With the British weather slowly but surely showing signs of improvement many car owners will be thinking about getting the bucket of soapy water out and washing their car. Car cleaning is an activity that many find to be rewarding in all kinds of ways from just achieving a sparkling car to emotional benefits brought about by doing something active.
Some people choose to go to a car wash centre where the various machines will scrub away and tough dirt and provide a layer of wax for a fast and effective shine; others will go to a hand-wash and pay for an inside-and-out service that gets the car clean on the inside as well as the outside.
Others, however, will prefer to clean their cars themselves, saving money and ensuring that they complete the job to their own standards. A lot of professional car washes will offer great services but perfectionists among us will always prefer to wash the car themselves – and that’s fine, especially as you’ve spent so much money on your car, you always want it to look great.
If you’re one of those people who prefers cleaning the car yourself, or perhaps you’ve been to a professional hand car wash and thought “if I buy one of those pressure washers I could do this myself”, then we’ve got some top tips and some great car accessories that will make car cleaning and car care much simpler with improved results.
5 top car cleaning tips
Start at the top
Always make sure that you start from the top of your car and work your way down. It might sound like an obvious thing to do, but a lot of car owners fail to recognise just how much time and effort can be saved by starting on the roof of your car and working down to the windows, doors, bumpers and wheels.
By starting on the roof you can wash all of the dirt down the car to the ground, washing it over the other dirty patches rather than allowing it to run down onto your freshly cleaned bodywork that you just spent ten minutes scrubbing.
You can then use products such as tyre shine and scratch remover to ensure that the whole car is sparkling just like it had come off the production line.
Apply car polish and wax when the body has dried
Applying car polish and wax to the bodywork will help to restore the beautiful showroom shine of your paint – but only do this once the car has completely dried. If you try and add car wax or polish to wet bodywork it will simply wipe straight off as the water drips away.
You should also make sure that you apply an even covering of polish and car wax to avoid any poor finishes and to help to add an all-important waterproof layer to the bodywork. It is the job of car polish to provide the shine while it’s the wax that adds the protection.
They can both be applied manually using a clean cloth (it’s vital that it is clean to ensure that dirt you’ve just washed off isn’t reapplied and so that there is no gravel on the cloth that might damage your paintwork). Alternatively you can use a range of professional polishers and accessories that will do the job more quickly, only without the personal touch.
Don’t neglect the glass
While you can wash your windscreen at any time using your washer fluid, you should never neglect your car windows while you’re washing the car. Dust and dirt can get onto the glass just as easily as the rest of your car, and the dried watermarks can obscure your vision out of the side and rear windows.
You can buy glass cleaner that will allow you to clean the windows inside and out for a superior shine and to remove any streaks. The best way of cleaning any class on your car is with a microfibre cloth that will pick up every last bit of loose dirt and any water.
Clean the inside too
It’s all well and good cleaning the outside of your car to make it look great, but car cleaning doesn’t stop here. To truly clean your car to the highest standard you should also remove any car mats from your car to wash or vacuum them (depending on the material), and you should also vacuum away the dust and dirt from your cabin.
Drivers and passengers will bring dirt into the vehicle that can get ground into the carpets and other materials – such as food and drink – can start to smell if left untreated. You can buy a range of interior cleaning products such as carpet cleaner and even dash cleaners that will help to restore your dashboard to the best possible condition.
Keep interior cleaning wipes in the glove box
Finally, you can buy handy wipes and other car accessories that you can keep in the glove box or any other compartments so that you can give your car a quick clean when you get to your destination and notice any signs of dust or dirt.
Just giving your car a quick once-over with a microfibre cloth or a dash cleaning wipe will help to keep the car looking clean and smelling fresh, which is ideal in any car.
You can buy a range of car accessories and car cleaning products in our online store, all of which can be delivered to your door or you can click and collect your items from any Euro Car Parts branch. Browse our full collection of car parts and car cleaning accessories today.