Car Care, Washing and Maintenance Tips

Your car is an extension of your personality. Just like how you spend time and money on grooming products, similarly your car also needs to be looked after to keep it looking good and for better performance. 

 There are many ways to clean the exteriors, interiors and engine of your car. Each method can be perfect as per your preference or the car model. While you can do it your way, make sure to keep in mind a few handy tips that will go a long way in improving your vehicle’s health. Time is of value and you don’t have to clean all the parts in the same day. Take turns to clean both exterior and interiors. 

Washing and Exterior Cleaning: 

In one of our earlier blogs we have already covered the right way to wash your car. You can do car washing at home in many ways, but in all the methods some crucial things should always be paid attention to. Always keep in mind the following car care tips before you start washing your car:

• One of the important washing tips is to never mix the cleaning liquid for wheels with those of the exterior body. Keep the buckets separate for tyres and exteriors because the dirt particles from tyre cleaning is seriously harmful to car paint. 
• Don’t rush while washing and take time to apply the car shampoo  all over without missing any area.
• On the last step of washing, use a microfiber cloth to wipe in straight lines and not in circles to avoid smudges or micro streaks.
• Drying the car well enough is hugely important because water and washing chemicals can seep in crevices and hinges which can corrode and damage these parts.

Wax the Exteriors Regularly 

One of the best ways to protect your car paint from the damage of extreme temperature and UV rays is by regularly applying a suitable wax on the surface. But the important point here is to never polish or wax your car in the sunlight.

Taking Care of Car Tyres

One of the important steps of washing the car at home is cleaning the tyres. Again, there are many ways to go about tyre cleaning, but for best results of washing the tyres and alloys follow this process:

• Rinse the wheel and alloy covers with water.
• Apply tyre cleaner all over the tyres and alloy frame. Use extra cleaning liquid depending upon the dirt accumulation on the tyre.
• Let the liquid stay on for 2-3 minutes.
• Start cleaning from top down so that the dirt and cleaning liquid runs down the barrel. This way you will avoid extra work.
• Afterwards rinse the whole frame with water to remove dirt and chemicals.
• Lastly when the tyres are dried, use a suitable tyre shine to extend the rich black look. For best results, apply the tyre shine and let it sit overnight to achieve a deep black look.

When you are done cleaning the tyres, you can clean the plastic or rubber foot mats with the same tyre cleaner liquid. After cleaning and washing the foot mats, leave them in shade to let them dry. Never keep floor mats in the sunlight to dry, because sunlight can make these mats spotty with cleaning marks and streaks. 

Wiping Clean the Windshield

After the basic washing, start with windshield cleaning with a suitable cleaner. One of the best tips on car care is to avoid any dirt passing from other areas like foot mats or tyres that can be present in your hands or the wiping cloth. Follow these steps to clean the windshield:

• Apply a suitable glass cleaner on the outer surface.
• Let it sit for 2-3 minutes.
• Start mopping the screen up and down and then sideways to smoothly clean the surface. 
• Lastly use a microfiber cloth to wipe away any tiny residues of dirt. This is the only step where cleaning the surface in circles is recommended, because the circular motion ensures removal of all tiny dirt particles. 
• After cleaning the outside, start with the inner side of windshield cleaning.
• Don’t spray the glass cleaner on the inner side of the windshield but on the cleaning sponge or towel, because if you spray the cleaner on the inner side, it will trickle down on the dashboard and create spots and streaks on it.

Windshield cleaning is anyways important but for some hilly areas prone to receiving heavy rainfalls and driving during the monsoons you need extra high visibility. For a safe driving experience use an anti-fog spray to instantly clean the windshield surface as these sprays build up the hydrophobic properties of the glass surface and demist it, ensuring a clear vision.

Interior Cleaning 

 Though the performance of your car depends mostly upon the engine upkeep and maintenance but your driving experience is dependent on interiors. So, apart from the exteriors and engine, the car interiors are perhaps the most important parts to pay attention to. This is so because while driving, the interiors are what makes your experience pleasant. 

How to Properly Clean Seat fabrics and Upholstery?

Start with a vacuum cleaner to remove surface dirt and grime. Stretch the front seats to the maximum angle as if you're going to take a nap there and then start with vacuuming. This way you can reach the most deep crevices and parts where dirt gets accumulated. After cleaning the deep angles, push back the seat to the maximum length and then start vacuuming so that when a tall person sits there, no dirt is left behind. Pay attention to not deep clean the seat rails, because the rails are greased and that essential greasing provides lubrication for seats to smoothly shift back and front. Always start vacuuming from the centre gear console or divider to the outside so that you can avoid extra work. 

Next, apply cleaning fluid to the seat fabric and let it sit on the surface for 3-4 minutes. We recommend going for a suitable cleaner like Vista Interior Foam, which not only removes dirt with deep penetration properties but also makes the upholstery free of harmful microbes and germs and leaves a pleasant fragrance afterwards

Remember one of the important car cleaning tips for interiors that timing plays a big role while cleaning seat marks and spots. Because the longer you let the dirty spots remain in there, the tougher it is to clean it later. 

Dashboard, steering wheel, door pads

Smart products like Vista 3 in 1 Shiner can be used to clean dashboard, steering wheel and door pads. Door frames are one of the most overlooked areas of cleaning. Use a separate microfiber cloth to clean these parts as a lot of dirt and grime accumulates here.  Also pay special attention to cleaning the bottom parts of doors, because the dirt accumulated there can spread on the inside of the car. 

Keep the car smelling fresh 

It goes without saying that it is necessary to keep your car sanitized and free from foul odor. Though many experts use separate products for both the functions, smart products like Vista Virozap do both things simultaneously. 

Cleaning the Car Engine Area

Before you start the engine inspection check, ensure that the engine temperature should not be high but warm or low. While cleaning the engine, cover sensitive electrical parts like battery terminals and plugs with a plastic cover. Regularly use an anti rust spray to keep the metal parts clean and damage free while improving the performance of the vehicle. 

Maintenance: 

It is no rocket science to start with car service from home. Read here to get a detailed lowdown on all the essential steps of car service at home.  For car maintenance at home, all you have to do is to regularly keep a check on the following:

• Check the engine oil levels.
• Check and refill the brake fluids regularly.
• Ensure that the coolant liquid is on the right levels.
• Ensure the AC and air filters are dirt free.
• Maintain optimum wiper cleaning liquid.
• Keep an eye on the battery terminals to avoid rust build up.

Keep your car health at the best levels with the above car care, washing and maintenance tips. Just by following these simple hacks, you will always be ready to set out for unplanned road trips, long drives and for a smooth everyday driving experience.