Car cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore
Who doesn’t love a spotless, gleaming car? And while we’re all home-based, this is a great time to give the car a good scrub and a new lease of life. If it’s going to be sitting on the driveway, it can at least sparkle!

If you want to do the job properly, then filling a bucket with hot soapy water and wheeling the vacuum cleaner out onto the drive isn’t going to cut it. For particularly dirty cars (or perfectionists!), there are plenty of tips, tricks and products that can get things gleaming on the outside and squeaky clean on the inside. Here are a few of our favourite car cleaning tips.

Pick your moment
Washing a car like a pro can be less of a chore and more of science. A bit of rain may not leave your shiny new car looking the best, but it won’t be as troublesome as high temperatures and blazing sunshine. Although it may be tempting to spend a sunny afternoon car cleaning, take care not to start washing with formulas or adding wax if your car is hot to the touch. This could end up damaging your paintwork, so try to apply finishes on cooler days when there isn’t much sunlight. Better still, apply finishes and leave them to dry inside a garage or away from heat and direct sunlight.

A red-hot day doesn’t need to be an excuse for not cleaning your car however – you can still give it a good hose down and wash with some car shampoo, or simply clean the interior.

Start on the inside
Before you break out the water and wax, get the inside of your car looking spotless. Start by removing any rubbish and lost pound coins (fingers crossed) from the foot wells and underneath the seats. This will make it much easier to do the actual cleaning, plus you won’t vacuum up loose change, missing toys, etc.

Wash car floor mats
Instead of trying to vacuum your rubber car mats while they’re still in the car, remove them completely and clean them away from your car. Grab a hose, or better a pressure washer, then clear off the thickest dirt. Then, grab a bucket of soapy water and give them a good wash on both sides, before leaving them to dry while you do the rest of the car.

Brush, then vacuum
If you’re used to using a vacuum cleaner without any attachments to try and suck up the grit and dust from your interior, then try this easy car cleaning hack: Use an interior detailing brush first, then give all of the carpeted surfaces a good sweep and rub. The bristles will dislodge any embedded stones from your shoes and dust that has worked its way into the carpet. You can then vacuum up the loose muck for a new-look carpet!

Grab a make-up brush
If you have a clean, unused make-up brush, then use it to get inside the nooks and crannies that a larger brush or vacuum may not be able to reach. Don’t forget to brush between the joins of the dash itself, as well as behind the steering wheel and the gear stick cover. And put your vacuum nozzle close to your brush to make sure all of the dust gets sucked away.

Get that new car smell
It can be difficult to get rid of an unwanted odour in your vehicle. A good clean and, potentially, an air freshener will go some way, but there are much better cleaning tips to get rid of smells in cars.

Wash from the top down and use snow foam
When it comes to washing the outside of your car, it makes sense to start at the top and work your way down. After all, gravity will do a decent job of pulling any loose muck, mud and dirt to the ground, plus you won’t have to do parts of the car twice when dirty water runs over them again.

Scrub the wheels
Wheels can be the toughest part of the car to clean. Close to the road and prone to getting covered in dust from the brakes, your shiny alloys can soon look dull and dirty no matter what the season is. They may require tougher cleaning products than the rest of your car.

Protection
You’ve done all that hard work, now it’s time to protect it! There are many different types of protection in the forms of waxes, sprays, liquids and pastes. Quite simply, it’s up to you! A spray and liquid wax will be quicker to apply but offer less protection, whereas a paste wax will take longer but offer more protection.