While you’re rampaging through your spring cleaning checklist, don’t forget to give your car a little TLC. Whether you’re facing a mound of discarded coffee cups and drive-thru trailings or just a winter’s worth of dust and dirt, here are 8 quick tips for cleaning your car’s interior — and keeping it that way!
1. Start by emptying everything out of your car: throw away garbage, bring those gym clothes inside, file away important receipts, get rid of that banana peel.
2. Remove your floor mats and give them a good shake outside. If they’re rubber, wash them with warm soapy water, rinse, and let them dry. Otherwise, just leave ’em out for now; we’ll get to them again later.
3. Use a microfiber cloth, a soft rag, or even baby wipes (which will leave an anti-static layer — not for use on leather, of course) to wipe down the dashboard, air vents, door panels, etc.
4. Using a basic window cleaner (like Windex or this easy homemade cleanser) and a lint-free rag, wipe the inside of your windows. Don’t forget your rear-view mirror, too!
5. Vacuum time! Use the upholstery attachment to vacuum all the seats, the rear dash, and the floor mats that have been waiting patiently outside. Switch to the brush attachment and attack the floors next. Finally, attach the crevice tool for all those hard-to-reach spots.
Congrats! You just speed cleaned your car interior. Now, let’s keep it that way:
6. Consider keeping a small bag in your car for trash: wrappers, receipts, cups, etc. At the end of the day, grab it when you get out and toss it. You can easily stash a week’s worth of bags in the glove box. A travel-size waste bin will also work.
7. For loose change, re-purpose a breath mint tin! Keep it in the glove box so it’s out of sight and not cluttering up your interior.
8. Random items like wet-wipes, tissues, gloves, etc. can be kept in a flat plastic storage box under the front seat. If you have kids, these would be great for crayons, coloring books, etc.
