What does your car-care routine look like?

[eirual]

A few times a year I'll give it a vacuum, wipe it down with wet wipes (like lysol wipes) and wash the windows.

I'm ready to change that. This week I did all of the above, but also realized a lot of the dirt is crumbs from eating in the car. I'm going to try no food (or at least no crumbly food). I also bought a small container of wipes to leave in the car so I can wipe it down a couple of times a week. I also got rid of the excess junk in the trunk and organized and bungied up the necessities back there.

Vacuuming got rid of the big stuff, but there's still lots of little granulars of dirt and bits of dried grass left behind (kind of caught in the depths of the carpet).

How do you keep your car clean?? Anyone used those armorall kind of car care wipes? and what's in vinyl protectant? I should add that everything else I own gets cleaned with baking soda and vinegar....I just find the car is so picky. Lint gets left behind from typical rags and if I don't have something damp right there then it just doesn't get cleaned....hence the lysol/clorox wipes that I otherwise wouldn't normally touch.

[eirual]

THIS looks like a great idea for us- DH has always worked in a shop, and thankfully our seats are dark, but if you drag a fingernail across them it's scary what kind of colour they turn and what kind of dust it kicks up.

Our seats are much more contoured and slanty on the edges than the ones shown, so it might be a little trickier, but deffinitely worthwhile.

[Alyantavid]

All I do is get my oiled changed every few months.  They vacuum, clean off all the surfaces and wash the windows.

We can't seem to not eat in the cars but I do keep a trash bag in all the vehicles to contain the trash.

[Carson]

We bought a new car  and are committed to keeping it as new as possible.  We got those Weathertech mats - I know, the infomercial got to DH, but I am amazed at how great they are.  They fit so tight along the floor.  Every 3 weeks, DH details it - exterior wash and wax, and he vacuums the inside. 

Like you I see all those little mystery crumbs and the only thing that does a great job is a shop vac and a toothbrush to brush them up into the vac.  We have the armorall wipes.  I wouldn't use Lysol/Clorox wipes because I think they're too harsh for our leatherette interior.  So a damp microfiber or birdseye cloth works better.

Eating in the car makes a huge difference.  I really try my best not to do it, if I must, it's something that can be eaten in it's wrapper.  Even then though, that's where the mystery crumbs come from.

[zebra15]

I take it to the full service car wash.(about ever 6 mos) Its under $20 and they do the best job!  I probably need to steam clean the seats one of these days... ugh thats gonna be gross....