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Is jet washing a car interior harmful?
What you need to know:
- How often to wash? What many people do not realise is that washing your car regularly does more than just make it shine; it is maintenance to keep your car running longer.
- It is important to wash your car at least every two weeks and have a detail twice a year to keep your car in ideal condition.
Hello Paul, I recently I took my Mercedes ML to a car wash to remove the seats and clean the interior. After this, the car has electrical glitches and smells bad due to dampness. What is the danger of hosing or washing the car interior and how else can one clean it? Caroline
Hello Caroline, cleaning your car’s interior is important since it helps to protect your investment. However, hosing the interior with a lot of water can cause severe electrical damage and an unpleasant smell, especially when your carpeting does not dry or develops mold. There is cause to clean your car interior. A dirty car interior will become unpleasant to the passengers as it develops a foul smell, may host vermin, rodents and cockroaches which come to feast on the food droppings or make the interior a haven. A dirty and dusty car interior will cause allergies from the pollen or allergens which will affect your health and that of your passengers. Dirty windows may also obscure visibility.
Hosing or thoroughly washing the car interior with a water jet can flood floor mounted electrical control modules or accessories such as electric seatbelt harnesses. Electric circuits or sockets will also be damaged by the corrosive soapy water, which will start electrical faults with different accessories or features in your car.
Wetting the carpet with water and soap and driving the car before it dries may cause mildew or harmful foul-smelling bacteria. This bacteria can cause serious irritation or chest infections to the passengers. Here are some useful tips you can follow when cleaning your car:
Start by vacuuming the interior with a home vacuum cleaner fitted with a hose and attachment kits. This will help to remove dirt, dust and food particles. A suitable stain remover or carpet or fabric cleaner can be used thereafter to remover stubborn smudges or droppings from the seats and carpets. A brush will restore bounce to your carpet. When vacuuming, start at the top with upholstery then lastly with floor carpets to trap dropping dirt particles.
Keep changing vacuum cleaner attachments to suit the upholstery, plastic surfaces and carpets. Cleaning the interior requires specific cleaning solutions for the upholstery, carpets, leather and vinyl plastic surfaces. Test any product you choose to use on a small part.
For the carpets or fabric material, you may use a steam cleaner or spray on carpet and fabric cleaner from a supermarket car section. Leather bound surfaces should be cleaned with a leather cleaner or leather soap using a mildly damp cloth and cotton swabs.
A suitable glass cleaner will help you remove smudges and dirt from the glass windows. A vinyl dashboard cleaner with a mildly damp cloth and light brush will be all you need to clean your dash board and air vents.
There are homemade solutions that can help with car interior cleaning such as vinegar for removal of stubborn stains and baking soda powder for odour removal (sprinkled over the carpet and left overnight before vacuuming).
