| Car Life
A dog sits in the back seat of a vehicle

When it comes to spring cleaning, the home isn’t the only place that needs some sprucing up. Cars and trucks need some love, too! Here are a few of the best tips for spring cleaning your car to make sure you have a tidy vehicle all season long.

1. Assess the Mess

Whether it’s an empty potato chip bag stashed away in the glove compartment or the not-so-spring-friendly snow chains, take inventory of your car and decide what needs to go. Organize the rest, stowing away necessary items and paperwork in compartments and consoles. Don’t forget to see if there are any helpful tools or travel essentials you should have stored away.

2. Wash Away the Winter

With spring comes car wash season! Get that winter grime off your car and remove corrosive salts from your undercarriage to help avoid damage. If you are hand washing your car, make sure to do it in the shade—harsh sunlight can soften up the paint, making your car more prone to scratches. Also, be sure to use cleaning products that are meant specifically for cars because some regular household cleaners can damage your car’s paint. And, just to be safe, check your owner’s manual for cleaning instructions.

3. Do a DIY Detail

Starting off the season with a clean, tidy car isn’t just a good spring-cleaning idea—it could actually help extend your car’s life. Plus, a well-detailed exterior could help protect your car’s paint from spring pollen and upcoming April showers. Detailing a car can get a bit pricey depending on what package you choose, but you can save money by doing it yourself. After carefully washing every inch of your vehicle, you can use special products to repair small scratches before adding a layer of wax to make your car shine and to keep it protected. Feel like you’re still missing something? Here are some other cosmetic fixes to try, like polishing your headlights.

4. Make the Interior Spotless

Your car might look clean to other drivers after that world-class DIY carwash and detail, but the interior can probably still use a little work. Grab a microfiber cloth and a window cleaner to create a streak-free shine on every sheet of glass, from the front windshield to the back. After that, switch gears to take down any dust or dirt that’s lingering on the dashboard, door handles, seatbelts or center console. Finally, it’s time to get out the vacuum and finish the job. Run the vacuum over the seats, floor mats, and any little area that’s hard to reach. If you want to do a deep clean, take out the floor mats and give them a wash, particularly if they have any stains.

How to Remove Pet Hair from Car Seats

For so many of us, pets are a huge blessing, an absolute joy. But the amount of hair they can leave behind in a car is enough to drive us all crazy. Before you abandon hope and accept that your car will always be covered in pet hair, we’re going to teach you how to get dog hair out of car seats and how to kiss that leftover cat fur goodbye.

For this task, you’re not going to reach for the vacuum or some sort of tape roller. While those are nice tools, they don’t seem to do the trick. All you need today is a rubber glove. Put the glove on, and start to rub the areas with pet hair. Thanks to the friction created, the hair should stick to the glove in small clumps, making it much easier to dispose of.

5. Keep Your Car Fresh

It’s fairly easy to clean out your car, but keeping it clean all season is a different story! Now that your car is mess-free, take steps to make sure it stays that way. From kid-friendly organizers to trash bin tricks, check out these six ways to freshen up your ride.

6. Make Maintenance a Priority

Throughout winter, your car probably endured all kinds of harsh, wet, and icy weather. Make sure your vehicle is in good working order as you drive into spring by checking all the necessary parts and systems:

Connect with Direct Auto Insurance

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to mean cleaning out your bank account! Talk to your local Direct Auto agent to learn how cheap car insurance can help keep you protected without breaking the bank this season.