5 Cleaning Tips to Keep Your Car Looking New

How often do you clean the interior of your car? If you answered monthly, according to our survey, you are like most of our customers. 47% of our customer base stated that they clean their car monthly, followed by weekly at 25%, twice a year at 22%, once a year at 4% and never at 2%. We have come up with the following tips to help you all keep your ride looking (and smelling) its best.

Top Tools to Use to Keep Your Car Looking Fresh

Here are our recommended must have auto cleaning products and tools.

Microfiber Rags

Wipe down the dash and other areas where dust has gathered. Try using microfiber wipes to best trap all the dust that has accumulated throughout your vehicle. You can also use a vacuum with attachments to reach the tricky areas, such as using a brush attachment to clean out your vents.

Vacuum

Keep your vac plugged in and continue to vacuum up any loose debris, such as dirt, sand, hair and week-old french fries. This will help clear the way for spot-cleaning and the extraction process.

Cleaning Solutions for Odors

We know you love your pets, but not the hair and other messes they can leave in your car. For an accident, use an enzyme cleaner like our CleanFreak ‘N-Zyme’ Enzyme Cleaner. Using a cleaner containing enzymatic bacterial augmentation is best for breaking down and then neutralizing the urine smell. For a typical pet urine accident, simply wet a rag and place over the area for an extended period. To remove excess pet hair before extraction, try using a handheld squeegee blade and water.

Cleaning Solutions for Stains

Spot-clean any tough stains that are noticeable on the carpet and/or upholstery of your vehicle. We recommend using a spot remover product, such as our Trusted Clean “Spot Care II”. Using a spot removal product before extracting will more effectively clean those stubborn spills from coffee, soft-drinks, ketchup and more. Please take a look at our Stain Removal Directions for a step-by-step process.

Extractor

Use an extractor machine to get that deep clean you desire. Smaller units for auto-detailing work best for vehicles and heated units will provide that extra oomph of cleaning power you are looking for to thoroughly remove embedded dirt and stains. We recommend units like our CleanFreak Commercial Carpet Spot Cleaning Machine and our CleanFreak Heated Carpet Spot Cleaner. Regularly cleaning via extraction is vital to keeping your car or truck refreshed and will extend the life of the carpets and upholstery as well.

Disinfecting Your Vehicle to Prevent the Spread of Germs

Aside from making your car look better, cleaning your vehicle routinely is important to prevent the spread of germs and disease. Think about how many areas on your car get touched in a day. Between the handles, steering wheel, all control knobs, touchscreens, wipers, blinkers, cupholders, and other buttons, there are a lot of surfaces for germs to hide out. To disinfect your vehicle, it's important to use the right techniques and products to prevent any damages. Vehicles have many different types of interior surfaces and materials, so you'll need to assess the areas you want to sanitize first.

Isopropyl alcohol (70% or higher) is safe to use to wipe down high touch hard surfaces in your vehicle such as the dash, console, seat adjusters, cupholders, doors, and more. It can also be used on imitation leather. All wiping and cleaning should be done gently by a microfiber cloth. For leather steering wheels, seating, and trim, a soap and water combination is the safest way to clean. Just make sure to avoid excess water and suds and do not scrub the surfaces.

Not sure which auto cleaning products you need to get your car looking brand new? Contact our team of cleaning specialists to help you out!