DIY- How to upkeep car at home

Before every washing center visit, most of the car owners think about this. Wish I could clean up this by myself....and in less time...

Sadly, that thought just goes away as we start driving. But hey, what if we tell you that cleaning your car by yourself is really a fun and less time consuming work? Make a car care kit at home and you are ready to go! There are plenty of products in market that help to serve cleaning needs. With new protection services, maintaining car at home has become really easy task. So lets see what it takes to make your car clean and tidy.

Make sure you do this activity in preferably shade or in less sunny day or early in the morning or in the evening, when wind is not flowing high.

Equipments

1. A vacuum cleaner

2. Brushes

3. A lot of microfiber towels

4. Interior cleaner

5. Car glass cleaner

5. Bucket

6. Wash mitt (can be replaced with microfiber towels)

7. Car shampoo

What to clean-

As we are focusing on cleaning car at home, we need to identify which tasks are we going to cover and which are leaving to professionals. Not all things can be done at home. But we can cover almost everything that will keep the car clean and tidy. Let's have a look at the things can be done-

1. Sorting and organizing the objects scattered inside

2. Removing dust built-up from interior

3. Cleaning of sweat marks, cosmetics oiliness, soil marks, food particles, wrappers etc.

4. Cleaning of mats

5. Cleaning of wheels

6. Exterior wash

7. Glass cleaning

This sequence is generally recommended as cleaning should be done from inside to outside.

1.Sorting and organizing objects scattered inside the car.

Yea! That one big task everyone hates to do...coins scattered everywhere, fuel receipts scattered in every pocket, charging wires, aux cables tangled around gear lever, bottles in each door pocket, food wrappers here and there...the list goes on and on....Every car company is trying to provide bigger and bigger storage space in dashboard, center console, doors which results in accumulation of more trash which needs frequent clean up. Identify important objects and put them aside. Keeping a small box for coins, using clips for reducing wire lengths are some measures for keeping interior organized. According to our usage pattern, we can find out more ways to keep interior organized. Remove rest of the things which are trash. Big food particles such as fruit peels, chips, packets, chocolates, bottles etc should be removed manually. Avoid using vacuum for big items as much as possible. If you have child seat installed, observe its surrounding and the seat cushion for any trash. use a good bag which will stay in the car for any loose items which are kept in the car for frequent use (for example, windshield cleaner, glass cleaner bottles, dusters or any household items such as toys, sports items). For storing car cover, use a big bag. The one supplied with cover is not practical.

Once sorting is done, see! the car starts to look tidy from inside.

2. Removing dust built-up from interior

You can easily get very soft bristle brushes and medium hard bristle brushes from housekeeping stores. Soft bristle brushes can be used for removing dust from large panels such as dashboard, doors, seats. Use these brushes on piano black or glossy panels with high caution! They will probably scratch the panels. In complicate button panels, areas, use slime cleaners or microfiber towels. In bottom area such as carpet, under seats, use medium hard bristle brush to loosen dirt and collect it to one side. This helps to reduce vacuuming time. Then using vacuum cleaner, remove all the dirt that is collected previously.

3. Cleaning of sweat marks, cosmetics oiliness, soil marks, etc.

A good interior cleaner, plastic-leather-vinyl cleaner can be used for cleaning such stains as per manufacturer's instructions. Spray it on a clean microfiber towel and clean the stains, marks. Satin and glossy finish plastics are prone to steak marks. In such case, use in very diluted strength, wipe with wet cloth and immediately wipe with clean and dry cloth. Use cleaners cautiously. Otherwise use water. Never spray on parts, spray on towel and then clean the area.

4. Cleaning mats

In old days there used to be rubber mats. Now there are number of varieties in types of mats from simple rubber to 7D mats. Normally soiled mats can be cleaned by simply vacuum cleaning and wiping with interior cleaner. If heavily soiled, vacuum clean them and leave rest of the job to washing/detailing center. Use interior cleaner and a microfiber towel to clean 7D mats.

5. Cleaning of wheels and bottom area

Since this area is generally heavily soiled, cleaning it first helps to reduce water spotting on top area. Use separate wash mitt/microfiber towel for wheels. Clean each wheel at a time. If wheels are ceramic coated, then wash wheels before tyres. Keep in mind that since we are cleaning the car at home, we are just cleaning the outer face of wheel. Detailed cleaning of wheels needs specialized chemicals and pressure washing is preferred. Clean the wash mitt frequently in the bucket. then repeat this process for heavily soiled bottom area if any.

6. Exterior wash

Rinse the exterior with water. Make soap water in bucket and clean the exterior. Hand movement should be straight, not in circles to reduce swirl marks. Do not apply too much pressure. Ensure that wash mitt is loaded with soap water every time. Wash from top to bottom. And keep cleaning the wash mitt frequently. Then rise with clean water. Dry the car with clean microfiber towels immediately. These steps are applicable when washing in shade, no to moderate wind, plenty of water is available through hose or bucket.

If that is not possible, space is short, there is no shade, wind is flowing moderately follow next steps panel by panel or by each side (although cleaning in such environmental situation is not recommended). Start from top then glasses on each side then panels on each side. In these scenario, waterless wash/ rinse less wash products are your friend. This will also reduce use of water considerably. Follow manufacturer's instruction for cleaning. You can also rinse the panel with water before using the product to remove excess dirt. Once cleaning of one panel is done, immediately dry the panel to avoid water spots, steak marks etc. clean the remaining car in similar way. If there are heavy stains such as tree fallout, bird- poop etc, do not overwork. Sock the stain in soap water for some time and use microfiber/mitt with light to medium pressure to remove it. The possibility of swirl marks, scratches depends on how a person adopts washing techniques.

If your car is protected with wax, ceramic coating or similar product then the amount of efforts required for cleaning work will reduce drastically. Once car is cleaned from outside, use the damp/moist towel to clean the door gaps. If this area is too much dirty, leave it to washing center/detailing center for clean up.

7. Glass Cleaning

Always use clean and separate microfiber towels for cleaning glasses, especially windshield.

Spray cleaner on one towel, clean the glass with this wet towel and then use second towel to dry the glass. Clean inside of the glass first, then outside.

These steps may seem lengthy on paper but give them try once or twice, adopt as per your car's condition, and you will find that maintaining car at home is not difficult. Car cleaning is a work whose outcome is satisfying.