1. Declutter
Before getting started with giving your entire car a deep clean, you’ll want to look to remove anything that’s not needed. Try to remove everything loose in your car that’s just taking up space. This could be loose paper towels in your cup holders to random equipment in your trunk. Try to get rid of everything unneeded in your vehicle to declutter. This is not only going to make your car feel cleaner, but it’s also going to ensure that you can clean your car better when it comes time to do things like vacuuming the carpets. You will eventually have your car looking as good as new and ready to sell to the highest bidder. You can trust us, we know. We detail every single vehicle in our inventory before unloading it.
While buying a vehicle can be an exciting time, it can also be a time-consuming and inconvenient process. Not only do you have to worry about driving around and checking out the vehicles, but you have to weigh your options and do your due diligence. All of these things can take a lot of time and effort. Shift takes the inconvenience of buying a new-to-you vehicle. Shift makes the car buying process much easier and less stressful. With Shift, you can purchase a car right on the website without worrying about getting a bad one. You can count on Shift’s inventory because we use a 150-point inspection. This way, you can get a competitive price and a quality vehicle. The website itself features a variety of fully inspected vehicles throughout the country that you can check out. All of these vehicles are ready to be sold. The website is easy-to-use and navigate and you can sort based on type, needs, or budget. To get even more peace of mind, every vehicle you purchase from Shift comes with a full 7-day refund policy. This means that you can return it for any reason within 7 days of buying it.
2. Start At The Top
While you are likely going to have the temptation to bring out the vacuum early on, it’s best to do it later on in the process. The first thing you want to do is start to clean the top of the vehicle’s interior and then work your way down. Otherwise, you will be blowing out debris onto the newly cleaned carpets. Try to start with the air vents. Brush them out and get rid of all of the dust on the dashboard. You’ll have a lot of debris falling out of the crevices which you can then vacuum up later on.
3. Get Rid Of Dust
While it can be difficult to spot with the naked eye, there’s going to be a lot of dust in your vehicle. Dust will be hiding in nearly every nook and cranny of it. Because of this, you want to go through and do a thorough cleaning looking for all of the dust. Try to get rid of the dust. Knocking the dust on the floor is not an issue because you won’t be cleaning the carpets and mats until later. A good way to ensure you get rid of all of the dust is by using a small and soft brush. This can help you get deep into crevices that you normally wouldn’t be able to reach.
4. Slide The Seats Forward
Your car has seats that you’ll need to clean underneath. You will want to slide all of the seats forward to get rid of the stuff that’s sitting under them. If you haven’t done this in a while, you can expect all kinds of things down there. After all, anything that falls between your console and your seat is likely to end up under your seat. Get a trash bag handy because you’ll need to toss out a lot of stuff whether it be old movie tickets, gas station receipts, or anything else.
5. Brush and Vacuum
You likely spend a significant amount of time driving your vehicle in all kinds of conditions. Because of this, your floor mats and carpets are likely to accumulate a lot of debris, dust, and dirt. It’s going to take a lot more than a once-over with a vacuum. To fully clean your carpets, you are likely going to need to utilize a brush to agitate all of the stuff stuck in the carpet fibers. Once you do this, you can start to use a high-powered vacuum to get rid of them. Purchase custom car mats that fit your car to protect the floor.
6. Deep Cleaning The Carpets
While you certainly want to try to brush and vacuum all of your carpets in the interior of your car, you will likely need to go a step further if you haven’t cleaned your vehicle in a long time. If you want to truly clean your car’s carpets, you’re going to want to use a steam cleaning machine. This machine works by spraying your carpets with a solution of cleaning agents and water. The machine then sucks everything up afterward. The solution that is sprayed onto the carpets helps the machine pick up the loose dirt and debris better. This can help to ensure the carpets get cleaned deep in their fibers instead of on a surface level.
7. Cleaning The Places That Are Difficult To Reach
To effectively detail your vehicle, you’ll need to pay attention to the places that are hard to reach. The process of detailing a vehicle implies that you are cleaning meticulously. As a result, you’ll need to be looking at areas that you don’t even see regularly. These are typically difficult areas to clean because they are hard to reach. This can include in between door panels, inside of handles, between switches, and more. A good way to clean some of these areas is by using a microfiber cloth. A lot of these areas are going to be sensitive so you don’t want to scratch them.
8. Wipe and Wash Plastic Surfaces
Once you’ve gotten rid of all of the dust on the surface, the plastic areas of your interior are likely going to look clean. However, they aren’t necessarily clean. The material may have a lot of bacteria on it. A good way to clean it is by using a soft cloth with dish soap. You’ll likely find that it gets rid of layers of grime that have built up on it.
9. Get Seat Covers
One of the best investments you can make to keep your vehicle cleaner looking is seat covers. Adding seat covers is especially good for those with children. Aftermarket seat covers can add a layer of protection for your vehicle and they can even help you spruce the interior up in the style department too. The installation process isn’t difficult. All you would need is a wire coat hanger and tape and you can get it done rather quickly.
You will generally find seat covers to cost around $50 for standardized models. These seat covers are one-size-fits-all. If you want to go the custom route, you can expect to pay more at around $150. By installing these protective seat covers, you can avoid expensive re-upholstery down the line and make it easier to clean your seats too.
