Spring is just around the corner, which means it’s almost time for the annual spring cleaning – for your car! That’s right, spring cleaning isn’t just for your house. Cars have a way of accumulating things, from gym clothes and shoes to extra charging cables, bottles of medicine, and maybe even that lost coffee mug you’ve been looking for. Make your car look and feel like new with our top car spring cleaning tips.

Top Car Spring Cleaning Tips

Interior Cabin

• Give your floor mats a deep clean. Pull out the floor mats, vacuum them, and shampoo them. Just make sure they’re very dry before you put them back into your car, otherwise you might discover your newly-cleaned car has a musky odor a few weeks later.
• Clean out your glove box and center console. Glove boxes and center consoles have a way of fitting the old ‘out of sight, out of mind’ adage perfectly. First, one receipt. Then, a handful of coins. Toss in an actual pair of gloves for the winter. Before you know it, your glove box and center console are stuffed with an assortment of things you may have forgotten about! Take the opportunity during your car spring cleaning to get rid of all the nonessential items that have accumulated over the last year.
• Check under your seats. Unlike gloves boxes and center consoles, where you deliberately store items for later, the space beneath your seats is often an accidental repository for things like loose coins, receipts, ticket stubs, crumbs, and more. Grab a flashlight and a vacuum hose and empty out this forgotten realm.
• Empty out your back seat. If you have one, of course! Back seats are notorious for collecting everything from fast food bags to pet and children toys. This spring, grab a trash bag and get rid of anything you don’t need that’s taking up space in your back seat.
• …and your trunk. Whether you have a sedan, a hatchback, or an SUV, your trunk is a large, empty space that is designed for storage. Right? Well, yes – but it’s still good to shed extra weight to help you save on fuel costs. Besides, you don’t really need snow chains or de-icer in the middle of summer, do you?
• Clean your seats. If you have leather seats, use specialized leather cleaner to condition and protect your seats from UV rays. Caring for leather seats is best to do several times per year, especially during the hot summer months, so why not get a jump on it this spring? If you have fabric seats, vacuum the seats with a hose attachment and apply fabric cleaner if needed, following the instructions on the package.
• Dust and vacuum everything. And we do mean everything! Every surface, seam, carpet, and wheel well deserves a nice dust and vacuum to kick off the new season.
• Glass cleaner is your new best friend. At least when it comes to cleaning your windows. Clean both the insides and outsides of your windows with glass cleaner and a lint-free cloth (eg. microfiber). That said, if you have a convertible top with plastic windows, don’t use glass cleaner, as it could harm the plastic. Use a specialized cleaner for plastic windows to prevent them from becoming hazy.

Exterior Body

• Wash and wax your car. Washing and waxing your car isn’t just for cosmetic purposes. Dirt, dust, bugs, and grime from the road can damage the finish on your vehicle. So can tree sap. Washing your car is especially important if you’ve been traveling in a place where salt was applied to the road, since salt can corrode the bottom of your vehicle. A wash and wax only takes a few minutes to help maintain your car’s paint finish for the life of the vehicle.
• Scrub your wheels. Brake dust has a way of accumulating – and sticking – to wheels, especially car wheels that have a lot of spokes. Grab a stiff-bristled brush, a bottle of tire and wheel cleaner, and scrub those wheels until they shine!
• Apply tire shine. Tire shine may not do much for the functionality of your vehicle, but it sure looks great! Nothing says ‘I’ve just been cleaned’ more than glossy black tires, after all.
• Check your engine. You’ve heard it time and time again – change your oil and check your car’s fluids twice annually – once in the spring once in the fall. As it turns out, this timing is perfect, as it coincides with winterization and de-winterization. It may be tempting to ignore the fluids in your car since your engine is still running perfectly fine. But postponing regular vehicle maintenance is more likely to cause long-term and costly damage down the road. That’s why we recommend keeping your vehicle on its maintenance schedule. Why not start this spring?

Spring Car Maintenance at T3 Atlanta

Whether you aren’t comfortable checking your vehicle’s fluids, need a vehicle checkup, or are looking for more comprehensive care, T3 Atlanta is your go-to solution for your annual spring car maintenance. With our two convenient metro Atlanta locations, we’ll help keep your car in great shape all year long. Give us a call!