Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Car's Interior: Rejuvenating Your Vehicle
Spring Cleaning For Your Car
It's that time of year again! The scent of blooming flowers lingers in the air, the birds are chirping in the trees, and dust, dirt and grime presents itself in a whole new harsh light. That's right folks, it's spring cleaning season! Time to trade out your snow shovel and boots for yellow rubber gloves and a bottle of Lysol. However, what do you do if you want to give your vehicle a good spring cleaning? It's going to take more than a quick run through the car wash. Don't worry, if you follow these steps to rejuvenate your car's interior, your vehicle will be looking as fresh as a spring meadow!
Steps for Cleaning
Step One: Take everything out. This pile of CD's, USB cords, spare change, Kleenex, etc… you will deal with later. For now, just get everything random out of your car and place it on a clean towel or something other than your dirt-covered garage floor. (You don't need any additional messes to clean up.) You should already be feeling better about how your car looks inside without all the clutter and mess.
Step Two: Give the interior a good scrub down. This is probably the most important step. I recommend you do it twice; one time really thoroughly before you vacuum, and one time lightly after. Purchase an all-natural, great smelling, multi-purpose cleaning spray. I personally love Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products. It's not overwhelming to breathe in like other bleach products in its family. Also, their multi-purpose spray very affordable, extremely effective, and above all they offer a variety of aromas that smell amazing and contain therapeutic qualities. Grab a roll of paper towels and wipe down the dash, the center consul, steering wheel-basically everything but the seats! Make sure you don't forget side panels and cup holders. Wipe dry and then let air dry for about 5 minutes while you get your vacuum ready.
Step Three: Vacuum the entire inside. This step is much easier if you own a Shop Vacuum, but a regular vacuum with a hose option will also do the job. Vacuum until you can't spot a single crumb! Your car's insides should be looking near new at this point. Don't forget to get under your floor mats, inside your cup holders and panels, and inside the crevasses of all seats. Also, don't neglect the very back of the vehicle. This area gets extra dirty from loading groceries, luggage, etc. When you are done, take your cleaning spray and wipe down anything again that may have been "re-dusted" by the vacuum. (Sounds excessive but hey, being over the top is what spring cleaning is all about!)
Step Four: Organize and finish up. Remember that pile of stuff that was inside your car before it started sparkling like a diamond? It is time to deal with it. Throw away any trash. Keep any spare change, but put it all back neatly in a spot where it will stay together and organized. If you have an obscene amount of spare change, roll it up, take it to the bank, and make it into spare cash instead. Do not put back anything that absolutely does not need to be inside your car! This all just accumulates and will create mess again.
Once you are done completing these steps, you and your car should be feeling rejuvenated. You will have the desire to actually want to drive your car instead of dreading being inside it. I like to take it through the car wash as a final step, so I can relax and soak up my spring cleaning triumph while my car's exterior soaps up. I promise, cleaning your car is much easier (but just as satisfying) than cleaning the interior of your house.
One final tip: Good music makes the whole cleaning process much more fun to do!
