Image via: Pixabay
Whether you lease your car or you own it, chances are you'll want to try and keep it looking like new both inside and out. After all, when you return the car at the end of the lease, you'll want it to be neat and tidy to ensure you're within the guidelines of fair wear and tear.
You will also want to keep your car's interior as clean as possible when you read what touch-up paint specialists Chipex revealed in a blog article:
"University studies show that the average vehicle houses is way dirtier than a house, having 1700 times more bacteria! Testes showed there was 283 different types of bacteria per square centimetre, the gearstick holds approximately 356 different germs, the boot has around 850 types of bacteria, and the cup holders generally has 228% more bacteria than the average toilet seat! Gross, and dangerous too if you're breathing that in regularly."
So let's take a look at what you can do to make sure that the car interior looks as good as new for as long as possible and keep you healthy too!
We will look at the best way to clean the interior a bit later in this blog, but the best way to keep the interior clean is to not get it dirty in the first place. It's an obvious statement that could be applied to anything, and is also easier said than done, but this fact is often overlooked in the fast-paced world that we live in.
The biggest problem arises when food and drink is consumed in the car. Food stains are notoriously difficult to remove from upholstery, and even when it is removed, a stain often remains, especially with fizzy drinks. Grease from food goes onto fingers, fingers touch the interior (from fabrics to plastics to wood to chrome) and dirt collects. Food residues like pastry flakes are inevitable when eaten, and dropped and discarded food often forgotten - until it is too late.
Then there is all the packaging that comes with it. Paper bags, plastic coverings and all kinds of wrapping get discarded and left, usually in the footwells, on the floor in the back, and stuffed into side pockets and door spaces.
So how do you stop all this mess affecting the cleanliness of the cabin? Simple.
DON'T EAT IN THE CAR!
Image via: Flickr User frankieleon
Obvious. Simple. But maybe not so easy to enforce. But try! You will notice the benefit; not only when it comes to keeping the car clean, but also on your waistline!
Also remember that no car should be without a rubbish bag to put any rubbish in; be it tissues, wipes, or food wrappers (if you MUST eat) then make sure that there is either a specially designed car container or just an old 5p (or more) grocery bag available. Make sure you empty it too!
If you have to clean the inside, then you can either do it yourself, or pay someone else to do it for you. Even if there is or there isn't a North-South Divide when it comes to cleaning the car, it does need doing to try and keep that just-got look, both inside and out, and professionals vacuuming, wiping, spraying, shining, waxing and cleaning the interior is just one way of doing it.
There are many places that do it now - in fact, probably more than we need - so choose carefully. Get suggestions and opinions from your friends as to which one they use. There are also mobile valeters who come to your house or workplace, so it may be a case of convenience.
But make sure it is done regularly. Don't let it all build up.
But if you decide that you want to do it all yourself, and are prepared to contort yourself into positions that you didn't even know existed, then here are a few tips as to what you can do to clean your car's interior.
Image via: Flickr User Doug McCaughan
Image via YouTube
As we said earlier, preventing your car getting mucky is easier and better than curing it afterwards, but if all else fails, a good cleaning is the answer. There are a lot of weird and wonderful ways out there to clean car interiors, and you could do worse than take a look at this Pinterest Page to find out some of the other ways to keep it clean.