Cars serve us a great deal as far as transportation is concerned. They provide comfort as well as entertainment (with the use of a car radio or DVD player). You’ll enjoy the use of your car a lot more when it’s as clean as it can be.
As you drive your car, dust, debris and animal fur can build up in your interior over time. You will need to do some vacuuming every once in a while to keep it particle free. This is important not just for the sake of having a clean interior, but for health reasons as well.
Inhaling dust and debris can be harmful to health, so it’s important to get rid of them as and when due.
A vacuum cleaner is the ideal tool to help with cleaning. You will need to get a compact one that can reach those tight corners in your car.
The process of getting a perfect vacuum cleaning is pretty simple, but only if you know the right steps to take. In this article, we will give you a step by step breakdown of how to vacuum your car effectively.
Keep in mind that before you start vacuuming, you will have to consider things like the size of your car and the materials your car seats are covered in.
Below are 10 steps you need to take to get the best possible cleaning job.
Buy A Car Vacuum Cleaner
You’d do well from the onset to know that a regular household vacuum cleaner won’t do the job in your car. A household vacuum cleaner doesn’t have the maneuverability required to access tight spaces in the car. The wise choice here is to use a high powered wet/dry vacuum cleaner with an extendable hose.
Be sure to buy a vacuum cleaner made specifically for cleaning cars. You’d have a more thorough cleaning because car vacuums are designed to fit into narrow spaces in your car. You may also need an extension cord to help the vacuum reach your car, this is in case there is no power outlet nearby.
Open All The Vehicle Doors
I am sure you would like to have easy access to all parts of your car’s interior as you clean. Opening all the doors will grant you the kind of access you are looking for. If you do not leave all the car doors open, you’d have to repeatedly do so every time you want to clean these areas again.
A great advantage of leaving all your car doors open when cleaning is it allows you pull the vacuum right through the car from one end to the other. This is opposed to going all the way around the car when you want to clean the other sides. Leaving the car doors open will save you time and energy.
There’s something else, you can also have proper ventilation when you leave the car doors open. Stale odors will be pushed out by air when the doors are open. Your car will smell fresher after you clean.
Pick Up Trash And Waste Items
This should be a no brainer. Trash and other larger items littered on the floor will be a huge disturbance when you want to vacuum. The logical thing to do before you start sucking is to hand pick trash from your car.
Stuff like pieces of paper, empty soda cans, chocolate bar wrappings, and plastic cups all need to be removed so you can have a smooth, uninterrupted vacuum exercise. Be sure to get a garbage bag to toss all the waste in after you pick them up. You wouldn’t want to litter the environment.
As you pick up trash from your car, use the opportunity to get rid of items you don’t need anymore. It’s also a great opportunity to find more suitable compartments for things you may still need, but are just in the wrong places.
Remove Floor Mats
We all know floor mats take the most dust and debris as far as the interior of a car is concerned. This is so because they are right under our feet and collect anything our shoes bring into the car.
Take them out and deal with them later on after you’re done cleaning the rest of the interior.
Make sure you take out the mats of the front and back seats. Don’t forget to also take out the other mats and covers in the car like the removable trunk liners.
Use Vacuum Brush Attachment Or Stiff Bristled Brush To Sweep Before Vacuuming
There are several cracks and crevices in your car interior where debris hides deep. You can’t vacuum those areas clean off if you can’t get to those hidden particles.
Not to worry, all you need to do is use the vacuum brush attachment to sweep over the floor and upholstery to loosen up the particles. When the particles are loose, it will be easier to suck up with the vacuum cleaner.
You will get a more thorough clean this way.
Vacuum The Floor Boards
Be sure to move the driver and passenger seats all the way to the back before you proceed. This will give you more access to the floors.
Go over several times, from right to left, up and down, so you don’t miss a spot.
Vacuum The Upholstery
After the floorboards are done, proceed to the upholstery of your car. Use a brush to go over the cracks to get those hidden particles off. Vacuum over the upholstery several times.
Vacuum The Floor Mats
Before you vacuum, make sure you shake them well or bang them against a wall to get rid of dust.
Vacuum Dashboard And Displays
Gently go over the dashboard and displays, there are tiny particles stuck in between the cracks that you can’t see. The vacuum will suck them out.
Vacuum The Trunk
Take out the things in the trunk first before you proceed. The spare tire, car jack and other items that could disturb the process need to be taken out.
After you’re done with all the areas of the interior, place all the items you removed back to their rightful position.
There you have it! Hope this article has been helpful.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
