Spring Cleaning Makeover – Car Cleaning and Pet Tips and Miscellaneous

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope your week has been kind and you have had some spring weather to enjoy and your homes are getting into a routine! Each day gives us new hope that this season in the midst of this pandemic will soon be behind us. Thank you for being back as we have come to the last post in our Spring Cleaning Makeover series. Tonight’s post will have car cleaning checklists, tips and recipes, helpful hints for pet cleaning and some miscellaneous ones as a bonus! Let’s dive in.

CAR CLEANING CHECKLIST:

Clean all of the inside glass, including the inside of the windshield (here in Colorado because of our climate and the materials used on our roads to deice, etc. it is common to get a hazy film on the inside. Cleaning the inside of my windshield is a weekly occurrence.)

Vacuum all of the floors, mats if they are carpeted, seats, under car seats and cargo holds.

Clean the seats (some tips are included later on for getting stains out of certain seat materials such as cloth upholstery)

Disinfect dashboards, radio buttons, shift knobs, door handles, touch screens, toggle switches, console lid if it is vinyl or leather, cupholders, steering wheel, steering wheel buttons and controls, glove box, seatbelt latches

Clean wheels and degrease. (I do not like to spray any chemical-based cleaners on my wheels. I use a bucket of warm water with unscented castile soap and scrub with a sponge. I rinse with warm water and dry with a clean microfiber cloth.)

CAR CLEANING TIPS:

Vacuum before you dust the car. Because a car is a much smaller, contained area, you will be quicker and more efficient if you remove all the dry dirt and hair and lint from the dash and floors and seat first. This way you can suck up dirt quickly instead of trying to get it with a cloth.

Clean hard to reach or hard to clean areas of the car with household items you already have. A clean soft-bristled makeup brush works awesome for vents. Cotton balls or qtips work great to get stuck on grime in the corners of the vents.

Work from top to bottom so you don’t have to clean the same area twice.

Keep the car tidy everyday or on long trips with a plastic cereal container lined with a plastic bag. Use the container as a trash can to keep the car clean and empty it when you get home or stop at a gas station. I keep spare plastic bags in my center console so when I get rid of the full bag I can replace it right away.

On a long commute or road trip and I have my coffee in the cupholder, I put a cupcake liner inside the cupholder and set my coffee in the liner. That way, if I hit a bump and coffee spills over, it runs down and catches inside the liner which can be disposed of. In hotter climates, stuck on coffee spills can be hard to remove and time consuming. This tip makes it easier.

Don’t forget to clean the top edges of your windows. Dirt and grime can gather at the top and bind up the window track over time.

1 cup of warm water and 2 tablespoons of white vinegar mixed in a spray bottle make a great DIY window cleaner for your car! Spray on and wipe clean with a microfiber cloth.

Remove light upholstery stains with baking soda. Make a paste with 3 tablespoons of baking soda, and 1 tablespoon of water, and apply to your car’s upholstery. Scrub to remove the stains and let it air dry. Then vacuum up the residue. Also serves a double purpose for removing odors.

Rinse your car before washing it to prevent scratches. This will help avoid grinding in any dirt in the surface of the car and causing scratches to the paint.

Use baking soda and essential oils for an easy DIY air freshener. Take 1/2 cup of baking soda and 8-10 drops of essential oil and a 1 pint Mason jar. Stir the ingredients to combine. Poke 4-5 small holes in the lid with a nail and pop the jar in a cup holder to keep the car smelling fresh! Will last for about 30 days.

A plastic putty knife is great for removing stickers without scratching.

Deep clean windshield wipers to prevent streaks and caked on deicer, road salt, etc. for causing premature wear and cracking. I take a mixture of white vinegar and water in a small bowl and dip a clean microfiber cloth in it and wipe the blades and inserts with the solution to get grime off.

PET CARE TIPS:

Use a DIY solution to remove skunk odors from your pet. Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1 tablespoon of unscented castile soap, and 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide in a bucket. Use the mixture to wash your pet’s fur making sure to keep away from eyes, nose and mouth. Once the odor is gone, spray down or rinse your pet thoroughly.

It is common for neighbors to use ice melt on their sidewalks and for it to get on our dog’s paws when we walk in the evening. To help protect him, we put a towel and bucket of warm water by the door just before we head out for our walk on evenings when we have had a large snowfall. As soon as we return from our walk, we use the water to rinse any salt of his paws and dry with the towel.

Let pet vomit dry before you clean it up. I have found it is much easier to clean up when it is dry. I let it dry, then vacuum it up. If a discoloring or stain is left behind, I make a paste of baking soda, white vinegar and lemon essential oil and put it on the stain and blot it.

MISCELLANEOUS TIPS:

When we begin spring cleaning and cleaning the yard after winter, we always clean the vinyl siding of our house to get the winter grime off and freshen it up! We do this by making a mixture of distilled water, and white vinegar and tea tree oil in a spray bottle and spraying the siding and then rinsing clean with a hose or pressure washer.

Clean outdoor rugs with baking soda and water pressure. Rinse dirt and debris from the rug, then sprinkle generously with baking soda. Work the baking soda into the rug with a brush and scrub away the dirt and stains. Let the baking soda sit for 15 minutes then spray clean with a hose. Allow to air dry in the sun.

Deep clean your cooler and ice chests with baking soda and vinegar. Mix 1/4 cup of baking soda and enough water to form a paste. Apply the paste to any stains inside the cooler and let them sit for 15 minutes. Use the remaining paste and a brush or sponge to scrub the cooler inside and out. Pour some white vinegar into the cooler to dissolve the baking soda and deodorize the cooler. Rinse with the garden hose and allow to air dry in the sun.

RECIPES:

Car Washing Solution. Fill a large bucket (5 gallon) with warm water and 1-2 tablespoons of unscented castile soap. Use a hose and wet the car. Dip sponge or cloth in the water and start scrubbing. Rinse and dry thoroughly. This is a one time use product.

Grill Cleaner. Take 1 cup of warm water, distilled white vinegar and 1/4 cup of baking soda. Make a paste of the baking soda and warm water. Open up a cold grill and apply the paste to the grates. Close the lid and apply white vinegar to a cleaning cloth or paper towels. Wipe the exterior of the grill with the vinegar. Rinse if necessary. After exterior is clean, remove grates and scrub in a sink or outside with a brush. Rinse thoroughly and return the grates to the grill. Keep the grill open to allow the grates to dry completely. This is a one-time use product.

Natural Insect Repellant. Makes about 4 ounces. Take 4 ounces of witch hazel, 2 teaspoons of almond oil and 10 drops of essential oils (Combine any 3 of the following oils: lemon, lemongrass, citronella, peppermint, lavender, cedar)

Pet Cage Freshener. Yield 3 cups of 1 application of pet cage freshener. Take 2 cups of water, 1 cup of vinegar, 1/2 cup of baking soda and 10 drops of lemon essential oil. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or bucket. Mix well. Scrub your pet’s entire cage with the solution to get it clean and odor-free. Rinse well after use.

Carpet Pet Stain Remover. Yield 2 cups or 1 application of carpet pet stain remover. Take 1 cup of water, 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of baking soda, 10 drops of lemon essential oil and 10 drops of orange essential oil. Combine water and vinegar in a spray bottle. Shake well. Combine baking soda and essential oils in a bowl. Mix well. Sprinkle baking soda mixture over stain, then pour the water mixture over the baking soda. It will foam up and work on the stain. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Then blot with a clean cloth or paper towel.

Urine Remover. Yield 2 cups or 1 application of Urine Remover. Take 1 cup of distilled water, 1 cup of vinegar, 1 cup of baking soda, and 20 drops of lemon essential oil. Combine water and vinegar in a spray bottle. Shake well. Combine baking soda and lemon essential oil in a bowl. Mix well. Blot up as much of the urine as possible with dry paper towels. After blotting up the excess urine, sprinkle baking soda mixture over stain. Then pour the water mixture over the baking soda. It will foam up and work on the stain. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then blot with a clean paper towel. Once dry, vacuum the area.