Spring Cleaning For Your Car — Spots You Haven’t Thought Of

Nothing feels quite as satisfying as coming home to a clean space. And though your home is where you spend most of your time, it’s also important to keep your car looking and feeling fresh. That is why spring is the perfect opportunity to embark on a cleaning frenzy. To help our readers get inspired for spring cleaning, we’ve compiled a checklist of all the spots that often go unnoticed.

Spring cleaning tips

If you’re thinking, “Where do I begin?”, we completely understand. Performing a thorough clean on your vehicle requires more than a trip or two to the carwash. In fact, most times the nooks and crannies of your vehicle get neglected by even the best professional cleaners. For this reason, it’s sometimes better to tackle these chores yourself. While the basics are important, here are the areas you don’t want to miss:

1. Carpet and Upholstery

The first step of springtime cleaning involves addressing all the built-up dirt and debris on your carpets and interior upholstery. This is a task that doesn’t get done very often, but when you do, your interior space can feel good as new. We recommend investing in a quality carpet cleaner or shampoo, which you can buy at a local auto parts store or online.

Pro Tip: Before you wash down your seats, grab your at-home vacuum and suction all the rocks, sand, and dirt around your interior.

2. Clean out your center console

Next it’s time to approach your center console. For some drivers this area of your car becomes the unintentional “junk drawer” and it’s easy to understand why. This compartment is the one place you can store everything and anything that you don’t want to be seen. Although a great feature, the center console deserves a deep clean every once in awhile. Toss out old trash, USB cords, or other miscellaneous items that don’t belong. Empty the console entirely and give it a deep clean this springtime.

3. Give your trunk some love

Most drivers would admit their trunk is not the cleanest of places. Therefore, what better reason to spruce up this area of your car. While you’re washing away the wintertime dirt and debris, consider doing a quick maintenance check as well. Double check to make sure your spare tire is in good condition. Maybe even take the time to buy a trunk organizer. Not only will this improve organization in your car, it’s a great place to store easy-to-use cleaning items for future messes or spills.

4. Let your wheels shine

On any given week, you might take your car through a car wash, no problem. But how often do you pay a little extra to get your wheels to shine? Spring cleaning is the perfect opportunity to remove your hubcaps and give them a thorough wash. Scrub the tires and wheels with quality cleaner or simple soap and water.

Pro Tip: For added shine, consider using Armor All Extreme Tire Shine Spray. This added touch will make your used vehicle look like its in pristine condition.

5. Peak under the hood

Most drivers don’t look under their hood unless it’s time for a maintenance check or something has gone wrong. That said, around this time of year it’s not a bad idea to check under the hood. Wipe away any leaves or debris and carefully clean the engine area. You might think the hood protects the outside elements from entering this area, but dirt and debris have a way of sneaking in over time.

Basic spring cleaning checklist:

To pull off a successful spring cleaning experience for your car, it’s important to remember the basics as well. Here are a few items to mark off your checklist:

• Replace windshield wipers
• Give your car a good exterior washing
• Consider waxing the exterior
• Wash all windows (interior and exterior)
• Clean out cupholders and seat back pockets

Generally, doing the job yourself will guarantee the best results. But we know the DIY method requires time and an investment in cleaning products. So, even if you can’t do the cleaning yourself, make sure you take your car to a professional for a spring cleaning.

Is spring cleaning necessary?

If your vehicle has endured a long winter, spring is the perfect time to get it back in shape. More importantly, ready for your next summer road trip. While it might not be your top priority at the moment, you definitely won’t regret taking the time to spruce up your car’s interior or exterior. Our headlight experts hope these tips serve you well as you tackle springtime cleaning this year!