Car Detailing Best Practices. Part 7: Vacuuming
Jan 7
2 min read
Proper maintenance of our vehicles involves a little bit of science and careful consideration to achieve the best results. Shine Plus offers some valuable tips on car detailing best practices here on our blog.
In our first three blog posts on best practices, we covered some general topics to keep in mind when caring for your vehicle. The remainder of the best practices series will be a bit more specific and start discussing the proper technique for cleaning specific parts of your vehicle. Today's best practice blog will be on how to properly vacuum your vehicle.
Vacuuming is one of the most critical steps to achieve a clean car, but it actually can be quite challenging to achieve a level of clean that is satisfactory. Things like low-quality carpeting, sand, and pet hair all pose challenges to a thorough clean. The experts at Shine Plus are here to help you with valuable advice from years of experience.
Before we discuss the steps required to achieve an amazing clean, let's first talk about the tools. You are going to need a strong vacuum to achieve a high-level clean. A handheld vacuum will remove the bulkier debris, but it will leave a lot to be desired. We recommend a shop vacuum with at least 5 horsepower to get the job done. You will also want a standard vacuum attachment and a narrow attachment for the hose because there are lots of tight spaces in our cars where a wide opening cannot fit. Another tool which is not required but highly recommended if you have access to one is an air compressor. Air compressors can blow strong gusts of air into hard-to-reach areas as well as help loosen dirt from the carpet fibers before vacuuming. Ok, so with the best tools fully covered, let's get to the steps.
Remove large bulky trash from the vehicle by hand.
Remove the floor mats from the vehicle.
If you have an air compressor, blow compressed air into all hard-to-reach places, including between the seats and the center console, around the dashboard, and under the seats.
Using your shop vacuum, vacuum the vehicle utilizing your wide and narrow hose attachments.
Inspect the vehicle. If there are areas where pet hair is stuck, you can use a pumice stone or a pet hair remover tool which has a rubber edge to pass over the carpeting and loosen the pet hair. After the pet hair has been unstuck, vacuum the remains.
If there are areas of the vehicle with sand, you can either use compressed air or any tool that vibrates, such as a massage gun, to lift the sand from under the carpeting. Vacuum at the same time that you are using the compressed air or vibrating tool to get the sand to jump.
Use these same steps to vacuum your carpeted mats.
Shine Plus realizes that some or all of these tools may not be available to the average car owner. That's ok, that's why we are here to serve you at any time. But if you have the drive and the desire to get a professional result yourself, use these steps to benefit from the countless number of vehicles we have used to test and perfect these methods!
