Cleaning your car is paramount in maintaining the state of your vehicle. Sweat, dust, food crumbs, mud, among other things, can quickly dirty your vehicle and make it messy. With the need to achieve this, very few local car wash stations can get your vehicle as meticulously clean as you would want it, even when OCD is not your thing. Instead of relying on the tough-bristled brushes of the local automatic wash stations, you can clean your car all by yourself, and do it to perfection. However, for any DIYs in car washing, it takes more than just the willingness to achieve effectiveness. Here are some DIY tricks and hacks on how to clean your car without any professional aid:
Evaluate the Condition of Your Vehicle
Before you start cleaning your car, begin by evaluating its state. You may need to check the VIN history report along with other factors, including, the polish of the car, and the condition of different surfaces, whether they are too muddy, or can be fixed with a quick touchup wash. The importance of this step is to help you exercise caution when cleaning the different parts of your car before you can tamper with something you will regret. For example, if the clear coat of your car is old, it may need a retouch. For such, be ready to bring out several regimens for cleaning, including clays, waxes, and polishes that can help protect the paint and coating of your car.
The Three-Bucket System
You will need more than one bucket to get rid of all the contaminants on the surfaces of your car. Using just one bucket of water, whether it is soaked up with detergents, stands the risk of using dirty water in some parts of the vehicle. The three-bucket system allows you to devise a way for every part of your car to receive special treatment. One of the buckets should be reserved to clean the tires and wheels, which are usually dirtier than the rest of the vehicle. For the other two, one should be soaked up in detergent, while the other left with clean water for rinsing out the soap.
Use cotton balls or a sponge brush for hard-to-clean areas
Some small yet critical areas of your car, for example, the vents, will be hard to get to if you are not keen on the details. All you need is to dampen the sponge brush or cotton balls with your cleaner, then use it to clean those small areas. Be careful not to use too much liquid and leave it in such areas, lest they attract other unmerited challenges.
Use Coca-Cola for Your Windshields
Figure 2 Cola for windshields
A bottle of Coca-Cola will do a lot of good when it comes to cleaning a dirty windshield, and getting rid of the streaks and blotches. Once you are done with that step, be thorough in washing off all the Cola to avoid attracting more dirt right after your hard work.
Use a car wax or hair conditioner
Whether you think your car polish is intact or needs some boost, good car wax will go a long way in protecting the paint of your car from fading due to the UV rays of the sun. Other than that, you stand to add an extra shine to your already clean vehicle. However, if you do not have some wax, consider using a hair conditioner rich in lanolin for the same results.
Use vinegar for old bumper stickers
Figure 3 vinegar for stickers
Sometimes the quote on your bumper stickers is outdated, or it simply makes you nostalgic. Before this begins to be a problem, a little vinegar will get the bumper sticker out without much hassle. For better results, use undiluted distilled vinegar to get rid of all the gluey residue of the label.
