In just a few short weeks, spring will soon be here! In our previous article, we shared spring cleaning tips for your home, however it’s important to note that your car would also need to be properly cleaned and maintained to ensure that it’s working efficiently.

So before the official start of the season, let the Good Hands Advice team provide you with its spring cleaning tips for your car.

Tips for Car Interior Cleaning This Spring.

 

Interior Areas to Consider

The inside of your car can gather a lot of dirt and debris. To help tackle this issue, consider spending time cleaning the following.

 

Dashboard and Door Panels

We recommend using a microfiber cloth and an all-purpose cleaner to help remove dust and debris off your car’s dashboard and its door panels. Be sure to lightly use the cleaning product as to not cause streaking.

 

Windows

While your outside windows are tended to by the windshield wipers, when cleaning the inside of your car, don’t forget to apply glass cleaner to the interior windows. You can use a paper towel or consider using a squeegee.

 

Seat and Floor Mats

Finally, the area that probably gets the most debris – your car’s seats and floor. If you have fabric upholstery on the seats and floor, be sure to use a vacuum cleaner to gather any noticeable debris. Use a soft, fine-bristled brush to remove any dust from the vents, seat cushions, door pockets and similar spaces, vacuuming the particles in the process.

For hard-to-get areas, consider using a hard-bristle brush to gather the dirt and using the vacuum to complete the job.

 

Exterior Areas to Consider

Moving to the outside of your car, here are some of the exterior areas to consider cleaning.

 

Wash off any Salt and Debris off the Car

Over time, salt can do a lot of damage to your car. The more road salt that comes into contact with your vehicle, the higher your risk of rust damage, so it’s important that you take great care in washing off any salt and debris from your car.

Use a sponge or car mitt and apply car cleaning solution over your car. Wipe in small circular motions to ensure you’ve removed all the dirt and grim off your car. Never use dish soap to wash your car, as it can affect the protective coating on your vehicle’s paint.

 

Wax and Hand Dry Your Car

You may be tempted to simply air dry your car, but don’t. Using a microfibre cleaning cloth to dry your car can help reduce streaking. Also consider waxing your car. The wax will help to repel any rain or other contaminants from your car – while leaving it with a glistening shine.

 

Check your Tires

When cleaning your tires, be sure to use a different washcloth or sponge than what was used for the rest of the car. This will help to prevent any transfers of dirt particles from the tire to the body of your car and vice versa. We also recommend checking your tires’ air pressure – as cold weather may lead to tires losing pressure over time.

 

Check Under the Hood of your Car

The underside of your hood may see lots of contaminants and leaves inside. If you notice them, first ensure that your car is turned off, and remove any debris you see. You may also want to have a professional check your engine to ensure that it is running correctly.

 

Car Maintenance Tips

Finally, with the change of seasons, remember the following that would need to be switched over:

 

Tires

Once the weather is cleared, be sure to switch your winter tires to your all-season tires. While you may think that tires can be used all year long, the issue with using winter tires in the spring is that warmer weather can cause the rubber and tread of your winter tires to wear down quickly – so it’s important you’re applying the appropriate tires on your car.

 

Windshield Wiper Blades

If you’ve used winter windshield wipers, be sure to transition back to your spring/summer wipers. This is because your spring/summer wipers are typically flexible and lightweight. They act as aerodynamic wiper blades that can handle any of the heavy rainfall or wind that comes with spring.

Be sure to also check to see if you need to replace your windshield wipers.

 

Windshield Wiper Fluid

Once you’ve used up your winter windshield wiper fluid, be sure to switch over to a summer windshield wiper fluid. The benefits of utilizing a seasonal-appropriate washer fluid is that it can effectively removes summer irritants such as bugs, dust, and dirt from your windshield to ensure you can see clearly at all times.

Now that your car is cleaned and properly serviced, you’re not ready to hit the road this spring!

 

Disclaimer: This information and the websites referenced are provided for your convenience only and should not be construed as providing legal or insurance advice. Allstate does not control or guarantee the accuracy of any content on any third-party site.  Allstate is not responsible for the privacy practices of any third-party site.