How To Clean Your Car In Time For Summer: The Best Cleaning Tips From The Experts

Every car enthusiast knows that summer is the best time of the year to show off your sparkling, sun-kissed ride. The rays of the sun catch the exquisite detailing at the perfect angles and transform your car into a thing of stunning beauty and radiance. However, after plowing through months of snow, mud, salt, and cold, your vehicle needs some loving care before it can be ready for the summer thrills ahead. You need to know how to clean your car in time for summer so that you can breathe new life into your car for the sun and cool breeze.

Even if your car is a lease, you still need to know how to clean it properly. The state of your car’s cleanliness is vital to your image, and you want the car you drive to look its best. The cold Canadian weather can wreak havoc to your car’s exterior and interior detailing. This guide will give you step-by-step instructions on how to make your car sparkling clean and looking fresher than ever.

After consulting with cleaning experts and car detailing professionals, we give you the most crucial cleaning tips that will get your vehicle looking brand new and smelling amazing.

How To Clean The Exterior

Cleaning your car the right way is super important. If you want to get that sparkle and shine, then you should do it just like the professionals recommend. Cleaning a car starts with the exterior since it carries the most visible dirt. Here are the steps to take for a shiny car body:

Select The Right Cleaning Products

Your car’s body is delicate and demands careful handling. Coarse materials or materials that might leave an unsightly scratch are to be avoided. You should stick to using a sponge, or better yet, a microfiber washcloth for a soft and thorough clean. Make sure to have a couple on hand; as you would need separate cleaning cloths for the exterior and the interior of your vehicle.

The type of car wash soap you use is also of paramount importance. Certain soaps and detergents are considered too harsh for car paints. The right soap should be soft of your detailing while removing all dirt, greases, and stains wholly. Experts advise that you should stick to soaps made expressly for washing cars to get the best out of cleaning your vehicle.

Wash In The Shade

Under direct sunlight, the soap is likely to dry very quickly. This can leave your car with ugly soap streaks and water spots that spoil all your excellent work. Additionally, the temperature shock from spraying a hot surface with cold water can crack your paint. You should wheel your car into a shaded spot and commence washing when the temperature and cooled down a bit. Alternatively, you could do your washing early or later in the day when your car isn’t so hot to touch.

Start With A Hose Down

Car cleaning experts recommend that you hose down your car before starting with the real wash. Hosing your car helps to remove loose dirt while also softening harder ones for a smooth, stress-free clean. The minute or so that it takes to do this is well worth the effort any way you look at it.

Wash From Top to Bottom

If you watch cleaning professionals work, you would observe that they always start the wash from the top and work their way down. The reason for this is simple and quite logical: Gravity. When you wash, everything moves downwards; especially water. Therefore, starting from below would lead to problems since the upper parts would stain the already clean bottom parts.

The only exception to this rule is the tires. Since most people consider them to be the messiest part of a car, they can get some attention right off the bat. A hose down would help to soften up whatever dirt is trapped in the wheels and make cleaning much easier. A final rinse is compulsory to wash off all the soap and grime that’s been scrubbed off.

Finishing with Sealant, Polish or Wax

There are a lot of auto detailing products in the market. Selecting the right one can be a rather tedious chore, and you want to choose right. Making the correct decision is dependent on knowing the difference between your choices and also understanding your car’s unique needs.

Generally, sealants give your car paint a thin and hard protective coating that lasts for quite a while. On the other hand, polish and waxes lend a soft and thick protective coating to your car. Wax can withstand a bit more damage due to its thickness, but it doesn’t last quite as long as sealant does.

How To Clean The Interior

The interior of your car needs to be rid of dirt and smell fresh for the perfect clean. The process of cleaning out your car’s interior requires strict attention to details for the best results. Here are the recommended steps that ensure your car’s interior is kept looking clean and brand new:

Take Out The Garbage

Cleaning out your car starts with removing all the garbage materials and junk. Old soda bottles, grocery bags, receipts, and loose change should all go into the trash. Anything that doesn’t strictly belong to the interior of your car should find its way out.

Grab A Duster and Vaccum

Dust and dirt particles seem to find their way into the interior of a car continually. While a duster will work for cleaning out dirt, the finer dust particles need a more specialized piece of equipment. A vacuum cleaner is ideal for getting into the nooks and crannies of your car’s interior and removing the dust particles.  AC vents, gearshift, dashboard, and the center panel will benefit from using a vacuum cleaner for removing dirt.

Finish Up With Some Detailing

After all the cleaning and scrubbing is done, it’s time to put some precious time into detailing your car’s interior. Grab yourself a toothbrush and microfiber detailing cloth to tackle the center console and dashboard. Some window cleaning liquid would also be lovely to have on hand.

While it may be difficult to recommend specific products to be used, the rule of thumb is to stick with products designed specifically for detailing car interiors. With some dedicated TLC, you can have your summer car looking fresh and clean, just like the weather.

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