Cleaning the car: our best tips for a well-groomed interior and exterior

 

The quick sandwich in between, the dog with dirty paws and road dirt dragged into the vehicle with your shoes - your car needs a little cleaning update within a very short time. To ensure that you quickly have a clear view inside and out and feel comfortable in your vehicle, this article will tell you how to clean your car – but correctly.

Cleaning the car: well maintained inside

There is some work to be done inside your vehicle, some of which you can also do with home remedies. The following tips will help you clean your car:

• Carefully remove the floor mats and knock them out. A carpet beater is helpful.
• First of all, you should clean your car without water. A powerful vacuum cleaner not only pulls dirt out of carpets; equipped with a brush, it also picks up dust lying on the fittings.
• If there is stubborn dirt in the carpets, brush them out with a rough brush.
• A brush helps to clean hard-to-reach places, such as the rails and spaces between the car seats or the slats of the ventilation.
• Clean the dashboard, windows and mirrors with water and, if necessary, some glass cleaner. For the rest of the consoles, conventional rinse water is sufficient.

If you don't want to take any risks, always test cleaning and care products on an inconspicuous area. For example, special cleaning products are recommended for plastic parts, leather elements or rubbers.

The right care for the seats: cleaning the car without water

The car seats take a lot of time every day. This leads to stains as well as unpleasant odors. First of all, you should vacuum the seats thoroughly. Now rub a commercially available foam cleaner into the seats, preferably with a sponge and circular movements. After the exposure time, work with a damp cloth. Remove any remaining foam and rub over the surfaces until the desired result is achieved.

If you want to use home remedies for car cleaning , shaving foam, baking soda or gall soap are recommended. Baking soda can even absorb odors. After taking effect, simply vacuum the seats with the vacuum cleaner.

Caution: Never clean the car seats with normal water from the tap. Since it contains lime, unsightly water marks will always remain after drying – one stain removed and a new one created. It is better to use distilled water.

Cleaning the outside of the car: These steps are important

A lot of dirt also accumulates on the outside - and not only in winter. When cleaning the exterior, proceed as follows:

1. Moisten the car all around (e.g. with the garden hose) to loosen the dirt.
2. Now use a high-pressure cleaner to remove the coarse dirt. Keep a minimum distance of 30 centimetres between the paint and the water jet so as not to damage it due to the high pressure.
3. Apply special cleaning products to particularly dirty areas to clean your car. These include rim cleaners for the rims and insect removers for particularly stressed areas such as the radiator grille or windscreen. In addition, car shampoo for the remaining surfaces.
4. After the exposure time, you can clean the outside of your car. Use a damp cloth from top to bottom. Spray with clear water.
5. If you discover scratches or stone chips in the paint after drying, you should repair them.
6. Finally, polish your car with a special car polish and the right care cloth.

How much does a car cleaning cost?

Private car washing on one's own property is prohibited in many federal states. They then have to go to a washing box or hall. On the public road, it is not allowed to clean your car under any circumstances.

Alternatively, you can have your car cleaned. The professionals have completely different options, so the result often leaves the impression of a new car. But the costs for this are not without. Expect to pay around 120 to 200 euros for interior cleaning. Exterior cleaning is usually in the range of 200 to 250 euros.

You can order high-quality cleaning agents for your car cleaning at reasonable prices directly online from Motointegrator.