Spring Cleaning: Car Detailing Tips

With spring in full swing, now is a great time to get your vehicle looking shiny and new for the coming sunshine. By taking a little time to perform car detailing, you can have your vehicle sparkling from the inside out and ready to show off to the world. Below are some tips from the automobile experts here at Huffines Subaru Corinth about how to perform an expert car detailing that can get your vehicle ready for springtime in virtually no time at all.

Get the Right Tools

Assemble your tools before you begin your car detailing. This way, you don’t need to disrupt the cleaning process to go look for more items and can work continuously throughout the morning or afternoon. You can purchase specialized automobile cleaning solutions or make some of your own. Other tools that you might find useful include:

• Microfiber towels
• Sponges
• Hose or another method of spraying the car with clean water
• Soapy water
• Lint roller
• Car upholstery conditioner
• Paper towels
• Soft, small brushes

Start With the Wheels

Our experts recommend you clean your hubcaps first, as these are often the grimiest part of your car and may take longer to clean. You can purchase a professional wheel cleaning solution or make your own with the following ingredients:

Begin cleaning your wheels by rinsing them with clean water, then scrub the hub caps using your cleaning solution and a sponge. You can use a soft brush to access those hard-to-reach places and crevices to ensure the entire hubcap gets a good clean. When you’ve removed all the grime, rinse the wheels and quickly dry them off with your microfiber towel to prevent streaking.

Let the Soap Foam Up

After giving the entire exterior of your car a clean water rinse, add soap by gently mixing it into the water with a washing mitt or sponge. Then give the soap another few minutes to foam up before giving the whole vehicle another rinse. Letting the foam linger on your car for a few minutes helps to soften up any places with caked-on dirt or mud.

Remove Lint From the Seats

Get the lint and dust off your car seats before you do any stain removing or scrubbing. A lint roller might be the best tool for getting dust out of those nooks and crannies, but you can also use a vacuum cleaner with a hose attachment. Once you remove this initial layer of dust, you can wash and scrub out any upholstery stains using a specialized automotive conditioner. If you have leather seats, it’s generally a good idea to invest in a cleaning product specifically designed to preserve leather.

Make Your Windows and Mirrors Shine

Thoroughly clean both the inside and outside of your front and back windshields with a specialized glass cleaning solution and a microfiber towel. Be sure to also give your side and rearview mirrors a good cleaning. Not only will doing this contribute to your car’s new and shiny appearance, but also, having great visibility from all angles is a key component of being an excellent driver.

Don’t Forget Your Dashboard

Although your dashboard may not get as dirty as some of the other parts of your vehicle, keeping your dashboard clean can help with your overall car maintenance and increase its future resale value. Go over the dashboard with a vacuum or lint roller first, then dive in for the scrubbing. There are many specialized products available to help you wash your dashboard and other hard surfaces in your vehicle, such as the console or the exterior of the glove compartment. You’ll be surprised by how cleaning these surfaces can freshen up the inside of your car.

Take Care With the Steering Wheel

Since the steering wheel is one of the places that people touch most frequently in a car, it can be easy for dirt and bacteria to build up there. However, the steering wheel can also be delicate, so it’s important to clean it with care. Rather than spraying your cleaning solution directly on your steering wheel, spray it instead on your microfiber cloth. Use a circular motion while scrubbing to help you clean the wheel from all angles.

Don’t Forget Your Windshield Wipers

Have you ever tried to turn on your windshield wipers only to discover that they create streaks across your windshield, making your visibility even worse? That’s because sometimes gunk gets trapped in the small spaces between where a windshield wiper usually rests and the exterior of your vehicle.

Luckily, this problem is easy to fix. Simply dampen a paper towel with rubbing alcohol. Then, while carefully holding the wiper slightly away from your vehicle with one hand, run the moistened paper towel over the length of your windshield wipers several times.

Clean Your Car Consistently

While the coming of longer and warmer days often signals the start of spring cleaning, it’s actually important to clean your car regularly throughout the year. Performing these consistent cleanings can help you make each cleaning session shorter and improve the resale value of your vehicle down the line.

Consider keeping a lint roller, microfiber towel, and other simple car cleaning tools right in your glove compartment or trunk space. This way, whenever you have a few free minutes to spare while out and about, you can simply give your car seats, windshield wipers, or whatever else needs a little extra TLC a quick wipe down.

Have any questions about these car detailing tips? Our team of car experts is more than happy to share our expertise. Feel free to fill out our online contact form or give us a call at 940-497-3700. And if you encounter any more complex car detailing problems along the way, like switching out your cabin air filter or changing your oil, you can book an appointment with our service department using our easy online scheduling tool.