My grandpa always washed his car and never trusted anyone else to do it. This is quite unusual since the majority of us depend on help to wash our cars. He believed that our cars have more germs in them than the average toilet. While I thought he was being nit-picky at the time, recent studies and research have revealed that car boots contain 700 strains of bacteria like staphylococcus, propionibacterium, bacillus, actinomyces, corynebacterium, and fungi like penicillium, alternaria, aspergillus, and cladosporium, with E. coli likely to be found on and around your driver's seat.
His words, “Maintaining your car, making sure it's oiled well, keeping it clean and neat work towards ensuring it has a long life and so do you.” The last thing we want is for our car to become a risk on the roads, as well as a risk to our health.
It's worth thinking about how often, and how thorough we are while cleaning our houses and applying the same thought process to our cars.
Washing your car and giving it a nice scrub inside and out can seem like a chore but if you make it a weekly family affair it can be quite fun and satisfying.
Here’s A Step-By-Step Guide To Washing Your Car Like A Pro
What You Need:
1. Wet-dry vacuum with a blower feature
2. 2-3 Buckets
3. Toothbrush
4. Sponge
5. Squeegee
6. Warm water
7. Cleaning liquid/shampoo – different for leather, mirror, vinyl, and plastic
8. Microfiber cloths
9. Chamois and/or cotton cloths
10. Laundry detergent
11. Water hose
12. Cotton towel
13. Car wax (optional)
A 12-Step Process:
1. Do A Thorough Sweep Of The Interiors
Think used tissues, food wrappers, empty disposable bottles, paid bills, parking tickets – anything that is dated and doesn’t belong in the car should be trashed.
2. What’s that smell?
De-stink the interiors - to neutralize any smell be it food, tobacco, or damp use an odour neutralizer. Lightly spray the interiors and turn the fan to high and switch up the air conditioning to high.
Now hold a tissue near the blower and spray a light mist into the opening. Leave the windows and doors closed for at least an hour.
3. Dust Down & Wash Floor Mats
Take out the mats dust them down and remove any dirt that may be sticking to them. Wash it thoroughly with detergent and water and hang it to dry
4. Corners, Cracks and Crevices
Take a toothbrush and scrub down all corners, cracks and crevices along the dashboard and door panels to loosen debris. Using a car vacuum or a fine nozzle clean it all up.
5. Some Interior TLC
Wipe down the dashboard to the middle console, gearshift, steering wheel, door handles, speakers, cupholders and the rear parcel tray with a microfibre cleaning cloth. Apply an auto-specific cleaner like 3M Car Dashboard Dresser and wipe again barring the rear parcel tray if it is cloth material
6. Seat Belts – They Keep You Safe And Deserve All The Love
Pull the seat belt forward till it doesn’t move anymore. Restrict any movement by placing a clamp near the belt reel. Spray the belt with an all-purpose cleaner on both sides and scrub the belt from top to bottom with a brush. Wipe it down and let it dry before releasing the clamp.
7. Bathe the exterior
Shut the car doors and hose down the entire car including tires - roof, hood and rear, the upper portion of each side, and then the lower portion of each side.
8. Lather, Scrub & Rinse
Using a car shampoo, lather from top to bottom with a sponge in circular motions. Keep rinsing your sponge periodically with plain water to avoid scratching the finish with clinging debris. Make sure to get all the dirty bits at the bottom.
9. Your Tires Shouldn’t Look Tired
Using a second sponge, scrub the wheels as well as the tires with shampoo. Using a cleaning brush scrub out the edges and corners as well.
10. Time For Another ‘Hose’ Down
Rinse your car twice before you dry using a cotton towel.
11. Your Mirror Has To Be The Clearest Of Them All
Make sure that the surface of the mirror is at room temperature and not too hot. Heat causes the cleaner and water to evaporate very quickly, leaving behind stains. Spray a microfibre cloth with mirror cleaning solution and wipe the mirror in circular motions. Using a Q-tip clean the corners of the mirror.
12. For That Extra Sheen
Once the car is completely dry, apply wax to give that extra shine and protection. Make sure to use a clean dry cloth and follow the instructions on the pack.