Clean Your Dirty Car Quickly and Efficiently

Have you seen cars with "Wash me" written on the back glass? Was it on your car? We all start out so proud of our new cars, with the gleaming vinyl seats, perfect carpeting and that new car smell. But if you have a family with children and pets, before long your car can end up a grimy, dirty, sticky, cluttered mess! If your messy car is an embarrassment and you don't want to let your friends near it, you'll be happy to know of the quick solutions to cleaning your car and keeping it clean and organized.
First, do a general de-cluttering. Throw away any fast food papers and other general litter. Remove everything from the car, which will be organized and put back in later in this process.

Second, using a portable vacuum, like a Dustbuster, vacuum carpets. Don't forget under the seats as far as you can reach. By moving seats forward and vacuuming and then back and vacuuming, you can remove most of the dirt and crumbs.

Remove stains from carpeting. Coffee stains are the most common. The best cleaner for coffee stains is glass cleaner! Spray it on an inconspicuous spot to make sure it doesn't fade your carpeting. (I use it on mine often and they do fine.) Spray it on, and then blot with a dry cloth. Using ordinary glass cleaner instead of the traditional carpet cleaners will leave your carpets without the residue left with some commercial cleaners. For difficult stains, use white vinegar mixed with water, then blot with a damp sponge followed by a dry cloth.

Wipe your dashboard, door panels, and vinyl seats with a mixture of baking soda and water. Then rinse with a mixture of dishwashing soap and water. Baking soda is actually gentler to your vinyl than many of the commercial cleaners.

To keep your car mats cleaner longer, after washing them, apply a thin coat of liquid shoe wax. They will be much easier to wash the next time they need it.

Wash your windows with white vinegar and water, and wipe with paper towels. Despite what you've heard about newspaper for wiping windows, it actually can leave ink on the glass. The advice to use newspaper actually meant unused newsprint paper. Paper towels work fine. By wiping the inside of the windows in one direction, and the outside in another direction, you can tell where the streaks are when drying.

Put litterbags in the front and back seat. On the market are small wastebaskets that fit on the hump in the floorboard between the front seats. Line these small waste bins with wastepaper basket liners for quick removal. Keep a box of them under the front seat. Put one of the trash bags across the pocket on the back of the seat and encourage the kids to use it! It is much easier to remove the bags on a regular basis, and your car will smell much better!

Put all your kids' sports equipment, emergency equipment, etc. into mesh bags with drawstrings. This keeps them from rolling around inside your trunk and makes it easier to grab and go when you need to take them out.

If your car has an odor, sprinkle the carpet with laundry borax, let it sit overnight, and then vacuum. (If you have fleas from your pets riding along, sprinkle again lightly with borax and leave it to kill fleas and their eggs.)

Cleaning your car may seem like a big job, but it can be done in half an hour if you assemble your cleaning supplies, and you will be so proud of it when you're done. Then all you have to do is ride through the drive-thru carwash to clean the outside and you have a car that shines like new.