Your DIY Car Cleaning Checklist

Have you noticed that your car is looking a little less than fresh recently? With all the winter’s bad weather, your car bears the brunt of the grit, grime and road dirt being kicked up from the tarmac, leaving your paintwork looking pretty poor. As we approach spring, we’re willing to bet that your car could do with a little bit of love and care. To help, we have put together a checklist for cleaning your car at home. Sure, you could take it to a car wash, or even have someone come around to do it for you, but we reckon you can still achieve a great DIY car clean without coughing up. Here are our top tips for a streak-free finish - read on to find out more. 

Paintwork and wheels 

Let’s start with the quick win; getting the exterior looking tip-top. Give the car a rinse first, to get rid of the initial layer of dirt, and then lather up with a dedicated car shampoo from the roof to the wheel arches, making sure you rinse it all off so there are no pesky soap marks. 

Your best bet to get it sparkling is to then get polishing with a car wax of your choice.

Then it’s time to turn your attention to the wheels; dirty wheels can let your car down, even if the paintwork is spotless. Carefully scrub your alloys, or remove and clean the hubcaps, rinsing as you go.

Get the glass gleaming

While grubby glass is a bit less obvious, it still needs some elbow grease. The exterior wash will have dealt with some of the glass dirt, but it’s still worth using a glass cleaner both inside and out on your windscreen windows and mirrors in order to get them crystal clear.

Declutter 

Whether you’ve got a boot full of junk, a footwell full of rubbish, or simply have no more room in your cupholders and door pockets for receipts and wrappers, it’s time to be ruthless with what you’re carrying around. Take out what you don’t need for the upcoming seasons (such as coats and wellies), and fill carrier bags with rubbish and recycling. You’ll feel the difference immediately when you get into your car!

Care for your carpets and coverings  

Now you can see what you’re working with inside, it’s time to get busy with the vacuum, ideally with the crevice tool poised and ready. Once dust and dirt have been dealt with, you can then use a damp cloth to wipe down the seats. If you enjoy a luxury leather interior, use a specialist leather cleaner to keep that upholstery looking good too. 

Clean your air vents

Dust tends to collect in air vents, and allergy sufferers in particular will feel the effects of this when they’re used. Vacuum, or dust with a cloth or brush to remove the build-up in these areas. 

Dust the dashboard

Don’t forget your controls! Your dashboard is another place in your car where dust seems together, so combat this by wiping down hard surfaces with a damp cloth.

Sort out the smell

Okay, we’re not saying your car smells, but once you’ve done your cleaning, all you need is a decent air freshener. If you decide to go for a classic ‘tree’ style air freshener, remember that attaching it to your rearview mirror can obstruct your view of the road, so perhaps put it elsewhere, like on an air vent, if you can. 

Get fresh paintwork all year round with GardX 

If you’d like your spring clean to be just that bit easier, we’d strongly recommend opting for GardX when you buy your used car from West Motors. They knock your high-street wax products out of the park, with clever Nanotechnology that form a highly resilient protective coating over your paintwork.

Find out more about GardX here, and, as always, you can find our selection of beautiful premium vehicles over in our online showroom.