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Raid your mum's kitchen or your wife's store for some top car cleaners. Perplexed? Follow AUTO BILD INDIA's top ten low cost, or no cost, car care tips
When was the last time you used a potato to remove rust from your car or a slice of lemon to remove nasty odours? Think we’re off our rockers finally? Think again. Incredible and fantastic as it sounds, you can actually put a potato to do rust removal duties and a slice of lemon or orange will help remove stink. And if you read on you’ll fi nd eight more such unbelieveable tips.
You see, while most people dismiss home remedies as homely tales that don’t really work, we can tell you otherwise. Of course not all home remedies work but we have, after many hours getting our hands dirty, have found a few commonly used household products, most of which can be found in your mum or wife’s larder or store room, that can be used to clean cars. And to good effect at that.
Liquid fabric softener is good for removing hard water stains from windows. Hard water contains a lot of minerals like calcium, magnesium and can cause white lime scales on surfaces which the water comes into contact with. Dab some undiluted fabric softener onto stains and leave them for a few minutes. Then wipe off the softener using a damp cloth and rinse and then dry it with a good wipe with a newspaper.
If the spot from which the rust has to be removed is small, such as a knife surface, an effective rust removal home remedy is to put salt on a peeled potato and rub it vigorously on the rusted spot. If it is on the badging of the car, a good idea is to simply keep the peeled potato with salt on the rusted spot for about 15 minutes. Follow this up by rinsing and drying the surface. Potatoes contain oxalic acid, which helps to remove rust from metal.
If you do not want to use an all-purpose cleaner for your car's wheels, then simply use a utensil cleaning soap bar along with a wash cloth and water to create your own cleaner. Spray the cleaner all over the wheels and then use the brushes again. For most food and beverage stains, use a solution of two cups of cool water and one tablespoon of dish washing liquid.
A can of hair spray can be an ideal tool if you want to remove ink spills from the upholstery. Hair spray will remove ink stains from the car's carpeting, seats or any other fabric trim. Spray some on the stained spot, allow it to sit on the stain until it is absorbed. To clean the spot just brush it. Repeat the step if the stain is a little old and hard to remove.
Nail polish remover can be used to clear a spot of paint from the car's window. Dab a little on the paint spot and allow it to remain for a few minutes before rubbing off. Note there are two types of removers – one with acetone, a dry cleaning solvent, the other has amyl acetate, which may soil upholstery. So check before use.
To reach every nook and cranky where cloth dusters cannot be inserted in, use a clean paintbrush to loosen and remove debris and dust. Ideal areas include spaces around the music player, which is very visible but difficult to clean or reach normally. When you need to clean larger surfaces like windscreens or on the side of the dashboard, try using a broader brush.
Take a lemon or orange peel, slice it and dry it. You can put it in the sun for a day or two letting it dry naturally or you can put it in the oven on 300 degrees for an hour or two, just enough to dry the natural oils. Put a slice or two inside the cabin of the car, and it will give off a nice citrus fragrance while it absorbs any nasty odours. How long it takes to dispel the smell depends on how bad it was to start with.
You can use vinegar straight out of the bottle or diluted with water. Vinegar also removes the debris left behind by stickers placed on the windows of cars. For juice and fruit stains use a solution of one tablespoon of white vinegar in 2/3 cup of rubbing alcohol. Combine two cups of water, 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and up to 1/2 teaspoon of dish washing soap. Add the ingredients to a water bottle to create a simple window cleaning solution.
Baking soda absorbs smells. So put some on pet soiled upholstery and let it sit for about an hour. Then vacuum clean to remove smells. Vomit stains should be treated with club soda or a solution of baking soda and water. The latter is also ideal for greasy and oily stains. Absorb the oil or grease by sprinkling corn starch or baking soda and letting it sit for about 15-20 minutes, before vacuuming.
If your car window or windscreen or any glass object breaks inside your vehicle, use adhesive tape instead of your hands to pick up shards. Stick the tape on and then peel it off to remove the pieces. This prevents the risk of cutting your fingers or hands.
