It’s summertime, and you want your baby to shine as you cruise down the road, right?  Well, there’s no need to spend a lot of money on high-end car cleaning products or a professional detailing job.  

This is a job that you can easily tackle with cleaning products and tools you probably already have around the house.  

For instance:

1.  Vaccuming:  A regular home vacuum with a long hose, or a shop vac actually work very well on a car’s interior, because they come with a variety of nozzles.   It’s probably obvious that the upholstery nozzle will work well on a car’s upholstery.  Other attachments that are helpful are the duster brush attachment, which cleans mirrors and dashboard components without scratching them, and the crevice tool, which will get into all those tight places, such as in the seat pockets and the space in between the seats and the gear shift.  

2.  Cleaning the Carpets & (Cloth) Upholstery:  Steam cleaning works best here, and if you have a home steam cleaner, go for it!  Another option would be to add steam-cleaning the carpets and upholstery in your car to your schedule at a time when you are renting a steam cleaner for your home.  If a steam cleaner is not available, another possibility is to just use a home spray-on carpet cleaner to spot-clean the carpets (best to not overdo it, though).

3.  Cleaning the Hard Surfaces:  Amazingly, a household spray cleaner with a de-greasing component (such as Formula 409 or Fantastik) is perfect for this job.  A tip is that you shouldn’t spray the surface itself, you should spray it on a cloth to clean the glove compartment, seat belt buckles, gear shift knob, inside the door pockets, and so on.  Likewise, the windows can be cleaned with a regular window cleaner, again spraying the cleaner onto a cloth. For a homemade nearly lint-free cleaning cloth, try an old white underwear-type T-shirt…they work great!

4.  Cleaning the Car’s Exterior:  A mild liquid soap in water will work just fine for car cleaning, or even a bit of shampoo (just a couple of teaspoons in a bucket of plain water).  Since shampoo is designed to gently clean oily hair, it will be gentle on the car’s surface. Using a large sponge or cleaning mitt, work from the top to the bottom of the car.  And be sure to rinse very, very well!    

As for waxing, a good choice is Black Magic Wax, which is inexpensive, well-rated by Consumer Reports, and provides a good level of protection and gloss.

5.  Cleaning the Wheels:  Clean, shiny chrome wheels really make a car sparkle.  You can accomplish this in several ways.  There’s nothing like elbow grease, if course, but you can speed the process along by rubbing the tough spots with a piece of aluminum foil, dull side. As for cleaning products, a basic cleaner will work, or a mixture of 50/50 water and white vinegar works well.  Some folks like to use baby oil to give the wheels a nice shine, but go easy on it, as oil attracts dirt.

Follow these easy car cleaning steps, and you will be proud to show off your baby as you drive it around town this summer!

by See Jane Drill

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