The case is even worse with the exterior of the car. All those scratches, swirl marks, damaged paint makes the car look like 6-7 year old even if it’s just a year old. Fortunately, there are many easy and effective car cleaning hacks that can do wonders for your car.
Here we have listed some of the easiest car cleaning tips & tricks to get rid of the toughest stains, odors, and dirt dilemmas to keep your car sparkling. These are simple things which you need to do regularly to have your old car look good as new even after 6-8 years. And the perfect time to start caring for your car is today onwards!
1. Newspaper for windshield and windows
A newspaper is one of the easiest and cheapest tricks to clean the windshield and windows (simply all the glass stuff). Mix one part hot water with one part vinegar. Apply with a spray bottle on the windows and wipe it off with the help of newspapers. Easy!
If the windows and windshields are very dirty, then use a solution of liquid soap mixed with this solution to clean it easily. Newspaper can be used to clean any glass window.
2. Toothpaste for the headlights
If your car’s headlights have become dirty and foggy, just use some toothpaste to clean them. If it can fix scratches on DVD and CD, then it can effectively clean car headlights too. And apart from ruing the looks of your car, dirty headlights are also not safe because they reduce visibility at night.
All you need to do is apply a mixture of toothpaste and baking soda on a sponge and rub the lights in circular motions until the dirt comes off. Take a light cloth and wipe off the toothpaste. And Magic! You have crystal clear headlights in no time.
3. Brush for Cleaning tiny and tight spaces
Clean the tiny spaces between the seams and hard to reach places easily with a soft-bristled brush. These areas are difficult to access and clean, but a brush easily manages this work. You can also clean the dust on the tight spaces of your car’s seats using a toothbrush. Gently brush the dirt and you’ll have a mess-free car seat in no time!
So simple. Isn’t it? You can even use a makeup brush, toothbrush or some other similar brush for this purpose.
4. Vinegar for Deep Cleaning the Seats
The first step is to remove all dust and loose debris using a vacuum cleaner. For a thorough cleaning, make a simple but effective homemade cleaner using vinegar. Mix equal parts of vinegar and warm water to make this cleaner.
Clean the seat’s upholstery with this mixture. All you need to do is spray this mixture on the seat and then follow up with a dry cloth. It will not only clean the seats but also fade away the foul smell if present.
Quick tip: If seat material is leather, don’t let the leather become soaking wet during the process.
5. Sprinkle some Baking soda before Vacuuming
If your seats don’t need deep cleaning, then you can easily clean it with a vacuum cleaner. All that is good but why not Step up your vacuuming with this easy hack.
Sprinkle some baking soda on the seats and then clean them with a vacuum cleaner. What’s the benefit? Baking soda eliminates bad odor from the seats and carpets ensuring cleaner and fresher seats.
6. Use A Magic eraser
Is your car all messed up with food and drinks your kiddos ate in the car? Don’t worry, you just need a magic eraser to easily clean the car. Magic Eraser also works amazingly well to clean the stains on leather or vinyl seats as well. Just get the eraser a bit wet and gently scrub on the stain. Your seats will look like new in no time. Easy, isn’t it?
7. Keep your dashboard shining
Keep your car’s dashboard always shining by rubbing some olive oil on it. Take a cloth and put a few drops of olive oil on it and then rub it on the dashboard to give it a shiny finish.
It’s time-saving, effective and inexpensive!
8. Clay bar for picking up the dust
Clay bars are highly successful in removing dust, dirt and other small particles that have bonded with the paint which then allows the wax or polish to adhere to the surface and work effectively. It gives a good lustrous finish to the car.You can use clay bars anytime for kicking the dust and dirt particles from your car.
Just rub a clay bar softly over the area which needs to be cleaned. All the dust particles will stick to the clay because of its sticky nature and you have a squeaking clean car in no time.
9. Homemade Tire Cleaner
Want your car’s tires to shine like new ones without spending money on expensive cleaners? We have got you covered.
Just make a mixture of 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoon dishwashing soap, and some warm water. Your homemade tire cleaner is ready! Smear this mixture on the tires to clean them and your work is done! Check out more amazing baking soda cleaning hacks.
10. Club Soda for Tough Stains
Get rid of tough stains such as bird poop, bloodstains, etc using club soda. Soak the stain in club soda for a few minutes, then blot with a moist cotton towel. The stain will come off easily.
11. Cleaning the Cup Holders
Cup holders are one of the most forgotten areas to be cleaned. Is it difficult to clean? Not at all.
Just take a coffee cup, wrap an old sock around it and spray some cleaner on it. Then twist and turn the cup in the holder to clean it. So easy!
12. Get rid of the car stickers Gunk
Do the stickers on your car spoil its looks? There is a very easy solution to restore its good look. All you need is a can of WD 40.
Just spray some WD 40 on the sticker and let it stay for some time and then peel off the sticker. WD 40 will make it easy to remove the leftover residue behind the stickers too. WD 40 is a must-have for every house. You must definitely check these WD 40 Hacks To Solve Hardheaded Problems to know why it’s so good.
13. Conditioning the interiors
Use Vaseline for conditioning of interiors of the car such as the seats and the dashboard. It helps in keeping the seats moisturized, thus preventing cracks just like it does for our skin. So time-saving, effective and inexpensive!
14. Wash Your Car With Conditioner
You might be using conditioner to wash your hair but do you know that you can also use the same conditioner to wash your car and make it shine. Yeah, it’s weird but true. Why? Because conditioner contains lanolin (a type of wax) and we all know wax is used to shine your car. So, say goodbye to expensive car wax and save money. Just wash your car with a conditioner whenever you feel you need to shine it.
15. Use Compressed Air to Clean the Dust Out of Vents
Cleaning out vents? Using a can of compressed air to get the dust out of your vents will make the process easier and faster. This is the sort of hack which makes you say why didn’t I think of it?
16. Use Coffee Filters to Wipe Down Interior
Dusting is good but it won’t make the car completely clean to the surface. The answer to this is to use coffee filters to clean and they are pretty cheap. So, grab some coffee filters and make your car interior sparkling clean!
17. Cupcake Cup Holders
Cup holders are one of the easiest and faster place for gunk to reach. And cleaning them is a pain! But, having these cupcake liners in there can make the cleaning easier and would save a lot of time. A brilliant use of cupcake liners other than for cupcakes.
18. Clean Up Animal Hair With a Squeegee and Spray Bottle
For those who take pets in their car frequently, you would notice that it’s not easy to clean their hair buildup on the seats. But, there’s an easy way to get rid of them faster. All you need to get rid of them is a spray bottle of water and a squeegee. It’s a great way to gather it up and get rid of it easily. You can wipe the seats with a magic eraser after that for a thorough cleaning.
As you can see from the tips above that cleaning your car isn’t hard, if you know the right tips and tricks. With these right cleaning hacks, you’ll be able to finish cleaning in no time and have your car looking and smelling like new.
If you find these cleaning hacks useful, do share the post!
Now we hope these tips for cleaning your car were helpful, but if there is something that we didn’t cover for which you’d like to know more about, email us or let us know in the comments below! We’d be glad to answer you.
