Freshen up your car’s interior

It’s a good feeling when you set foot into a vehicle with that ‘new-car feel’, something about the smell and how clean it all is. So refreshing!

But after more than a few journeys with crumbly food, other passengers, and general grime build up, cars can quickly lose that feel.

Here are some top tips to ensure it stays that way for years and years rather than just that first couple of weeks.

Prepare

This must be one of the golden rules of any task and sure is necessary for a clean car.

• Give your car a nice look over to see which areas need extra attention and what materials are necessary. Check out the dashboard, air vents, headline, seats, carpets and floor mats


• Assemble a basket of materials: Luckily a lot of these house hold cleaners already exist in our homes so grab your favourites. Extras include bristled brushes, washcloths, sponges, and stain remover


• A good vacuum cleaner with an extension hose/handheld attachments is a must, and will properly get to all those nooks

Time to Clean

Now it’s time to get to the actual cleaning. Remember the first time usually takes the longest but then it need only been done every few months.

• Clear the clutter: yes this includes water bottles, wrappers, and just general trash. This will automatically make the car look cleaner. Make sure to check under the seats for those hidden items


• Vacuum all surfaces: Headliner, dash, console and door panels


• Air vents: Scrub and slide your bristled brush in and around the vent and use the vacuum cleaner with the attached hose to collect fallen dust. The same method goes for car nobs and buttons!


• Cushions: Use an all-purpose cleaner, sponge, and white washcloths (to avoid dye stains) to scrub the dirt away


• Carpets: If you know you’re going to do interior cleaning every six to eight months invest in a carpet cleaning machine. It will make the task easier and will pay for itself after a few uses


• Floor mats: Put stain remover on the mats and then throw them in the washing machine


• Animal hair everywhere? A bottle of water and squeegee will do the trick. Then vacuum everywhere to make sure it’s all gone


• Tobacco smells? Spray products. Hold the can an arm distance away from wherever you are spraying, then spray mist into the fans intake while putting it on max AC. Leave it like this and close the doors and windows of the car for about an hour. Give it a smell now!


• Use olive oil to help make your dashboard super shiny


• Leather interior? You won’t regret buying a leather kit once a stain or hard material has settled or stuck