Did you know that improperly cleaning your car’s interior poses a health hazard to you and your family?

Vacuuming well can ensure that you can get each particle of dirt out of every nook and cranny of your vehicle. If you’re a first-time car owner or a long-time one who feels he has put off cleaning long enough, here is a step-by-step guide to properly vacuuming your car.

It’s hard to keep your car clean, especially when you have children or teenagers that often treat it like their bedrooms, spilling and tossing junk around like nobody’s business. This leaves your beloved vehicle not only unsightly but also a health hazard to you and your family, for instance ants and roaches can get into your car if you leave cookie crumbs on the seats and the floor. Proper cleaning is what you need to get the inside of the car up to standard again, and one of the skills you need to learn is how to vacuum the inside of your car properly.

How To Properly Vacuum Your Car

•   The first step in the interior car cleaning process is to get the right vacuum. The best type of vacuum for your car is one that comes with different attachments that will allow you to clean out places that are hard to reach. A handheld vacuum is also an ideal kind because its compact form will let you move around much more easily, and you can store it in the car for when you go on long drives.
•  Take your personal belongings (documents, maps, sunglasses, etc.) out of the car so that nothing stands between your vacuum and the dirt.
•  Bigger pieces of trash won’t fit in the vacuum, so take the time to manually remove them from the inside of the car as well.
•  Food particles and all other kinds of dirt can and will make it under the floor mats. Take out the floor mats so you can clean the floor underneath them. You can clean the floor mats by shaking them out to remove the loose bits of dirt and then vacuuming them to remove the embedded particles.
•  Without using any attachment, thoroughly vacuum the seats and the seat backs. If there’s dirt trapped in the line where the seat meets the back (and there probably is), use the narrow attachment to vacuum the area.
•  Use the soft brush attachment to clean the dashboard, steering wheel, the hand brake, the shift lever, the doors and the visors.
•  With the wide attachment, vacuum the floors at the front and back of the car. You can clean underneath the front seats better by sliding them forward and backward to reach those areas more easily. Clean the areas around the floor pedals and other narrow spaces by using a smaller vacuum attachment.
•  Proceed to the trunk or hatch area. Remove the floor mats and clean them the way you did with the floor mats at the foot of the car seats. Then, use the wide attachment to pick up all the dirt particles lurking back there.

Knowing how to vacuum the inside of your car ensures a better-looking interior, and one with a healthy environment at that. The next time you drive around with the kids; remember you have that hand vacuum in the trunk. And don’t forget to bring disposable bags for their trash.