How To Clean Your Car The Easy Way

There are loads of long how-to guides on washing your car. However, here's a really quick, simple, and yet thorough guide to follow should you want to get your car nice and clean with straightforward instructions, and without using any 'specialist' products or equipment.

How to wash your car

You will need: a bucket, a pressure washer or a hosepipe with a spray attachment, a microfibre wash mitt, some good quality car shampoo (try our Chipex Super Concentrate Car Shampoo!), a microfibre cloth to dry the car with.

1. Fill your bucket with warm water, and add in the required amount of car shampoo. Put your microfibre wash mitt in at the same time to get it full of suds.
2. Rinse the car down first with the hosepipe or pressure washer, and get as much of the road grime, mud etc off the car. This is to minimise scratches during the shampoo stage and make it easier to clean too.
3. Wash the car using the wash mitt. Always start at the top and work down (roof, glass, bonnet, boot, upper sides, lower sides, wheels).
4. Rinse the car off with water. Never throw the leftovers in the bucket over the car, as you're effectively throwing dirt back all over it.
5. Dry off the car with a microfibre cloth. If it's a hot day, try to wash your car in shade, and dry it off quickly to avoid watermarks.
6. Finish off by using Chipex Miracle Detailer. A spray wax which leaves a high gloss shine. Simply spray on and wipe off with a microfibre cloth!

How to clean your car interior

You will need: A few microfibre cloths, a vacuum cleaner, a soft brush or old toothbrush, glass cleaner and interior & trim cleaner (try our Chipex Factory Finish Interior and Dashboard Cleaner).

1. Clear out any rubbish or unwanted stuff (old pens, paper cups, used water bottles etc).
2. Pull out all the car mats and vacuum them thoroughly.
3. Vacuum all the carpets and seats. Move the front seats forward and backwards to access as much of the carpet as possible. Use the long vacuum attachment to get down the sides of the seats, and into any storage areas, i.e. door pockets, cup holders, under the armrest, glove box.
4. Open the boot and empty out anything that doesn't need to be in there. Vacuum all areas well, making sure to get into all the corners and under the boot liner if possible.
5. Clean the glass inside and out thoroughly with glass cleaner and a microfibre cloth. Make sure to check for streaks left behind. You may need to carry out the process twice if it's particularly dirty. See our complete guide to cleaning your car windows here.
6. Wipe down the trim with a damp cloth to get rid of any heavy dirt or grime.
7. Clean the trim with dashboard cleaner. To avoid getting the product onto the glass, spray the dash shine directly onto the cloth first and wipe down. Never apply dash cleaner to the steering wheel rim, it will cause it to be slippery.
8. For our complete guide to cleaning your car interior, see our other article.

How to clean car headlights

You will need: Car polish, car wax, microfibre cloths. Keeping your headlights clean and clear is essential for providing the best vision and for other drivers seeing you, especially during the winter months and short daylight hours.

1. Wash off the lights using car shampoo and a wash mitt, and rinse off using clean water before drying with a microfibre cloth.
2. Apply car polish (polish is different to wax, as it has slight abrasives in) to a microfibre cloth, and rub over the lights with a medium pressure. You may need to do this two or three times to make them as clear as possible.
3. Allow the car polish to dry, then wipe off the residue with a fresh microfibre cloth.
4. Use car wax to protect the lights and give them an even deeper shine. Use Chipex Miracle Detailer after every car wash to maintain the shine and protection on the lights.