Top tips to keep new car clean??

[Ben2684]

So my little old corsa has fared me well, and it’s been a fab car but because it was a bit old and clearly wasn’t going to last forever it’s become a bit of a wreck, saddles in the back, feed in the boot, all the detritus of a winter of travelling back and forth to the yard and it’s taken it’s toll.

New car comes next month and it’s a company car so need to keep it reasonably smart ish as I have to give it back and reolace every three years. Top tips needed as I’m not used to having to worry about keeping the interior or exterior reasonably tidy! Wish our yard had a tack room but it is just too remote to be safe

 

[AmyMay]

Sell the horse 😂🤣

 

[meleeka]

Waterproof Seat covers and a boot liner is my tip. I’d also have a proper valet every 6 months or so. Try and keep horse stuff in the boot and take your floor mats out and shake off weekly.

I’ve never managed to actually keep my car clean but it does come up as good as new when it’s cleaned.

 

[Ben2684]

Sell the horse 😂🤣

Quite! OH would tend to agree 😂

 

[Red-1]

I cover the boot and have bags in the boot that zip up. Mucky stuff in, zip closed and sorted. I remove the bag to take stuff out so it stays contained.

I never worry about the outside as that washes off however dirty it is. The seats are only for bums not stuff, and my wet jacket stays in the boot. Boots are scraped as well as I can, but the floor is a casualty, I just muck it out ever so often. My driveway is gravel so there are always small stones.

 

[pippixox]

I got some good waterproof seat covers and boot liner- not the cheapest ones as they don’t last and are horrid to sit on. So although my car is a tip (I also ha e two children and two dogs as well as the horses so I am doomed to fail to keep it clean!) the fabric seats underneath are clean. Little and often is the best, I just don’t at all and plan on paying a valet a lot of money at the end of the month for a spring clean! I currently use the boot to drive haylage down to the field some days!

 

[Suby2]

Rubber floor mats

 

[tiahatti]

As others have said, I would get waterproof seat covers. I hoover the mats every week and wipe around the dashboard etc. It only takes a few minutes.

 

[Identityincrisis]

Sell the horse or the car, it's the only way

 

[holeymoley]

Get a boot liner as said. If your seats are material then get seat covers. Good quality stuff wears better than cheaper. Hoover at least once per week, even just a run over the obvious then a deep clean every other week. And put horsey stuff in a bag and in the boot!

 

[Pinkvboots]

Seat covers boot mats and those big laundry bags are really handy to put all your stuff in, you can just pick it up and take it all with you which keeps the car cleaner, there even big enough for a saddle and bridle, my saddle had a carry case when in lived in the car so did my bridle, keep clean shoes to wear in the car and take off wet muddy coats.

Hoovering it regularly really helps as well just stops a build up.

 

[Sealine]

I'm following with interest as I'm trading in my trusty Kia Sorento for a new car at the weekend. I have a large hairy GSD as well as muddy horse gear and I'm already worrying about how to keep the car clean.

Can anyone recommend a boot liner that is durable and costs less than £100? I want something that will stop the dog hair from sticking to the fabric/carpet on the back of the seats and also covers the floor of the boot.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Boot liners, seat covers, plastic crates with lids.

Also, think about keeping a pair of slip-on shoes in the boot; take off your muddy boots and put them in a bag in the boot, wear the slip-on shoes for driving.

I often wear clogs (wooden soles and leather uppers), over slippers with a leather sole and suede uppers; I take off the clogs to drive in just the slippers.

OH took delivery of her new company car last week; she asked for two sets of rubber mats at the same time.

In the Toyota Highlander that we had from 2005 to 2012, I managed to get hold of a fifteen foot by four foot length of packing (bubble wrap backed with strong brown paper), and folded that to line the cargo area, protecting both the floor and the back of the passenger seats.

 

[Darbs]

People take the mickey out of me on how clean my car is, but there is no shortcut, a lot of it is just elbow grease! (And I have worst case scenario as I mix ponies and children!)

A few things that help are:

1. Buy a fitted, high sided boot liner, these make a massive difference and can be shaken out. Get one that is specifically designed for your car.
2. Get waterproof seat covers.
3. Always put your yard boots in bag and have clean footwear (this makes the biggest difference to mud in the front footwells)
4. Buy a Henry hoover (or a very good rechargeable one) and keep on top cleaning the interior, don't let it build up.
5. Have a pack of wet wipes in the glove box to wipe surfaces over.
6. Buy a Stubbs saddle mate, this carries the saddle and has room for stuff underneath, so its not all rattling around the boot.
7. Tell people who get in the car to keep it tidy (I have gone past this now as people know that messing my car up could result in their body never being found)
8. Get to know the guys at your local drive in car wash. If mine gets very muddy on the exterior I can drive in, they do a quick clean, dont dry it and I drive out again for £4 (which is half the usual price for large 4x4's).

If it sounds like I am OCD about my car being clean, I am. Everybody winds me up about it, but I've been this way for 30 years, I am resigned to the fact now. My wife likes it though as I am the same about her car, so she hasn't had to clean any of her cars in 18 years!

 

[hollyandivy123]

i want to know who thought it was a good idea to put carpet in cars, especially the ones which in theory should be for the more outdoors person, you know the adverts were they are abseiling in the middle of the mountain range..........

 

[D66]

Rubber floor mats, folding plastic crate in the boot, weekly cheap wash through the automatic car-wash and a monthly mini-valet from the local hand wash. We have a waterproof/fabric mat for the dog to sit on.
i also keep a small bin bag in the car so rubbish can be put straight in.

 

[Michen]

I never managed it. Have had a string of company cars and my last company used to refer to it as my "company horsebox".

Currently have my own car which I swore I'd keep clean, including its cream leather seats. Well despite being two seater I can get 5 bags of horse feed in it so you can imagine the state its in....

I always intend to take boots off and change into normal shoes etc but I can just never be bothered in reality!

 

[milliepops]

i want to know who thought it was a good idea to put carpet in cars, especially the ones which in theory should be for the more outdoors person, you know the adverts were they are abseiling in the middle of the mountain range..........

my current car has the most fluffy woolly carpet imaginable and it's ridiculously difficult to hoover out properly. I have boot liners and rubber floor mats and all that but there is so much tufty sodding carpet still exposed that it looks like a haystack regardless.

 

[mums the groom]

Rubber Mats, boot liners, spare shoes or just use OH car for going to the yard let them worry about the mess

 

[Ambers Echo]

People take the mickey out of me on how clean my car is, but there is no shortcut, a lot of it is just elbow grease! (And I have worst case scenario as I mix ponies and children!)

A few things that help are:

1. Buy a fitted, high sided boot liner, these make a massive difference and can be shaken out. Get one that is specifically designed for your car.
2. Get waterproof seat covers.
3. Always put your yard boots in bag and have clean footwear (this makes the biggest difference to mud in the front footwells)
4. Buy a Henry hoover (or a very good rechargeable one) and keep on top cleaning the interior, don't let it build up.
5. Have a pack of wet wipes in the glove box to wipe surfaces over.
6. Buy a Stubbs saddle mate, this carries the saddle and has room for stuff underneath, so its not all rattling around the boot.
7. Tell people who get in the car to keep it tidy (I have gone past this now as people know that messing my car up could result in their body never being found)
8. Get to know the guys at your local drive in car wash. If mine gets very muddy on the exterior I can drive in, they do a quick clean, dont dry it and I drive out again for £4 (which is half the usual price for large 4x4's).

If it sounds like I am OCD about my car being clean, I am. Everybody winds me up about it, but I've been this way for 30 years, I am resigned to the fact now. My wife likes it though as I am the same about her car, so she hasn't had to clean any of her cars in 18 years!

OMG my car would give you heart failure... My strategy with any new car is to make an unholy mess of it as soon as possible then no new dirt is noticeable!

 

[Darbs]

OMG my car would give you heart failure... My strategy with any new car is to make an unholy mess of it as soon as possible then no new dirt is noticeable!

No, it wouldnt give me heart failure, I would just have an overwhelming urge to clean it!

My mother in law used to pull up outside our house, and I would nip out and clean her car!!

 

[Meredith]

OH uses my car to take the dog up to the woods. The tracks are grey and slimy when wet but the car isn’t too bad because
1.. we have a washable fitted boot liner which has a flap that covers the sill so the dog doesn’t dirty it jumping in.
2... dog is in a crate with a top cover. This contains the shake splatter.
3...the footwells have large sheets of thick paper i.e. feed bag, over the rubber mats. We just remove, throw away and replace as needed.
4...we try to keep everything tidy
5...OH washes the car down approximately every week and does his own version of a full clean monthly.
I ( fortunately!) don’t clean well enough for his standards.😀🚗

 

[gina2201]

Try not to drive in wellies or riding boots! I used to keep a pair of trainers to drive in and swap and put my boots in a cardboard box in the boot so never got all the mud in the front.
Boot liner - I have a fully.sided one which covers up the back of the rear seats too and the sides and not just a boot mat.
Take off soaked or muddy jackets before driving.

 

[Lintel]

Impossible task sorry! Weekly valet?

 

[Fransurrey]

I'm following with interest as I'm trading in my trusty Kia Sorento for a new car at the weekend. I have a large hairy GSD as well as muddy horse gear and I'm already worrying about how to keep the car clean.

Can anyone recommend a boot liner that is durable and costs less than £100? I want something that will stop the dog hair from sticking to the fabric/carpet on the back of the seats and also covers the floor of the boot.

You need one of these...
https://www.hatchbag.co.uk/boot-liners?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_MvEwtqk4AIVirDtCh1Y3QQdEAAYASAAEgItAvD_BwE

OP, I have a boot liner, waterproof seat covers and keep a glass spray and cloth in the centre storage wotsit. I quickly clean windows or dashboard at traffic lights/roadworks. I rarely vacuum my car, but it comes up like new when I do. I also have plain heavy duty rubber mats. I just shake them out occasionally and pressure wash them in the summer.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I got some good waterproof seat covers and boot liner- not the cheapest ones as they don’t last and are horrid to sit on. So although my car is a tip (I also ha e two children and two dogs as well as the horses so I am doomed to fail to keep it clean!) the fabric seats underneath are clean. Little and often is the best, I just don’t at all and plan on paying a valet a lot of money at the end of the month for a spring clean! I currently use the boot to drive haylage down to the field some days!

Can you recommend any waterproof covers?!
I bought what I thought were decent ones and in removing them to wash realises my seats are trashed.
I hope to be able to shampoo the worst out when the weather dries up but would like to invest in decent covers after.

 

[pippixox]

Can you recommend any waterproof covers?!
I bought what I thought were decent ones and in removing them to wash realises my seats are trashed.
I hope to be able to shampoo the worst out when the weather dries up but would like to invest in decent covers after.

I can’t see a label and bought mine ages ago- they were for a disco originally but are quite universal and now in my ford estate.
Did a google and think they are Titan covers. Mid range price wise and I have wiped all sorts off them! No transfer onto fabric below and easy to take on and off (only come off if my mum comes in the car 😂)

 

[pippixox]

I can’t see a label and bought mine ages ago- they were for a disco originally but are quite universal and now in my ford estate.
Did a google and think they are Titan covers. Mid range price wise and I have wiped all sorts off them! No transfer onto fabric below and easy to take on and off (only come off if my mum comes in the car 😂)

I tell a lie- was not looking very well!:
They are from premier products ltd

 

[Pippity]

No, it wouldnt give me heart failure, I would just have an overwhelming urge to clean it!

My mother in law used to pull up outside our house, and I would nip out and clean her car!!

What's your address? I'm on my way!!

(I picked up my new car last week, and while most of it's still pretty clean, it already resembles a muddy field by the pedals.)

 

[Pippity]

I tell a lie- was not looking very well!:
They are from premier products ltd

Do you know if they work okay with heated seats? I'm thoroughly enjoying my new luxury and don't want to sacrifice it for the sake of cleanliness!