Simple Spring Car Cleaning Tips
If you are like most, the winter months keep you inside. Even for those of us that enjoy winter sports we tend to stay inside when not doing them. This leaves us with an ever-growing list of chores to complete when the warmer days appear.
From my perspective most of us take to yard work in the springtime and forget about spring cleaning and maintenance for our vehicles – nobody wants to be crawling around in the car when they can be out in the yard enjoying the sun. With that in mind, we have two simple solutions to help bring some order back to your car.
Salt Stains
The primary agent used for road salt in NH is sodium chloride.
The best solution to remove road salt from your floor mats is a 50/50 blend of white vinegar and hot water. The vinegar is acidic which turns the road salt from insoluble to soluble allowing you to remove from mats.
To remove spray or wet the carpet and floor mats with vinegar and water and let sit for 2-3 minutes. After, scrub and blot carpets to remove and vacuum (with wet vac as vinegar is not good for a house vac).
When finished, leave the vehicle open to air.
Cup Holders & Center Console Cleaning
Cup holders and consoles are designed to hold stuff, so anything that falls or spills in there will stay in there.
The way to clean these is to start by removing everything from the holders. Get rid of any coffee cups, soda cans etc. in the cup holders, and pull everything out of the console and put into a shopping bag. Often there are rubber inserts in these areas to keep things from rattling around. If possible, pull these out first and clean separately (not all are removable). With a general-purpose cleaner like Simple Green or 409, spray the cup holders and consoles. It helps to agitate the cleaner with a tooth brush or other brush and let sit for 2-3 minutes. After that simply wipe out. Repeat the process as needed.
Before you put everything back in the center console, go thru the bag to determine if it really should be in the car (how many napkins do you really need in there?).
