How To Clean Your Car At Home
Cars are the second most expensive investment in an average Canadian's life. Many ask how to wash, maintain, or clean your car at home without scratching the paint.
When it comes to cleaning your car at home, it must be done properly in order to extend the life of your interior seats, carpets, dashboard, and clear coat.
In this article we will explore the many ways to restore, clean, and detail your car at home.
3 Ways To Clean Your Car At Home With Maximum Efficiency & Effectiveness
1) DIY: Clean Your Car Interior At Home With Detailing Products
Using the right auto detailing products, you can get most of the tough stains out of your car seats, carpets, and fabrics.
For carpets, a degreaser or any carpet shampoo product will do. Neutral pH products are the most effective and safe products to remove stains from carpets and floor mats.
You will also need a solid brush to aggravate the dirt in your carpets and remove the stains at home.
For dashboards, door panels, and synthetic leather, the go-to method for cleaning your car interior at home is an interior detailing product. Griot's Garage offers amazing products which are easy to use, with convenient portable sizing.
Once you've washed your car interior with microfibre towels and detailing products, the last step is conditioning all of the non-fabric components of your car.
Using a pH neutral dressing/conditioner, you can hydrate and protect your car interior while leaving a beautiful factory finish. Make sure you dress all panels from every angle with a foam applicator pad.
To clean car windows, Mångata recommends using a clean microfibre towel combined with Invisible Glass for zero streaking.
2) DIY: Clean Your Car Exterior At Home With A Garden Hose
Now it's time to wash your car's paint, wheels, rims, and plastic trim! We recommend first rinsing off your car with a garden hose. You'll then need two buckets to perform the two bucket wash method.
One bucket will contain your soap mixture of choice, any car wash soap will do. The second bucket will be full of water to rinse off your dirty wash mitt or microfibre towel periodically.
When cleaning your car exterior at home, make sure to use a plush microfibre towel or auto wash mitt. This ensures you don't scratch your paint while washing it. When washing your car exterior make sure to use horizontal swipes, working from top to bottom.
By washing your car from top to bottom, you are ensuring that your microfibre towel or wash mitt stays clean for as long as possible, as most of the dirt and grime will stick to the bottom half of your car.
Work panel-by-panel, ensuring the soap does not dry on to your paint. For best results, we recommend working in the shade to prevent water spotting while you wash your car exterior at home.
Rinse off, and you're done! Now you can opt for a wax or paint sealant to protect your car from the sun.
3) DIY: Wash Your Car Exterior At Home With A Waterless Wash
The third and most convenient DIY method to wash your car exterior is to use a waterless wash solution, like Optimum No-Rinse Wash & Shine.
Mångata mobile technicians use the Optimum No-Rinse method when detailing your car, as it is the most effective & portable way to remove dirt, road salt, and contaminants from your paint.
The process works best if your car is not extremely dirty. If your car is covered in mud and you don't have access to a water source, we recommend driving to a touch-less or self-serve car wash instead of the waterless wash.
To get started, work panel-by-panel, top-to-bottom when washing your car with Optimum No-Rinse. Then, all you need to do is wipe off the solution and you'll be left with a clean, shiny finish.
4) Leave It To The Pros: Opt For A Professional Auto Detail
The final method is perfect if you don't have the time or patience to clean your car. Your vehicle is an expression of yourself, and keeping it clean says a lot about your personality.
Mångata Auto Pros offers professional-grade detailing at a fair price. Whether you want just your interior detailed, or your exterior as well, we have a package that fits your needs.
Simply hit the "Book Now" link in the header to see what services we offer.