-bucket method, have one bucket of clean soapy water and another one with your dirty rinse water. Start at the top and work your way down.
Don’t forget the undercarriage. Make sure you get underneath your car and spray it down really well. Even though we don’t use chemicals to clear snow and ice from our balmy global location, it’s still a good idea to wash away dirt and debris under your car too. Once you’ve managed to clean every part of the exterior, dry it off so that you don’t leave watermarks. A microfiber towel or a chamois works quite nicely.
You’re doing great! Keep going and move to the inside:
Bring out a trashcan or a trash bag and let’s clean out all the clutter that has accumulated over the winter months. Coffee cups, food wrappers, empty snack bags, receipts… Send them all to the recycle or trash! Now it’s time to use a non-toxic, gentle cleaning spray on various interior surfaces. Start with your dash, move to the console, and finish up with other surfaces begging for attention. Let’s get up all the dust and dirt: Vacuum it out! All of it… Seats, floor mats, and don’t forget the trunk.
Upholstery: for leather, use an approved cleaner. If you have cloth upholstery, you can create your own cleaning solution by mixing vinegar with baking soda into a paste. You’ll want to apply liberally and really scrub into the areas that need it the most. This will also help to eliminate odors. Once it has dried, vacuum it up.
Don’t forget to wash the windows. You will be surprised how much clearer the world looks through a clean windshield. Another thing that is easy to forget are your floor-mats. If you have rubber ones, use warm soapy water. If you have carpeted ones, you can use a carpet cleaner, a little bit of OxiClean, or your DIY vinegar and baking soda you made for your upholstery.
Stand back and behold the beauty that is your car. It is like the clouds have parted and the sun’s rays came out for the first time in months. This act of spring cleaning only took a couple of hours. Before you move onto the next level of spring cleaning, make sure you revel in what you have just accomplished. Doesn’t it feel good???
Spring cleaning is also good for under the hood. If you are ready for that too and want some help, bring your car into Foreign Affairs Auto. Give us a call or schedule an appointment online. We’ll be here for you!
