If you’re a proud car owner, you’ll know that spring cleaning isn’t just for houses. Your car deserves a deep and thorough clean at this time of year too, but this essential job is rarely easy.
Performing detailed cleaning tasks in such a confined space isn’t easy, but you can make the task a little less difficult by implementing these eight car spring cleaning hacks.
1. Methylated spirit for clean wipers
Windscreen wipers that leave streaks behind can cause potentially catastrophic vision problems. Just one or two streaks can restrict your view of the road and lead to accidents — particularly when the sun is low in the sky. To remove the salt, grease and grime from your wiper blades, give them a wipe with methylated spirit.
2. Clean vents with art sponges
Air vents in cars are notorious for accumulations of dust and cobwebs — and cleaning them can be tricky. Fortunately, foam art brushes are perfect for the job. A foam pad on a stick is ideally suited for accessing the area inside vents that often proves completely inaccessible.
3. Clean the front grill with dryer sheets
A car’s front grill is usually crucial to air flow inside, which is why it needs to be kept clean and clear of bugs. Unfortunately, car washes and jet washes aren’t all that good at getting in between grills for a thorough cleaning. Run a dryer sheet along each grill, and watch dirt, insect carcasses and general debris come away in your hand.
4. Brush your headlights
Dull and dirty headlight covers have the potential to seriously restrict your car’s ability to light the road ahead — a situation that can lead to serious accidents. But you can make your headlight covers gleam by giving them a brush… with toothpaste. Use an old toothbrush and some toothpaste containing bicarbonate of soda to brush away dirt, insects and road salt. Rinse with a microfibre cloth afterwards, and your headlights should look as good as new.
5. Remove pet hair with a squeegee
If you have upholstered seats in your car, you’ll know that they don’t work well with pets. Dog and cat hair seems to stick to upholstery like glue, and only a powerful indoor vacuum cleaner can remove it. Fortunately, there’s a hack that makes the job relatively simple. Spray a light mist of water over the affected area, and run a squeegee over it. The pet hair should clump together and come away with relative ease.
6. Clean crevices with a screwdriver
Tiny creases, gaps and cracks in and around your dashboard can harbour dirt and dust — which is often very difficult to remove. But you can get rid of it once and for all with just a screwdriver and an old cloth. Cover a flat head screwdriver with the cloth, and run it along cracks, ridges and gaps. You should be able to scrape away gunk without damaging the surface.
7. Shine your dashboard with olive oil
A dashboard can become dirty and covered in dust very quickly — but there’s a way to fight this problem. Give your dashboard a wipe down with a dampened microfibre cloth, then dry it thoroughly. Use a paper towel to rub in a very small amount of olive oil. This not only shines up a dashboard, it slows down further dust accumulations. You can add a pleasant fragrance to the olive oil with your favourite essential oils.
8. Clean leather with a toothbrush
Leather seats look great in a car, but they can become worn, cracked and discoloured over time. Breathe new life into your seats by rubbing in a paste of water and baking soda with an old toothbrush. Again, you can add an essential oil if you want to add a pleasant aroma.
You car deserves a good spring clean every bit as much as your home — and these great hacks make the job easier than ever.
