Quick and Easy: Hacks to Make Your Car Interior Shine/ Easy-Peasy Hacks: Here's How to Clean Your Car Interior like a Pro
Know as to why cleaning your car interior need not be a Herculean task as you might imagine it to be using some simple, easily available household items.
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You are cruising along the highway in one of your prized possessions—your car. The interiors are maintained, furbished immaculately, emitting a fragrance that isrevitalising to the senses, the upholstery of the seats look nothing short of fantastic, the windows appear spotless, free of streaks, and the overall look and feel of the cabin seem to have just one purpose, which is to accentuate your driving experience.
Along with boosting the aesthetic appeal and adding to a healthier and more comfortable ride, clean and shimmering car interiors add a sense of comfort and pride, too.
For many, cleaning their car interiors may appear nothing short of a Herculean effort. However, that needn’t be so.
Armed with basic knowledge on a few easily available household articles, you may be able to clean your car interiorlike a pro.
Start with the removal of dust and debris
Your steering wheel, dashboard, and areas around the centre console are hard to reach. This can be taken care of by simply using an old toothbrush, a make-up brush, or a flat-head screwdriver wrapped in a soft cloth (avoid harsh usage, though) to remove any fuzz, dust, and grime from those nooks and crevices.
Vacuum the car interior
Reclaim any small items that were inadvertently dropped in the car some time ago. Put a sock over a vacuum nozzle and turn the machine on. Remove the sock once you have discovered the lost item to proceed with cleaning the rest of the car interior.
Then remove the rubber mats, shake out a bit to remove any loose rocks or dirt, and place them perhaps in a dishwasher liquid, for a few minutes.
Furthermore, vacuum all carpeted areas and upholstered seats. Ensure using the crevice attachment to get into hard-to-reach areas and under the seats. Also, for hard-to-reach areas, roll the seats backward and forward and use the long vacuum nozzle to get the dust out of such areas.
This could be easily missed, but do vacuum the interior roof using a soft-brush vacuum attachment. This area is known to accumulate more dust than you could think of.
Here’s a pro tip: Add a few drops of lemon essential oil to baking soda or sodium bicarbonate and let it sit for a few hours. After this, shake up the mixture and sprinkle it over your car’s upholstery before vacuuming to remove odours.
Wipe down your cup-holders, door panels and steering wheel
This may seem like a bit of a riddle, but it can be incredibly annoying trying to figure out how to clean the inside of your cup-holders. The answer lies in a clean pair of old socks.
So, apply an all-purpose cleaner to one end of a sock and wrap it around a small cup. Then, push the end into the cup-holder in a twisting motion. It will remove debris and grime from some of the hardest-to-reach areas.
For the door panels, you can simply use the portable vacuum cleaner to clean crevices or use a bit of damp micro-fibre cloth to wipe them down thoroughly.
Anything your hands touch may land on your steering wheel and control panels. So, ensure cleaning them daily, maybewith the help of a disinfecting wipe. Now, allow the surface to stay wet for about five minutes before drying with a micro-fibre cloth.
Here’s a pro tip: Keep some baby wipes handy to clean the steering wheel. However, avoid using baby wipes on a leather steering wheel; they are known to damage the finish.
Deep clean your leather, upholstered seats
When it comes to keeping your car seats clean, prevention is only the possible solution. A ready-to-use mixture of vinegar, dish soap, lemon, and water in a spray bottle can be used on your car seats, maybe once a week. This way, you’ll notice fewer stains, which are suitably kept at bay.
For cleaning of upholstery stains, mix equal parts of vinegar, dish soap, and club soda in a spray bottle. Now, shake it up well and spray on any stains on the upholstery. Follow this by using a soft scrub brush to work the cleaning solution into the seats and mats. Simply rub it by applying circular motions. This same method can be used for loose carpet mats.
Ideally, to add more power to clean stubborn stains, you could use a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, lemon essential oil, and water.
For deep cleaning your seats, vinegar is your go-to solution. First, vacuum any dust and loose debris and then spray a mixture of equal parts of vinegar and warm water over the seat. Then wipe away using a dry cloth. This will ensure not only cleaning of your seat but will take care of any nasty odours, too.
However, it is important to note that, in case you have leather seats, ensure to avoid them becoming soaking wet.
Generally, the interiors and fixtures of a car are made up of leather that tends to appear darker and faded after some time.
Here’s a pro tip: Polish the leather with olive oil. Just apply a small quantity of oil onto a cleaning rag and rub it in a circular motion onto your leather interior. Allow it to dry and wipe off all excess oilby using a clean rag.
Treat the dashboard
The blistering sun can eventually wreak havoc on your dashboard, causing it to crack and warp easily. The simple solution lies in rubbing a small dab of olive oil or applying Vaseline onto the dashboard to wipe down all areas. Then, wipe it clean using a dry cloth. This way, your dashboard will not just regain that shiny finish, but also be better protected against deterioration due to moisture and the sun, which could lead to cracks. You can follow the same process for vinyl or leather finishes. This simple process can be useful in keeping your car looking new for many more years.
Clean the inside of a windshield
A clean windshield is a crucial aspect of safe driving. For this, use a newspaper or a micro-fibre cloth and any window cleaning spray to give it that sparkling clean feel. An easy and economical solution is to simply mix one part of hot water with one part of vinegar and spray it on the windows and wipe off using a newspaper. This hack can work for all kinds of glasses.
By applying some of these simple hacks on a regular basis, you can maintain the look and feel of your car interiors to make them appear as good as new.
Now, while taking care of the interiors of the vehicle, do not forget to financially secure your entire vehicle against unfortunate situations. No amount of cleanliness is going to help you or your vehicle in case of any accident, mishap, or loss. Notably, under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, it's essential for you to have coverage under a third-party liability policy. This policy protects you from any third-party damage or bodily injury caused by your vehicle.
Beyond legal prerequisites, motor insurance from trusted providers such as Bajaj Allianz General InsuranceCompany has several other benefits. It can not only ensure legal compliance but also offer peace of mind by safeguarding you and your vehicle from unexpected emergencies.*
Some of the benefits of availing Bajaj Allianz General InsuranceCompany’s vehicle insurance include: 24x7 Spot Assistance, zero depreciation, quick claim settlement, minimal paperwork, add-ons, and more*.
*Standard terms and conditions apply
Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation. For more details on benefits, exclusions, limitations, terms, and conditions, please read the sales brochure/policy wording carefully before concluding a sale.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
Topics : Motor insurance
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First Published: Feb 19 2024 | 1:19 PM IST