The Right and Wrong Way to Clean Your Vehicle’s Interior
4 Tips On How to Maintain the Inside of Your Used Car in Kansas City
When you purchased one of our used cars in Kansas City, the interior looked brand new! However, after a few months, it doesn’t seem to have the same shine. So - what happened?
There are so many reasons the inside of your car is dirty, dusty, and grimy! For instance, you always wear your dirty shoes in the car, there’s a good chance you’ve eaten a meal or two on your way to work, and your pups don’t exactly wipe their paws before they hop in your backseat.
Don’t worry! You don’t need to book an appointment with an expensive car detailer, and you don’t need to think about replacing interior features of your car. Our buy here, pay here dealership offers four tips on how to maintain your used car’s interior.
1. Clean Your Used Car’s Carpet and Seats
Did you know that crumbs, spills, and dirt can smell if you don’t clean them? That’s right! A single stray French fry may not seem like much, but food and drink spills over time can really add up to a big stink.
The Right Way
Vacuum the carpet and cloth upholstery in your car using the correct attachment for the job. To agitate tough-to-reach dirt out of your upholstery, use a tool with short bristles, and clear out crumbs in nooks and crannies with the crevice tool.
The Wrong Way
Whatever you do, don’t soak your used car’s seats. That’s because damp seat cushions encourage mold and create a terrible, musty smell. The best way to lift stains from your upholstery is by using simple soap and water with a soft cloth.
Inside Tip From Our Buy Here, Pay Here Sales Team: Leather and vinyl are treated with a protective coating that can’t stand up to harsh cleansers. Always clean your leather and vinyl features with a small amount of soap and water, and follow with a leather conditioner.
2. Wipe Down Your Cup Holders, Dashboards, and Other Plastic Features
How many times have you looked down at your cup holders and cringed over the dirt and grime inside? There’s great news! After you’ve used the crevice tool on your vacuum to remove as much debris as possible, cleaning the rest of your plastic features is super easy.
The Right Way
Use a microfiber towel or cleaning wipes to wipe up any dust or things stuck to your plastic. The CDC suggests using car-specific cleaners that have an alcohol content of 70 percent or more to destroy any bacteria or viruses that might linger on the surfaces of your car.
The Wrong Way
Although products that add shine and gloss to places like your dash and steering wheel look super-cool, they actually cause quite a bit of glare when the sun hits their shiny surface. This could obstruct your vision while driving, which is unsafe for everyone on the road.
Inside Tip From Our Buy Here, Pay Here Sales Team: Paper towels are a great way to clean your kitchen, but they aren’t the best thing to clean your used car with, because they leave a trail of lint behind them. Always opt for a soft cloth or microfiber towel to clean the interior of your car.
3. Clean Your Used Car’s Windshield and Windows for a Clearer View
Dust, salt, smoke, off-gassing from plastic components, and other environmental pollutants love to build up on the interior side of your car windows. Before you know it, you’ve got a thick film on your windows and windshield that’s tough to tackle without creating massive streaks across your glass.
The Right Way
As with everything else, skip using paper towels to clean your interior glass. Instead, use a chamois cloth and a glass cleaner containing alcohol. Use two cloths to avoid streaks: one to apply your cleaner and one to wipe your glass clean.
The Wrong Way
Never wipe glass that’s dry, because it leaves micro-scratches on your glass that weaken over time. This leaves your windows vulnerable to further damage.
Inside Tip From Our Buy Here, Pay Here Sales Team: Fogged windows are certainly annoying, but that doesn’t mean they’re dirty. When you wipe fog from your windows, you usually use your hand or the first cloth you find, which can leave scratches and oils from your skin all over your glass.
4. Remove Fingerprints, and Touch-Up Your Infotainment Center
A lot of used cars in Kansas City have infotainment centers, which are installed in the center of your dash. So when it’s covered in fingerprints and dust, everyone notices. Unfortunately, you can’t use the same cleaner for your windows on your infotainment center.
The Right Way
Dampen a microfiber cloth with isopropyl alcohol, then gently rub your screen until it’s free of dirt and fingerprints. Infotainment screens are very fragile and may break if you clean them too harshly.
The Wrong Way
Never, we repeat never, use ammonia-based glass or window cleaner. They will damage your screen’s anti-glare and anti-finger tip coatings. If you don’t have isopropyl alcohol, just use a microfiber cloth to gently wipe away any big, annoying marks.
Inside Tip From Our Buy Here, Pay Here Sales Team: Wipe your screen from side-to-side or up-and-down, and skip wiping in circles. That’s because wiping in circles causes streaks and might damage your display.
Have a Clunker You Just Can’t Stand to Clean? Test Drive Our Used Cars in Kansas City!
What good are useful tips to clean your car if you can’t stand the one you’re driving? Don’t spend another commute behind the wheel of a used car you can’t rely on. Instead, come to Auto Bank of Kansas City, where we have in-house car finance options and an inventory of used cars that can’t be matched!
Whether you’re looking for a used SUV to haul around your family or something a little more fuel efficient, we have the used vehicles in Kansas City that you want. To schedule a test drive or talk to a member of our team, call one of our two buy here, pay here car lots near you.
Contact our East Truman Road location at (816) 241-7880, our original East Front Street used car dealership at (816) 231-9300, or send us a message online. Don’t forget to check out our online credit approval tool, so you can get approved for car financing from the comfort of your couch!