Unique Ways to Clean your Car This Spring

The temperatures are rising, the sun is shining and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to celebrate by washing your car. This year, ditch the rag and bucket of soapy water and follow our tips to clean like a pro.

Use the Right Supplies. Using the correct supplies is critical to ensuring a job well done. Here’s our list of essentials:

• Car wash soap. Don’t just use whatever you have on hand, like dish soap, which can be too hard for your car and can remove the wax.
• Wash mitt or microfiber cloth. These types of cloths are critical because they can actually help pick up and hold dirt.
• Buckets for combining the car wash soap and water.
• A drying cloth – microfiber cloth is a great choice.

Make sure that you’re not washing your car in direct sunlight. Pick a shady spot or a time of day when it’s a little cloudy. Direct sunlight can cause the car to dry with streaky spots. Make sure you aren’t washing the car right after you drive it, either. The heat from use can also cause spots and streaks from drying too soon.

Here’s some unique, pro tips that can also be used:

Use conditioner. Turns out conditioner isn’t just great for leaving your hair shiny and looking great – it can be used on your car! After you wash your car, apply a thin layer of conditioner and let it sit for about five minutes before rinsing it off. Give it a quick dry and you’ll be amazed at the beautiful shine your car now has. Even better – it can help repel water.

Clean the Glass Cleaning the glass is essential to a complete professional wash, but it’s important to wait until last, because it can easily have dirt and grime from the other steps. Make sure you’re not using a generic household cleaner, which can contain ammonia. Look for one without that ingredient because it can damage vinyl upholstery and the instrument panel, and be sure to use a microfiber cloth.

Pro tip: Our Safelite® glass cleaner is an ammonia-free, professional grade cleaner that dissolves dirt, grease and grime.

Clean the Windshield Wiper Blades Having clean windshield wiper blades can ensure that you don’t get those dreaded streaks when using them. Use a cloth and spray it with glass cleaner, then gently run it over both sides of the blade. Then make sure you wipe the blades with a dry cloth.

Clean your Dashboard Not sure how to get into all those nooks and crannies? Use a rug (microfiber) and a flat head screwdriver to successfully clean the small details. Just be sure to be gentle and not use too much force.