Here are 17 tips to make your car cleaner than ever

When you think of spring cleaning, you probably picture airing out your windows and cleaning your house until it shines. But there are many other things that fall under the broad (and very clean) umbrella of spring cleaning. For example, your car! I’ll speak for myself – though I’m sure many of you feel my pain – when I say my car is an absolute disaster zone. There’s a Kermit the Frog Chia pet in my back seat, which I think speaks volumes. If you need to clean your car as desperately as I do, take advantage of spring to do so! Check out these 17 helpful tips to get started on spring cleaning your car.

Cupcake Liners

Here’s an amazing tip for minimizing clutter in your car’s cup holders. Buy cupcake liners (sturdy materials and fun designs are encouraged!) and put them in your cup holders. When the clutter builds up, remove the pouches and replace them! It’s that simple.

Get streak-free wipers

Is there anything more distracting than windshield wipers that smudge your vision? To avoid this unpleasant and potentially dangerous nuisance, soak your wipers in rubbing alcohol and get streak-free wipers perfect for spring showers.

Clean your car’s air vents

Your car’s air vents can get gross if left unattended, and worst of all, they’re so hard to clean. Because they’re narrow and louvered, you need a very specific tool to get in there and remove the winter cobwebs. It may surprise you, but foam art brushes are exactly what you need! Small and pliable, these brushes get right in where you need them to, so that fresh spring air can reach you.

Make your hubcaps shine

If your wheel covers are dull, make them shine with this easy concoction! No need for heavy elbow grease with this combination of cleaning powder and water that forms a super cleaning paste. You can also use wheel cleaner, but it tends to ruin the finish on wheels.

Clean your grill

Your car’s grill is the first line of defense against bugs flying on your car…gross, I know. And it gets especially gross when spring rolls around and the bugs come out in droves. If you want to thoroughly clean your car grill of bug carnage, use dryer sheets. These sheets clean your car grill nicely and leave a nice clean laundry smell.

Light up your headlights

It can be dangerous to leave your headlights dull – after all, they play an important role in letting other drivers know you’re on the road. To keep your headlights bright and fully functional, clean them with this DIY cleaning paste made from toothpaste, among other things. The baking soda in the toothpaste does a great job of cleaning your headlights and keeping them bright and clean!

Wash your floor mats

Nothing takes more abuse than your car’s floor mats – they get all the dirt, mud and water from your shoes, poor things. Give your floor mats a little boost by spraying them with stain repellent spray before putting them in the washer. That way, they’ll come out of the dryer spotless and cleaner than ever!

Ban pet hair

If you’re a pet owner, you know what it’s like: if your dog even thinks about jumping in your car, there’s instantly thick, white hair EVERYWHERE. And it’s impossible to get it out. Banish that pet hair forever with a spray bottle of water (to loosen the hair) and a squeegee (to wipe it off). With the arrival of spring, we don’t need more allergens floating around…

Clean your sticky dashboard

How can dashboards get so sticky so quickly? It’s an impossible reality. You may not be able to solve this riddle, but you can get rid of that sticky dashboard! Use Goo Gone and a rag to get your dashboard spotless.

Clean your windshield thoroughly

Don’t just wipe down your windshield occasionally at a gas station, really take care of it! With this magical blend of glass cleaner, steel wool and a final coat of Rain X, you’ll have a spotless windshield for all the spring days to come.

Getting to those cracks

The tricky thing about the interior of your car is all the little cracks and crevices. There are so many little places that quickly fill up with food crumbs and dust, and they can be so unsightly. Think you can’t reach those tricky spots? Think again! Cover a screwdriver with a rag and use the small, flat head of the screwdriver to clean all the cracks in your car!

The art of compressed air

Want a more thorough cleaning of your car’s air vents? If using a foam brush isn’t enough for you (don’t judge if your vents have reached this point, we’ve all been there), you need to take extreme measures. Compressed air is a quick, easy and extremely effective way to get the debris out of your vents and leave them looking like new.

Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

One part of your car that you may not have thought to clean? The ceiling! Sure, you don’t exactly see it every day, but you can’t forget that it’s there, very dusty above you. For most car interiors, a regular rag won’t do anything – invest in a microfiber cloth to really do the job on your car’s ceiling.

Remove corrosion from your battery

The most important parts of a car aren’t necessarily in plain sight. What’s under the hood is the most important and should be cleaned accordingly. If your battery starts to corrode, it can be extremely bad for the health of your car and dangerous for the driver. Try this surprising tip of pouring soda on the corrosion to get your battery sparkling clean and working effortlessly again.

Polishing Exterior Cracks

Cracks and crevices aren’t just on the INSIDE of your car. The way cars are designed, they usually have a tundra of dips and cracks on the exterior details as well. And these cracks are just waiting to be invaded by dirt and bugs. To clean those crevices without damaging your car’s exterior, use a clay bar to gently remove all the dirt and leave your paint shiny.

Olive Oil Dash Polish

So your dashboard is free of dirt and dust, but you want to take it a step further. What can you do? Give it a polish! This olive oil polish is simple to make with kitchen ingredients and will make your car look like new – and smell amazing, too – just in time for spring.

Clean the leather interior

Leather looks great on the inside of a car… until the little cracks are filled with dirt and grime. Don’t leave your leather alone! Old toothbrushes are great for this type of interior; use the super-cleaning mixture of baking soda and water to get those crevices really clean.

Do you have any perfect spring cleaning tips for your car?