The calendar is set to turn to 2024, and your vehicle officially becomes one model year older. But even if a new vehicle isn’t in your 2024 plans, that doesn’t mean your current car can’t smell brand-new.
Courtesy of Dells Auto, here are five steps you can take to avoid complacency and keep your car smelling factory fresh year-round.
Let’s start with the basics. Dirt, debris, and pet hair accumulate quickly within your car’s interior, and without constant upkeep, you could find yourself wondering what went wrong. Vacuuming regularly not only eliminates this material, but it also reduces odors that get trapped in the upholstery. You should utilize the available vacuums whenever you take your car to the car wash (ideally twice per month), but it also might help to keep a hand vacuum in the car for more regular maintenance.
In addition, with New Year’s around the corner, make 2024 the year you quit smoking in the car. Not only is it a bad habit in its own right – the smoke contributes a long-lasting, ashy scent to your interior and can potentially ruin the car’s upholstery.
Not only do most drivers not keep a waste receptacle in their car – for many drivers, the car is their trash can. Get in the habit of treating your car’s interior as you would your living room, and don’t let garbage linger.
Consider purchasing a car trashcan as well. You can find them for under twenty dollars. Stick it next to your seat and properly dispose of snack wrappers, ATM receipts and beverage containers rather than letting them fall to your floor mats. (Also make sure you shake out those mats every week or so.)
Baking soda: the secret ingredient of the cleaning world. When odors overwhelm or won’t depart easily, simply sprinkle a small amount of baking soda around your vehicle’s mats and carpets. Let it sit overnight, and vacuum everything the following morning. You'll find that the baking soda was able to absorb several of the odors in your car, leaving a comparatively fresh scent behind.
Baking soda is great when you’re in a pinch and don’t have the time for a deep clean or thorough detailing. If odors persist, leave the open baking soda box resting in your driver’s door pocket for a couple of days.
They may be passé, but they’re still effective. Make sure you’re picking out an air freshener that neutralizes odors rather than just covering up the scent. Although there’s little harm in putting a band-aid over an issue every now and then, there’s little reason to do so with so many highly effective air fresheners on the market.
You can also invest in an oil diffuser. In addition to masking unwanted odors and replacing them with a rich fragrance, essential oils have been known to reduce stress and keep you alert while you drive.
Detailing your car involves thoroughly cleaning and restoring your car’s interior. Unlike a surface cleaning or routine vacuuming, detailing addresses, well, the details. Areas that often get neglected during regular maintenance, such as air vents and spaces between seats, are rigorously tended to.
Detailing is a deep cleaning process that requires hours of your time and several cleaning materials. You can go as far as shampooing the upholstery or providing a coat of wax. Remember that every additional step you take helps eliminate the spread of odors.
Head into the new year with that New Car Smell with an assist from Dells Auto. When you're ready to change vehicles, our extensive inventory is guaranteed to have what you’re looking for. Buy and finance your car at the same convenient location today! Schedule your test drive at Dells Auto and drive into the new year with a fresh perspective.