Chances are that, aside from your house and workplace, your car is the space where you spend most of the day, so it’s better keeping car clean and organized as it always clean and smelling fresh so that time will be as pleasant as can be, right?
The following car interior cleaning tips will help you get rid of bad smells and clutter inside your car, and most of them are little everyday actions that you can pick up and repeat easily. There are no more excuses for driving a messy car!
Use baking soda
Does your car have a persistent bad odor? Get rid of it by sprinkling the interior with baking soda, leaving it overnight and vacuuming it up the next day. The smell should be gone along with the baking soda.
Prevent bad smells with coffee
Not coffee, per se. Coffee beans in a mesh bag will not only make your car smell fantastic, but they will also absorb any bad smells. Just replace the beans inside the bag once in a while to keep the effect going.
Keep things out as much as possible
Remember that any trash you don’t take inside your car, is trash you don’t have to take out later. Start by giving your shoes a good knock every time you go in to keep mud and dirt outside, finish any drink you have with you that’s in a disposable container, etc.
Use a small trash container
Having a trashcan in your car is another good way of preventing waste from building up all over the interior. It doesn’t matter if it’s a simple plastic bag or a travel waste bin, as long as it is a designated place to contain it all.
Clean your mats regularly
Most of the debris and spills inside our cars tend to find their way onto the mats, so it’s a good idea to vacuum and clean them regularly, so they don’t absorb any smells for too long.
Go for a drive with open windows
If the offending odor is not too strong, sometimes all you need is driving a few miles with your windows down, so the interior will get aired out, it works like a charm most of the time. It’s too simple to not give it a shot!
Clean the mess right when it happens
Except when you’re driving, of course, but you should clean up any mess that happens in your car without giving it too long to “settle in.” This way it’ll be easier to avoid stains in your seats and odors from being absorbed.
Eating in the car is a big no-no (or at least a solid no)
Of course, it would be easy to ban any food to be eaten in your car, but the ways of life are wildly unpredictable, and you might find yourself in a situation where you have to eat there. In such cases, it’s good to plan and bring a container that can catch crumbs, preferably one that can be sealed.
Use covers, prevent messes
There are handy covers that will make sure you won’t ever again drop crumbs, loose change, makeup or your phone by dropping it between the console and your seat. They’re made from neoprene and foam, so they’ll fit into the gaps of most cars. Buy a couple, set them in and say goodbye to searching under the seat for anything ever again.
Get those stains out of your seats
Upholstery fabric is frustratingly easy to stain, but this should do the trick. Spray your seats with carpet cleaner, scrub using a small scrub or toothbrush, and your stain is no longer there. You don’t even have to vacuum or rinse it at all, but maybe leave the windows open for a while after you’re done.
Some people think of their car as a second home, while others just like to keep their trips as short as possible. Whichever you are, we can all agree that no one enjoys driving around in a smelly, messy car, so these tips should prove useful to anyone. And now that your car is a tidy, clean space, why not let that spill over into your home?
