Washing your car is a great habit to get into. After all, it’s unsustainable to bring your car to the detailer every week, but a little DIY-upkeep goes a long way. Of course, our DIY efforts are limited. We don’t have numerous hours to be cleaning every nook and cranny, so a quick vacuum and exterior wash is usually as far as the effort goes.
When we wash our cars ourselves, there are some spots (inside and out) that just don’t get the attention they deserve. And if you haven’t seen the detailer in a while, these spots might be looking extra rough:
Wheel wells
The wheel wells of your vehicle are a perfect example of “out of sight, out of mind”. But if you ever get down and take a look, you’ll notice these are some of the dirtiest areas of your entire car. A filthy combination of mud, salt and brake dust is trapped in your wheel wells, which can eventually lead to corrosion if left untreated.
Your DIY effort won’t be perfect, but with a high pressure hose, you can spray these areas down to remove a good amount of buildup. Start at the bottom of one side and work you way around the wheel well and watch the debris fall.
Window edges
The edges of your windows are highly efficient at trapping debris from trees like pine needles and pollen. Next time you’re washing your car, take the hose and spray directly down onto these edges and you’ll notice just how much debris is freed. It’s a high traffic area that’s tough to clean, but you can do a lot of damage with that hose.
Read more >> Contaminants on Your Car’s Exterior: Why You Should Worry
Front grille
If you’re someone who find themselves driving on the highway often, the front grille of your car will be in especially rough shape. If you think about it, your grille takes a beating out there. All of the bug splatter collected over hundreds of kilometres, not to mention air pollution, road gunk and grime.
Certain areas of your grille might be hard to reach, but you should definitely be able to give it a thorough wipe down each time you wash your car. Don’t breeze past this high-traffic area.
Door jambs
The door jambs are another that you just don’t notice when washing your car. And when you focus your attention on interior cleaning, it’s usually the floors, seats and dash that gets the attention. These tight spots tend to trap moisture, so it’s a good idea to spray and wipe them down once and a while.
Don’t forget your trunk jamb! Depending on the shape of your vehicle, that tight space in the trunk jamb might be the dirtiest of all.
Gas door
That little space that opens to allow us to fill our cars up with gas is another area that’s really clean from DIY efforts. It’s easy to skip, because everything looks fine on the outside.
Next time you’ve got the soapy water bucket and sponge out, open up your gas cap pocket to see what kind of spider webs, gasoline spills and dirt has been left behind. We’re willing to bet this area is begging for a clean!
Wiper blades
Your wiper blades have a tough job, clearing not only the rain to allow clear vision on the roads, but also bugs, debris and bird poop. Over time, the blades collect a gnarly amount of gunk under them, which might be creating streaks across your windshield.
The wiper blades rarely get the treatment they deserve during a DIY clean. Next time you’re out there, try giving the rubber underside a quick spray and wipe with a microfiber cloth.
Under seats
Moving inside, there are numerous of overlooked areas here too. Due to time constraints and the general level of effort required to clean the interior thoroughly, there’s going to be a lot of missed areas in the interior. Under the seats is one of them.
It’s probably not worth the effort each time (or at all) to go ahead and remove your seats to access that hard to reach area. But if you ever get around to it, you’d be surprised at all the fun things you find under there – stale snacks, loose change, missing earbud headphones, key fobs, lip balm, you name it.
Read more >> The Ultimate Interior Cleaning Checklist for Your Car
Pedals
The foot pedals in the driver’s seat area are another overlooked area. Your pedals collect all kinds of mud and debris off the street from the bottom of your shoes. They rarely get a proper cleaning, but they’re actually pretty easy to access. Just a microfiber cloth with some warm, soapy water will likely go a long way.
Seat upholstery
When cleaning the interior of your vehicle, a quick vacuum job and maybe a seat wipe is probably the extent of the effort. But there’s likely a buildup of stains and odours on the leather or upholstery that you haven’t been able to remedy.
Even when your seats look clean, they’re probably hiding stains and odours that you just don’t notice anymore. Tackling this DIY-style is tricky. But your car detailer will provide a full shampoo, steam cleaning, and VIP leather treatment.
If you’re tired of the mediocre results from your DIY car cleaning and would like to tackle all the hard to reach areas, book a detailing with Mill Bay Auto Spa. We offer basic and full packages for both the exterior and interior, plus “The Works” package that leaves no stone unturned for the most luxurious clean ever. Request a service today.