In our lifetime we spend a good portion of our days in our cars commuting to work, traveling, running errands, etc. It’s no surprise many of us are a little embarrassed of our messy cars! We decided to put together our top 10 tips for keeping a clean car interior!
- Wet Wipes- Not only do you want to keep your car clean to keep germs to a minimum you also want to make it a regular practice to wipe your car down. We like to keep a pack or two of wet wipes in our vehicles and wipe the major surfaces down after having others in the car or weekly if it’s only you in the car. If you have someone riding with you it’s also a good idea to wipe everything down before they get into the car.
- Trash Can- If you’re the type that throws your trash on the passenger floor or backseat STOP! A simple solution is to get a small trash can or bag and keep it in your vehicle to toss trash in. It’s a good idea to have one in the backseat as well to avoid passengers tucking trash in the door pockets.
- Air Freshener or Odor Control- Cars can get some funky smells going on in them. From mildew, to your forgotten gym bag in the back, to the dog ride to the park. That is why you should have an Odor Control block hidden in the car somewhere and also an air freshener or two inside the car to keep things smelling pleasant.
- Cup Holder Liner- Some cars can have something that is straight out of a 5th graders lab project with spilled coffee, soda, snacks, change, etc. This is a breeding ground for gross bacteria to live and can be a pain to clean once it’s all in there. That is why we suggest getting a plastic or rubber removable cup holder liner. You can even use a cupcake wrapper if you want a disposable option. Simply pull the liner out and clean and scrub or throw away if it is a disposable one.
- Audit Your Trunk- The trunk can be the worst place for many people in their car. It’s too easy to toss stuff in the back to fake clean your car. Make it a practice to do an audit of your trunk once a week and throw away trash, remove things that need to go back in the house or get washed, and to check roadside emergency supplies.
- Organizational Racks/Boxes- A cheap and easy way to keep your trunk clean and organized is to get some cheap organizer bins from the dollar store and keep things in compartments in the trunk. That way you can have a place for everything and nothing gets shoved into the deep dark corners of your trunk and forgotten about.
- Change Control- Nothing is worse than pulling up to a toll and realizing you don’t know where your change is! Make a habit to keep a change organizer in your center console and keep it stocked for road trips and highway driving. This also keeps you from tossing change in cupholders and center consoles and having a messy car.
- Don’t Eat- Don’t eat in your car. This is a simple task. If you don’t want to make your car dirty or messy try and make it a habit to eat outside the car. No matter how clean and careful you are there’s always one French Fry that gets away! If you have to eat in the car try and make yourself small portions in plastic locking containers so they can’t be dumped if you hit a bump or have a panic stop.
- Clean Your Feet- Make it a habit to clean your feet before getting into your car. A simple tap or stomp on the ground of your feet before getting in can really keep the dirt, stones, and mud from entering the car. If you’re really particular you can even have a pair of driving shoes that stay in the car and swap them on before driving!
- Deep Clean- It’s a good idea to do a deep clean on your vehicle once or twice a year. We prefer to use Oil Eater with a stiff brush and a rag as a first round on the entire interior to get any deep dirt, grime, or debris out of the pores of the fabric and plastic in the vehicle. From there you can do a standard wipe down with your favorite interior detailing spray. Small plastic bristle brushes also work a treat for getting into corners and edges after spraying with the oil eater.
To find all of our Car Car Supplies for both the interior and exterior of your vehicle visit our site HERE.