For many of us, our car interiors are one of the biggest hot-spots for dirt and clutter, as amongst our travels we are constantly traipsing in dirt, dropping crumbs, crumpling receipts, and unloading shopping bags.
When it comes to maintaining your motor, the easiest way to ensure you always have an immaculate interior is to supplement deep cleaning with frequent refreshes.
Jennifer Sharpe, Chief Fragrance Office, at Fabulosa, shares her top cleaning tips to keep your car as clean as a whistle.
Start with a Spritz
I live by the general rule of cleaning ‘top to bottom’ when tackling any job, as this allows any dirt, dust and debris to fall down to the next surface before eventually being brushed or hoovered up.
Start by wiping down your rearview mirror, sun visor mirrors, and the insides of your windows with a task-specific glass spray and microfibre cloth, as this will ensure no streaks are left behind. For this job, I always choose Fabulosa’s Car Glass Cleaner in the ‘Electrify’ fragrance, as it leaves my car smelling like my favourite designer perfume!
Once your mirrors and windows are sparkling, it’s time to address the ‘high-traffic’ surfaces (such as the dashboard, gearstick, glovebox, consoles, and steering wheel). As these areas are the most frequently handled, they are more likely to be harbouring germs, so must be cleaned using an antibacterial spray.
My go-to is always a task-specific car cleaner, as it has been formulated not only to clean, but also to shine up surfaces. To achieve sparkling results with an additional burst of fragrance, I use Fabulosa’s Interior Car Cleaner in ‘Electrify’.
A Brooming Good Brush
Once you’ve cleaned your way down to the carpets, it is now time to dislodge all the settled dirt and dust.
Start by removing your floor mats. These will need a thorough going over with an upholstery brush to ensure any hidden dirt, dust and crumbs are turfed out before hoovering. I would also recommend giving your interior carpets and car seats a good brush at this stage too.
Suck up the Muck
Whenever I deep clean my car, I always use my household vacuum as this provides the most powerful suction. Simply remove any nozzle from the hoover and begin to suck up the dirt from your carpets, floor mats and seats.
For a quick fix when on the go, or between deep cleans, I keep a portable car hoover in my boot. This can be plugged into the auxiliary power outlet, and usually comes equipped with an ultra-thin nozzle to tackle any hard-to-reach crevices.
Finishing Touches
For the ultimate refresh once you’ve finished your clean, I love applying Fabulosa’s Car Foam Freshener onto upholstery, mats and carpets.
Simply take the can and shake well, then position around 15 inches away from your chosen surface before pressing the tab firmly to apply an even and light covering of foam. Working wonders on any deeply embedded fabric odours, the quick-drying foam sinks into fibres without leaving any residue.
Finish off by popping a Hanging Car Air Freshener on your rearview mirror for a long-lasting dispersal of scent-sational fragrance. My personal favourite is ‘Cotton Fresh’, as its clean aroma truly gives me that new car feeling.
Shop Fabulosa’s car cleaning essentials at www.myfabulosa.co.uk