Cleaning Cars
Spring cleaning doesn't always pertain to the inside of your house only. Cars and trucks are in need of cleaning as well. Salt, sand, and snow are terrible for a car's paint. It can cause rust and even fade the paint. For this reason it's recommended you give your car a thorough wash after winter. For a car's body, nothing is better than old fashion hand washing. Bring out the hose, and bucket of warm water and soap. Car soap which can be purchased from any automotive store is recommended for best results. You can also use regular dish soap, however, it may not be as effective. To start, spray the car all over with a light mist just enough to get it wet. Dip the sponge in the warm soapy water and blot it on the car. Make sure to rinse the sponge often to maximize results. Once done, rinse the car all over making sure to leave no soapy residue. Try your best to not let the soap dry on the car. If it's needed, rinse the washed area before you move on to a new section of the car. Next you should clean the underside of your car. There's not much you can do except blast it with water. Doing so will rinse off any gunk or salt that was left there from winter. For best results, you can try a power washer. Such a device can be purchased at a hard ware store for relatively little money. When completed, you can dry the car with a micro-fiber rag. Make sure that the rag you use is compatible with your paint type. If it's not, it might damage the paint. An alternative to a micro-fiber rag is a drying towel.
Along with the outside of the car, the inside is just as important. Little things like washing your windows can increase visibility, thus adding to the safety of your car. If you have cloth seats and floors, you can first vacuum them. If you have a steam cleaner, you can remove all of your mats and clean those as well as the seats and floor of your car. Using a steam cleaner will remove stains that you thought were permanent. Sometimes car mats don't come clean. If this is the case, you can go to Wal-Mart and buy new ones for a relatively low price. To clean your dash board you can use one of Armor All's products. They make a wide variety of leather, carpet, and window cleaners. Such a product can also be used on your windows, and leather seats. Their leather product will give you a nice shiny and new look to your leather seats. It'd also recommend it to clean your dash board as well. They don't leave any slimy residues behind like similar competitors. Just make sure you're using the correct chemical for the job.
While you're cleaning your car you might want to check for paint chips and scratches. You can then document and repair them. The earlier you repair the car's body, the less chances of rust developing in the future. Depending on how handy you are, there are products and tutorials online for paint repair. A simple touch up kit will do an excellent job of preventing rust, and still look nice. It's also a good time to remove snow tires that you might have had on, in order to put on summer and rain tires.