As the weather warms up, you’ll likely be spending more time in the saddle, heading off on road trips, or enjoying the sun in your garden. So, what better time to treat your vehicles and your outdoor spaces to some extra TLC?
Cleaning doesn’t always have to mean hard work, though – with the right tools and tips, you can have your car, bike, and patio gleaming in no time. Keep reading to discover our top tips on how to clean your car, bike and patio.
Cleaning your car
When you’re kicking off your cleaning, your car is a good place to start. For a thorough result, you’ll want to clean both the inside and outside of your car.
Exterior clean
We have a complete step-by-step guide on how to clean your car exterior, but here are a few key tips.
Use a pressure washer
A pressure washer can help you achieve professional-quality results, whilst keeping the time spent cleaning your car to a minimum. The Halfords Advanced PW50 High Pressure Washer is the perfect tool for the job – it comes with a snow foam kit included, so you can treat your car to a foamy pre-wash or easily apply any foam-based finishing products. Then when it’s time to rinse, the three nozzles give you all the angles you need to reach every nook and cranny.
Focus on the wheels
Always start with a pre-clean to get the bulk of the dirt off, then tackle your wheels first. This is because your wheels are usually the grimiest part of your car, so it’s best to get these done first to avoid splashing dirt back onto your clean paintwork. The Halfords Advanced Reactive Wheel Cleaner helps lift stubborn particles to get your wheels looking pristine again.
Don’t forget the lower paintwork
When washing the main body of your car, don’t forget the lower paintwork as this can attract a lot of built-up grime. Again, a pressure washer will handle this with ease, cutting through dirt that would require a lot of scrubbing by hand. The Halfords Advanced High Performance Shampoo cuts through dirt and grime to help restore your paintwork to its former glory.
Finish with a wax and polish
Once you’ve rinsed it off, the best way to get a sparkling and streak-free finish is to dry the car by hand before finishing off with a wax and polish.
Interior clean
Now that the outside of your car is sparkling clean, it’s time to move on to the inside. Our quick tips for a fresh interior are as follows:
Start by vacuuming
You won’t be able to clean without removing any mess, so be sure to start by removing all the tissues, old receipts, sweet wrappers, and any other rubbish that has taken up residence in your car and give everything a good vacuum to remove the smaller dirt and dust – don’t forget to vac off your car mats!
Use an interior detailer
With the mess under control, revitalising your plastic surfaces can make a huge difference to how your car looks. A dedicated interior detailer will have your plastics looking brand new again and looking cleaner for longer.
Air freshener
Finally, smell can make a big impact on how fresh your car feels, so be sure to pick up an air freshener to keep bad odours at bay and make the most of your clean. For a full checklist and step-by-step routine, check out our guide on how to clean a car interior, which shows you how to get the best out of the process.
Cleaning your patio
You may have more time to spare for cleaning as the summer arrives, but that doesn’t mean you want to work harder –a pressure washer can make difficult jobs like cleaning your patio much easier. They also use less water than a standard hose so you’re doing your bit for the environment too.
The Halfords Advanced PW50 High Pressure Washer’s 2500W motor makes light work of grubby patios, garden furniture, and other outdoor spaces, leaving them sparkling clean and ready for summer. Plus, with a 10m hose, you’ll have plenty of reach for the whole patio.
Attachments such as a scrubbing brush or a foam nozzle make all the difference too, making tricky jobs quicker and easier.
Cleaning your motorcycle
A gleaming motorbike not only looks fantastic but is also more likely to stay in good working order. As well as washing your bike, using a degreaser to remove build-up on any metal components can make a real difference too.
The brake disks and pads can take a good scrub, and don’t forget to give the chain some attention. Once the bike is clean of all dirt, it’s really important to use some lubricant to keep parts moving freely and prevent any further wear and tear.
You can check out our full guide on how to clean a motorcycle here for a step-by-step guide.
Cleaning your bike
Cleaning your bicycle follows pretty much the same principles, in that you want to make sure all of the different components are reached and well-cleaned.
It’s good to start with the drivetrain as it’s often the grimiest component, using a degreaser or cleaning solution. With that done, you can move on to the rest of the bike. Use some soapy water to clean the handlebars and frame, rinse, dry and finish off with lubricant to help keep everything moving freely.
You can check out our full bike cleaning guide here.
So, you’re now ready to get your cars, bikes, and patios spick and span, ready for a summer of fun. Need anything else? Halfords is here to help!
Whether you’re embarking on a road trip, staycation, or getaway, we’re on hand to keep everything running smoothly. Head over to Halfords.com, or pop into your local store where one of our colleagues will be happy to help.
