These car cleaning tips will change the way you clean your car from here on out. Cars are so hard to keep clean, and not just on the outside! Between the snack crumbs on the floor, the grass and dirt tracked in and the sticky fingerprints, keeping a car nice on the inside can feel like a losing battle.
Luckily for you, we love Car Cleaning Ideas and have made a list of our favorite tips. In the past, we have shared easy car repairs that anyone can do as well as our winter car tips (cause no one wants to be cold waiting for the car to heat up!). To start with today, we have several tricks and tips that you can try right now to make your vehicle sparkle – with the least amount of effort! We promise.
Car Cleaning Tips with Household Items
Cars and messes seem to go hand in hand. Especially if you have children. Our littles are the best hoarders of things in places that do not belong to them. From school projects to sports and other activities, things often pile up. Pretty easily at that. There are so many ways to get a car dirty. I’m sure you don’t need help with that. So we figured we’d take the load off and help you with some hacks for cleaner vehicles. Here are a few
1. Soda – Yup!! The Beverage.
Use Soda to remove corrosion. Soda dissolves rust, making it easier to charge a battery or to remove the rusty spots in a muffler or even in the sidewalls. Just pour the soda on, let it set and bubble for a few minutes, and then rinse away. You might need to repeat this a couple of times for stubborn rusty deposits. AND, be sure to rinse very well afterward so you don’t have a sticky residue on your vehicle. Unconventional, I know. But, it works. Your battery will look almost as new as the day you first got it. It’s the perfect car cleaning tip for the exterior of your vehicle.
2. Baking Soda
Need to clean your car, but you’re out of soap? A soap hack that works wonders on your car too is backing soda. Yes, Baking soda will do the trick. All you need is a few supplies and a towel for this car cleaning tip. Your vehicle will be squeaky clean in no time.
Baking soda car wash supplies
Bucket
Water
Baking soda
Towel
3. Vinegar and Alcohol
Ever wondered how to get a good detail from home? I’ve wondered the same thing until I found this mixture. It takes shine to the next level. If your car has never been professionally cleaned, this car cleaning tip will take it to the next level. And, you can detail your car like the pros, but from your driveway. With a few household ingredients and a little elbow grease, you can do a professional carwash-quality job from home.
Supplies
Vinegar
Alcohol
Water
Spray bottle
5. Coconut Oil
Leather is a pesky car accessory. Great for cool winter days. Terrible for burning bum bums in the hot summer heat. Also, terrible to keep clean and shiny. Easy wipe-ups make leather great for kids. However, maintaining the quality of leather wipe down after wipe down is nearly impossible. But, this homemade car upholstery cleaner is the best. Not just good for baking, hair, nails, and skin, coconut oil is amazing on leather seats too. Not to mention that it smells good too.
*WARNING: spot test first. Don’t want to ruin good leather seats
6. Toothpaste Car Cleaning Trick
How to clean an exterior of a car seems to be a common question that we’re asked here at One Crazy House. I think this toothpaste trick is the best way to clean your headlights. Looking for bright shiny lights? Toothpaste is the way to go.
Car cleaning tricks to keep your car organized
Nothing is clean if there is clutter. That’s my motto. These trouble-free car organizing hacks are perfect compliments to your flashy, clean exterior.
7. Muffin Cups:
Do you know the yucky stuff that gets stuck in the cracks of your cup holder? All of the crumbs, dust, hair, leaky sodas, and change that inevitably leaves behind gook. By putting silicone muffin cups in your cup holder you can pop them out, replace them, or simply clean them much easier than cleaning the cup holders without them. Boom! Time-saving hack, and car organization hack, in one. No more gross cup holders.
Plus, they come in fun colors that look super cute.
8. Book Shelf:
Little kids leave things everywhere. My car is not a toy box, nor a bookshelf. But, good luck getting that message across to my little ones. There are always books on the floor in my car. Either “it’s their favorite” and they just have to have this one right now. Or, they left it in the car after school (let’s be honest, this is more likely). Whatever the reason, books are all over my floor. That’s why this car bookshelf hack is my favorite. Who knew there were bookshelves, for cars? Not this girl. The best way to organize the interior of your car.
9. Hangover the Door Organizer
I said number eight’s hack was my favorite. I think I lied. Oops. Because this has to be my absolute favorite car organizing hack. Having a big family means lots of mess, and lots of things left in your car. Adding a hangover door organizer is a genius car cleaning hack. It allows a space for everyone’s stuff. Making it easy for the kids to also clear their things out of the car. Genius right?
10. Car Cleaning Tips with Shower Caddy
Spilling soda as I drive out of the drive-thru is my go-to move. Too many things and not enough places to put them. I love this car cleaning, shower caddy tip. Pop a few of these under your seat. Pull them out when it’s mealtime on the go or when you’re on dinner pickup duty. It’s perfect for when you don’t have enough hands to keep the food from spilling over while you drive.
Bonus Car Cleaning Tips:
These tips are just the beginning. Our cars have lots of nooks and crannies and we have lots of cool hacks to help you tackle those jobs. If you’re looking, we have them. Here are more car cleaning tips to help you keep your vehicle clean and organized.
Car cleaning tips: video
Want to finally have a clean car? Check out this short video to see some hacks to help you get it clean quickly and easily! Nothing like seeing for yourself.Â
Toothpaste and pantyhose. Together these two are an unbeatable combination. They can get rid of the soap scum in shower doors AND brighten your headlights. They will gleam after you rub the toothpaste over them. Finally, be sure to rinse well afterward. (p.s. If this is your image let me know so we can credit you)
13. Clean Car Windows Hack
Do you like having rain spots on your windows? I don’t. You can eliminate some of the spottings with a WD-40 OR hair conditioner. Check and find a conditioner that has lanolin as an ingredient. This combined with silicone (another common hair conditioner ingredient) will provide a protective barrier keeping rain spots from forming on your windows. Cheers to squeaky clean car windows!
14. Dishwasher Cleaning Tips for Car Accessories
Must try!! There are a bunch of wacky things that you can wash in your dishwasher. Did you know that you can wash both car mats and wheel hubs in the wash? We didn’t. Be sure to bang out the debris from your mat first. If your car’s air vests are removable, throw those into the dishwasher too! Save you time having to dust between the edges. Do you have black greasy streaks at the bottom of your car’s sidewalls? They can be stubborn to get rid of! Use a paste made from cream of tartar with a drop or two of dish soap. Scrub those on the black marks and they will dissolve.
Reminder, clean your dishwasher out afterward.
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