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How to Clean in Hard-to-Reach Places


There is more to cleaning your car than just washing and waxing the outside of it. You need to clean the inside too. The easiest way to begin this is to remove your mats, wash them; and hang them to dry, while you vacuum the rest of the interior. Then youll want to wipe down the seats: if theyre leather, then the dashboard and the interior of the doors. Thats a good start, but what about all those hard to reach places? They get dirty too.

If you have a good industrial type vacuum cleaner, then buying a kit with small add on pieces would be very helpful. You can find these anywhere from your local hardware store to online detailing shops. They frequently include a narrow crevice tool, a couple of brushes and a few other wands. It the narrow crevice tool that will be most useful for cleaning those tough to get at places.

Lets begin with the creases in the seats in your car. They collect lots of dirt and so need regular cleaning, but because of the way many seats are made, these creases are hard to get into. Youll be surprised when you push them apart to find how much dirt collects inside. This will also hold true if you have a childs car seat in your car. Youll be shocked at the bits of food, along with dirt, that collect in the creases of those seats. Your narrow mini crevice tool will vacuum it all out.

Your radio is also a place that gets dirty. Sticky or sweaty fingers can put layers of filth on radio buttons or knobs. You must be careful when cleaning this, so you dont short out the radio. Unhinge the faceplate and use a soft cloth to clean the buttons, and the face of the radio. Dirt in there can cause static and poor reception.

What about those map pockets on the back of the drivers and passengers seats? Have you ever looked inside them to see what collects in there? These need to be vacuumed out regularly as well. As do those hard to reach places under the seats. Make sure you have a hose long enough to get all the dust the will have collected under there.

Depending what you toss into your glove compartment, a good wipe through wouldnt hurt. This can be difficult depending on the size and shape of your glove box, but a damp cloth should be all it needs to clean up easily.

Your trunk will also have some hard to reach spots. If your spare tire sits in a depression you should remove it and vacuum under there as well. Then clean up the whole trunk, getting those hard to reach corners and along the edges. People use their trunks to carry everything in, including groceries; you want this area to be clean. Any little spots you cant get that need to be washed can be done with an old toothbrush. Between that and a crevice tool you should be able to reach all those difficult places and keep you vehicle clean.