Rub, scrub, splash, spray, and scour all you want, but chances are you’re missing some crucial corners of your automobile on cleaning day. It’s not that you don’t want a spotless vehicle, it’s just that there are so many areas on an automobile that need cleaning, and most of us don’t have the time to comb over every crevice of a car.
Life is hectic, we get it. Most of us barely have time to shovel breakfast into our faces in the morning before work, more or less spend an afternoon scrubbing and vacuuming our preferred mode of transportation.
So while most people are quick to take their car down to a detailing shop, drop some coin on a self-spray wash, or brave the bowels of an automatic car wash, all of these options have their disadvantages.
Unless you are coughing-up good coin for an intensive detailing session conducted by a professional, there’s going to be at least one or two areas of your automobile that will get neglected. A coin car wash or vacuum station isn’t much better either.
Most people tend to rush when they are being timed, hitting as many parts of their vehicle as quickly as possible in order to beat the timer or make space for the vehicle waiting in line behind them.
And as for those awful auto car washes, let’s just say that the majority of these machines are the equivalent of trimming your nose hairs with a weed-whacker. It will get the job done, but it’s also going to inflict serious damage in the process.
So unless you are taking the time, and meticulously cleaning the entire vehicle by hand, chances are your decision to hit the local car wash once a week has done little to protect all the areas of your automobile. Allowing filth to build in a hidden area of an automobile not only poses harm to the vehicle, but it also threatens the well-being of its occupants.
INTERIOR
Headliners
Regardless of what material it’s made from, this lofty portion of a vehicle’s interior rarely gets the love it deserves. Sure, it may not get as filthy as fast as floor mats, but a headliner will eventually get dirty.
Cup Holders
Ever look down inside a well-used car cup holder? If not cleaned regularly, these commonly ignored areas can quickly become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Spilled coffee, food debris, dust, dirt, hair follicles, and countless other forms of filth all find a home within this cylindrical docking station.
Door Pockets
Like cup holders, these useful storage slots are a commonly overlooked portion of a car’s interior on cleaning day.
Sun Visors
These useful accoutrements may get handled daily, but they are also doomed to a lifetime of neglect. Filthy fingertips and dust suspended in the air often make the most notable mark on sun visors
Seat Cracks
Vacuuming a seat but neglecting to clean between its cushions is all too common of a car cleaning checklist miss.
Beneath the Rear Trunk Mat
Ever look to see what’s under your trunk mat? Unless they’re changing a tire, few people ever inspect this portion of an automobile, so it devolves into a dumping ground for any debris small enough to squeeze between the folds in the trunk mat.
Door Jams
The no-man’s-land between a vehicle’s exterior and interior is also an area where no man has cleaned before.
EXTERIOR
Exhaust
Soot-rich, and more than likely rust-riddled, a car’s exhaust system is rarely cleaned due to its location and the amount of filth caked onto its surface.
Wheel Wells
When you hit a puddle or a bit of mud while driving, chances are a good bit of it will get flung up inside your vehicle’s wheel wells. You never know what hidden damages might be lurking in this opaque area of an automobile.
Top Of Windows
There are hard water spots and dirt deposits on the upper edge of the car window.
The Underside of Rain Visors
For as useful as these accessories are, rain visors rarely see any scrubbing along their underside.
Wiper Blades
Cleaning something that is designed to clean may seem a bit odd at first, but once you see how filthy car wiper blades get, you will understand why this component is on today’s list. By cleaning wiper blades, it helps ensure a streak-free driving experience in the rain, but it will also remove any road grime that the wiper blade has been collecting.
Door Handles
While the outside of a car’s door handles may get a scrub, the real estate behind them tends to get overlooked.