The Car Bible: Keeping your car clean 

The feeling that you get when catching a glimpse of your favourite car up-front for the first time ever is beyond compare. If you pass by a showroom with a finely trimmed beauty on the ramp, your head will turn. Perhaps, the main reason behind car dealerships attracting customers is the way they present the cars – in mint condition.

A new car only remains spotless for the first few weeks and it soon turns into just another car on the road. This happens mostly because of our road conditions; with grimed streets almost everywhere, it can be difficult to wash a car every day. However, like humans, machines also need to maintain hygiene as well in order to look fresh.

Why keep your car clean?

To make sure its flawless beauty lasts a lifetime

In a country like Bangladesh, even the finest of the four-wheelers ends up with grim marks after being on the road just for a while. Washing a car every day might be a hassle but it is necessary; if the dirt sits on the paint for long, it will ruin the colour. A new paint job would be way more expensive than washing the car regularly.

For your own well-being

Just like a teenager's room, your car can also stock up things if you do not clean it regularly. When you are driving the car, it keeps attracting germs. If you let the germs sit inside the car, it might be harmful for you and others using the car. So, make sure you clean the interior regularly. Same goes for dust as well, if you let it sit inside your car for a while, it might cause respiratory problems as you are sitting in a closed environment full of dust.

For long-term benefits

If you plan on selling your car in the future, you should try to keep it as fresh as possible. If you were planning to buy a second-hand car, you would not want to buy a car with scratches on the body or with a faded dashboard. So, preserve its beauty and it will help you get a good bargain on the car while selling it.

How can you keep your car clean?

Cleaning the interior

The inside of a car needs as much attention as does its exterior. You would not want your car to look fresh on the outside and smell musty on the inside. 

Start with cleaning the carpet of the car with an air blower or a vacuum cleaner. Then wipe it with a moistened cloth, wait for a while, and clean it with a dry cloth again. To clean the dashboard, steering wheel, seats and inner parts of the doors, use a slightly wet cloth. Then let it sit for a while and then wipe it again using a dry cloth. After that, you can use dashboard wax and seat wax to polish the interior and bring back its glow.

The smell of wax can be strong unless it is scented. To counter that, you can use air freshener. But do not overdo it or the car might carry the strong smell for a while. Also, if you are planning to clean the car and not use it, use very little amount of air freshener, otherwise the fresh smell will turn into a stench in an enclosed space over time.

Washing your car

If there is dirt on the car, make sure you wash it properly to get rid of all the particles stuck to the paint. In this case, only water will not do you any good; it will end up leaving scratches on the car after you spray water and then wipe it off. If you have car shampoo, use it; if you do not have car shampoo, then you can use regular shampoo, but do not let it sit on the paint for long otherwise it might damage the colour.

Sanitising the entire car

This step should not just be an option to consider during the pandemic, your car comes into contact with various germs every day. If you have to use your car, then clean everything that is coming in contact with you or passengers in the car with a disinfectant. You can pour the sanitiser liquid into a spray bottle and spray it all over the seats and the dashboard. 

Remember, your car represents you.