Washing your vehicle. It’s a spring clean thing.

When you think of spring, many things come to mind. A transitional period between the cold and harsh winter months to the longer summer days - we see plants spring up, the days lengthen and temperatures get warmer. It is also the season to clean and when it comes to this annual tradition, let’s not forget our vehicles…

 

Five steps to that flawlessly washed vehicle. 

1.Car Interior

2.Car Exterior

3.Windows

4.Headlights and Taillights

5.Tyres

 

Our vehicles are punished during winter with an assortment of sand, ice, salt, dirt, slush and gravel leaving your vehicle filthy inside and out. The most important thing to remember when cleaning your car’s interior is to make sure that you get those hard to reach places. 

 

Starting with your car mats, the best approach is to remove and wash them, whilst they’re drying vacuum the space underneath – you will be surprised at how much salt, dirt and gravel has collected under there. 

 

Moving up and onto the seats, it is best to vacuum them for any crumbs. When hoovering underneath them, move the chair back and forth to reach the maximum amount of dirt. Your boot is another main area where items can collect, it’s time to clear out those ice scrapers and other winter items and hoover.

 

During the wintery months the exterior bears the brunt of all that winter has to offer. If your vehicle hasn’t been cleaned at all over the wintery months, then a heavy duty wash will be worthwhile. 

 

It is also a good idea to wax the exterior of the vehicle, it is advisable to wax twice a year but particularly in spring. Waxing has many benefits including sealing the paint, adding a shiny coat to your vehicle and repelling water beads. 

 

Windows like the body of the car can accumulate a lot of dirt and grit. Safety is important for the driver, passengers and passers-by and by simply washing your windows you can improve both your visibility and everybody else’s safety. 

 

A good tip would be to wash the outside windows first and then whilst you are cleaning the inside you will be able to see if there are any smears. A good process for cleaning your windows would be to use a window cleaner with a clean damp cloth or chamois leather, finish by polishing the windows with a dry towel. 

 

It is also extremely important for safety to clean your lights. Simply wipe down your lights with a warm damp cloth and you will instantly notice an improvement. 

 

It can be dangerous to drive winter tyres during the spring/summer months, as it can quickly wear down the tread of the tyres, and by the time winter comes around again they will not be as useful. 

 

Now that your car is spring ready, I just have one last recommendation, try to avoid the puddles.