How to Thoroughly Clean Your Car

Why Your Car Should be Neat and Clean?

They say – cleanliness is the first law of health. This quote stays true not only for living beings but also for machines like a car. If your car remains neat and clean, it ages well, which helps in its long-term performance and resale value. It also gives you a sense of using a fresher car, thus leading to a pleasant ownership experience.

Common Procedures for Car Cleaning:

There are multiple outdoor car cleaning shops and solutions which can do car cleaning all by themselves. However, if you are someone to take up the task all by yourself, the following are some of the basic steps of car cleaning to look out for:

• Cleaning the body panels –
  For washing exterior body panels like doors, rear view mirrors, roofs, wheels, bonnet, boot and bumpers, first give a pre-rinse from top to down to remove all the dirt and dust on them in lines and not in circles. Use two separate buckets – one for clean water and one for the cleaning solution with soap. After cleaning the panels with soap water, rinse them with clean water and wipe them with a clean cloth. Do all these processes under a shade and not in direct sunlight, as the drying process in heat can cause water spots.
• Cleaning the lights –
  The headlamps, fog lamps and tail lamps can become too dirty and foggy with time. To remove the yellowish formation on these lamps, apply a pea-sized whitening toothpaste on a dry cloth or toothbrush and mildly rub it on the surface of these lamps. After letting it on for 15 minutes, rinse their surfaces and wipe them off.
• Cleaning the seats –
  To remove the dust stacked between the seat cracks, use a good quality vacuum cleaner between those cracks and on the seat surfaces. You can also use a toothbrush to scrape small debris stuck in those cracks.
• Cleaning the floor and mats –
  Start cleaning the floor by first removing the floor mats and cleaning them with a dry wash or using a vacuum cleaner to remove the dirt and dust stuck on their surfaces. After cleaning the floor mats, use a vacuum cleaner on the entire floor surface, especially in the corners that are hard to reach.
• Cleaning dashboard and consoles –
  To clean the other interior panels, like the dashboard, infotainment system, air conditioner panel, steering wheel, instrument console and lower centre console, use a clean micro-fibre cloth. For places harder to clean with a cloth, like AC vents, cup holders and inside door handles, use a paintbrush or foam brush. Organize your belongings at places like gloveboxes and boot compartments.