5 Spring Cleaning Tips to Get Your Car into Pristine Condition

When it comes to spring cleaning, most people focus on their houses. As the days become longer and warmer, they focus on dusting bookcases, wiping windows and mopping floors. The problem is that many people overlook something that’s just as deserving of a thorough spring cleaning: their car.

After a long, dirty winter, your car is likely streaked with mud both inside and outside. All the sand thrown down to provide traction has the unfortunate side effect of covering your car’s exterior with filth. Dirty boots bring even more mud into the interior of your car.

While summer brings its own sources of dirt and mud, it still makes sense to start the season with your car as clean as possible. Whether you want to utilize an auto detailing service or do it yourself, the tips below should help you. 

Wash The Exterior With A Sponge

The outside of your car might be the easiest part to clean, but it still requires a fair bit of attention if you want to do the job right. Make sure you buy a big enough sponge to handle the entire exterior. If you try to use smaller kitchen sponges, you’ll never manage to get all the surfaces clean. Wash every part of the car’s exterior, from the exhaust pipe to the wheel wells. Once you’ve scrubbed the entire exterior with the sponge, rinse the car off with a hose. If you skip this essential final step, you’ll be left with steaks of residual soap all up and down the car.

Vacuum Out The Interior

Not only do shoes track dirt into the vehicle, but all the eating and drinking you do in your car is also likely to leave a mark. A few dropped crumbs might not seem like a big deal, but they could eventually lead to a highly unpleasant odor. Running a vacuum through the car’s entire interior will pick up larger as well as smaller pieces of debris. Make sure you empty your car entirely before starting, and remove the mats to get at the actual floor.

Fix Any Dents

The combination of falling tree limbs and minor accidents can leave your care looking as pitted as a golf ball after a long, hard winter. If you want your vehicle to look its best, you should start by fixing all these dents. There are plenty of dent removal kits on the market that should work for smaller blemishes. You might need to have larger dents professionally repaired.

Touch Up The Exterior Paint

Any dents are likely to leave a small scratch in the paint even after they’ve been repaired. Other mishaps could also cause damage to the exterior paint. Just a brief touch-up should be enough to get your car looking its best once again. You should be able to find the right paint color from a local auto body shop. If not, you can try enquiring at the dealership.

Buff And Wax The Exterior

While all these tasks will greatly improve your vehicle’s appearance, you’ll need to give it a thorough waxing if you really want it to shine. Typical cleaning will make your car seem less of an embarrassment on the road, but a wax job will make it stand out from the pack. Once you’ve seen how fantastic your car looks after waxing, you’ll probably never let it get dirty again.

Cars need spring cleanings just as much as houses do. If you follow the steps outlined above, your car should look better than ever once summer begins. With a clean car, hitting the open road for a summer trip will be even more exhilarating.