Vacuuming Car Interior
Although most of us wind up our car windows and switch on the air-conditioner when we travel in our cars, unknown to us, we can be breathing in foul or dirty air if our car interiors are not well maintained. Dust, dirt and pollen can enter our cars when we open and close our car doors. Having inefficient or expired cabin air filters in our cars can also let these pollutants in. The clothes that we wear, the fabric on our car seats and the fibres in our car floor mats also shed lint which can accumulate inside our cars. A person with a sensitive nose or suffering from allergy will be the first to detect air that is dirty in our cars. For those of us who are unaware of this, we could be breathing in dirty air day in and day out and in the long run, this could bring about health problems. That is why, regular vacuuming of our car interior is a good practice as much as cleaning our car’s exterior.
If we maintain our cars by ourselves, it would be good to invest in a good hand-held vacuum cleaner. This will ensure that every nook and cranny of our car can be reached when we vacuum our car interior. We start with the relatively cleaner areas such as our car dashboard, console, door panels, glove compartments and door pockets. We use the brush attachment that comes with our vacuum cleaner or a paint brush with the tapered attachment to wipe off dust especially in the louvres of our air vents and catch the dust with our vacuum. After vacuuming, we can lightly wipe them and our glass windows with a moist microfibre cloth to pick up any leftover dust. For clean, healthy air to pass through our air vents, we can sometimes spray them with an all-purpose cleaner or use a mild disinfectant and wipe off with a cloth.
Next, we vacuum the car seats and upholstery especially the crevices of any dirt, debris or fallen hair. Lastly, we remove all floor mats and dust them outside the car and vacuum the underlying carpet. To reach deep in between the fibres of the carpet, we run the vacuum cleaner along the line of the fibres to kick up all dirt that may be stuck there. Regular vacuuming of our car interior will keep us and our passengers fresh and healthy when travelling in our car.
Cleaning Car Seat / Leather
To clean car seat upholstery made of woven cloth or fabric that is badly soiled or dirty, we will need first to vacuum it and remove all dirt and debris before wetting and cleaning it. We spray the pre-vacuumed seats with a fabric cleaner or shampoo and scrub gently with a soft brush to remove all dirt and stains, mopping up by hand using a microfibre cloth. For parts that are heavily soiled, it is good to repeat this action a few times, scrubbing the linen gently to avoid patches on the car seat.
For car leather seats, we spray a generous amount of leather cleaner directly onto the surface. We can use a clean microfibre cloth to rub the cleaner into the seat in tiny circular motions, gently removing dirt and stains on the leather. We let it remain for about 30 seconds and then wipe clean with a clean cloth. If stains or dirt still persist, we repeat this action by applying the cleaner directly onto the seat and gently scrubbing and then cleaning the seat. We air the car to remove the smell from the leather cleaner and our car seats can be as good as new.
For more DIY Car Care tips, read from posts on DIY Car Cleaning Tips for Exterior and DIY Car Care Tips for Body Paintwork.