With winter slowly and I mean so slowly coming to an end, we start thinking about riding along the beach with the windows down and sunroof open. Maybe you’re thinking about driving through the mountains with the smell of pine rushing through the windows! No matter what your daydream is, we are all thinking about the same thing! But it’s what we aren’t thinking about that may be one of the most important things to remember! Our vehicle takes us anywhere we want to go. It gives us the freedom to travel across entire states & hundreds of miles in a single day to follow our dreams! What a lot of us forget about at the beginning of spring is all the road salt & chemicals that we exposed it to during the long winter. I know I did for a long time, I would simply run my car through a car wash and head on my way. But that’s not enough, here’s a list of what I recommend to help “De-Winterize” your car!

1)      Carriage –  Get your water hose out and spray off the frame and anything else you can get to underneath your ride. The goal is to remove the Chemicals & salt that have accumulated.

2)      Engine – There is a variety of engine cleaners or you can clean by hand. (Take care when using water, make sure you don’t drown your electronics)

3)      Exterior  – Make sure after you wash the body you remember to clean inside the fender wells as they will have collected plenty of road salt throughout the winter.

4)      Wiper blades – After a long cold winter my wiper blades are almost always shot. Replace the blades to get ready for those April showers!

5)      Interior – Using an air compressor to blow out the cracks and crevasses that you can’t reach with your vacuum will make a huge difference. If you don’t have access to a compressor try a can of compressed air.  You can use q-tips or a swiffer duster to clean inside your vents.

6)      Seats – If you have cloth seats treat any stains you have and try to remove them before the sun bakes them in. If you have Leather use a quality leather cleaner/conditioner to keep your seats looking new.

7)      Dash – There are plenty of products out there that will clean and treat the hard plastic surfaces in your vehicle.

8)      Don’t forget the Headliner – As crazy as it sounds your headliner does get dirty. Do a quick inspection and clean if necessary!

After completing all of the above you will have a pretty good idea of how your car looks and if there is anything that you should have looked at by a professional. Other than that you should be ready to hit the road & enjoy the warm weather! Not to mention your vehicle will thank you for the TLC!

Where will your vehicle be taking you this spring?