Keeping your car clean is extremely important if you want it to hold its value. A car that isn’t looked after will not sell very easily, and anyone looking to buy a used car will always expect an immaculately clean and tidy car. If yours isn’t, then there are plenty more cars out there for a prospective buyer to look at, and they may not waste their time on yours.
It’s also important to keep the car clean for your own personal satisfaction. It’s nice to have a car that gleams inside and out and smells great!
But how is it possible to keep it this way without spending a fortune on having it valeted every month?
How can I effectively clean my car without spending a lot of money on expensive cleaning products?
Here are some handy tricks that you can use to keep your car clean and smelling great every day, and you will only need to raid your cupboard at home. Not only will you be able to use every day household ingredients, but you won’t have to buy expensive cleaning products.
Rubbing alcohol – dashboard and windshield wipers
Rubbing alcohol is a great way to make your dashboard shine.Mix a little rubbing alcohol into some water, and use this on your dashboard. Find an old spray bottle and use this to spray the contents onto your dashboard. Then wipe the dash down with a used fabric softener sheet so you don’t leave any lint behind. Be careful not to use too much rubbing alcohol, and try experimenting with very small amounts at first.
You can also use this handy trick for the plastic around your doors, your steering wheel, gearstick and the outside of your glove box.
You can also use rubbing alcohol on your windshield wipers, as this is a very effective way of cleaning them and removing any grime and dirt picked up from the road. It’s very important to clean your windshield wipers so they work well and keep your window clean and easy to look through in harsh conditions.
Baking soda – ashtray
Add a small sprinkle of baking soda to your ashtray to absorb any smells and odours. Cigarettes leave a very lingering smell which is hard to get rid of, so by applying a small amount of baking soda each week you should be able to repress and kill any smells from your ashtray.
Baby wipes – glove box
For your glove compartment you can use baby wipes. First of all, take out all of the contents of your glove compartment and then use baby wipes to give it a good scrub.
Not only are baby wipes good at removing dust, they also leave a nice smell behind for anyone opening the compartment. Your glove box may not be an obvious place to clean, but it’s surprising how much dust can build up over time, which can create a very musty smell.
Hair shampoo – outside of car
Hair shampoo is a fairly mild form of cleaning fluid, so can be ideal for washing the outside of your car without the worry of strong chemicals damaging the paintwork.
Mix a couple of teaspoons of hair shampoo into a large bucket of water for the best results. Ensure you wash the car with a gentle cloth or sponge, and be careful not to get any small stones on the cloths so you don’t scratch your car.
Finally, don’t forget to spray the inside of your car with an air freshener and to also add a hanging freshener from your mirror. It would also be a good idea to keep a small air freshener spray in the car so you can keep it constantly fresh.