Clear the Car Clutter
Are you one of those drivers that has everything but the kitchen sink in the car? All perfectly organised over the floor, the seats and every available surface. While there are many drivers that pride themselves in a shiny set of wheels, many others struggle to keep their cars clean, both inside and outside.
The challenge to keep cars free from dirt and clutter is real, especially if you have a big family and family pets that like to go along for the drive. Having cleaning wipes and air fresheners to hand are just some of the ways that can make life easier when dealing with a spillage or a bad smell in your vehicle.
With some input from stressfreecarrental.com, we hope these tips on keeping your car clean help make your summer motoring a lot more enjoyable.
1. Cup-holder liners
Often, drinks can leak and leave a sticky residue in the bottom of car cup-holders, which can be a pain to clean. Using silicone cup-cake holders is a foolproof way of making sure these stay spotless. All you have to do is take these out and wipe them clean and the job’s done.
2. Wet wipes
Keeping a pack of wet wipes in your glove box is essential for staying on top of spillages. By having these handy, you can wipe up any mess as soon as it happens, this way you won’t have a hard time trying to scrub it off later.
3. Waterproof backseat cover
There’s nothing worse than muddy paws ruining your car seats or boot, and the thought of cleaning this afterwards is even worse. A waterproof backseat cover is a great option to keep your car clean, and will avoid a messy cleanup.
4. Car bin
It doesn’t take a lot to clutter up your car, whether that is sweet wrappers, receipts or plastic bags. To avoid rummaging around and gathering up the waste, a portable car bin may just do the trick. These can be hung around the headrests of the seats and when it is full, just just take them inside and empty it.
5. Shake the car mats
One of the most simple things you can do to stop dirt accumulating is shaking out your car mats once a week and get into the habit of running the hoover over them every time you have the hoover in use for the house. It only takes a few minutes to shake mats or vaccuum them. Weekly cleaning means it won’t be such a mammoth task having to scrub mud and dirt off the mats later on.
6. Cleaning the interior windows
It is easy to forget about the insides of the windows when you’re so used to washing the outside. Keeping inside windows clean not only improves visibility but makes your car appear so much cleaner. The most cost effective way to get the dirt and grime off these is to make your own solution. Simply mix two tablespoons of vinegar, and one cup of rubbing alcohol and put it in a spray bottle. Spray onto the window and shine off with newspaper.
7. Air fresheners
Sometimes hanging air fresheners aren’t enough to mask odours. Keeping an air freshener handy in the glove box is another effective way of keeping your car fresh and clean. If there is a bad smell this can immediately be eliminated instead of letting it linger. If you’re not a fan of the sometimes overpowering air-fresheners that are available, simply open all the windows and doors when the car is stationary and let cross-ventilation clear the air for you.
8. Seat gap fillers
We all know how annoying it is when things fall down the gaps in the seats, whether that is food or other small items. Seat gap fillers are perfect for stopping things from sliding through the crevices and keeping your car clean.
9. Cleaning the headlights
Make your headlights appear brighter by getting a cloth and wiping them with toothpaste! Headlights can appear dimmer if they haven’t been cleaned in a while, which is hazardous to yourself and other road users.
10. Cleaning air-con vents
Air con vents are well known for getting dusty, and it isn’t good to have this sort of air circulating around the car. Something as simple as getting a paintbrush to brush out the dust in the vents is perfect for solving this problem and making your car tidier.
While many will take to the skies during the summer months, there are those amongst us who look forward to a summer cruising the highways and byways of Ireland and neighbouring countries. Fuel prices may be on the rise but a summer holiday is something that has to take place as planned, no matter what the cost and we manage to budget accordingly.
Even if you’re not planning to take a driving holiday, ensuring your vehicle is summer ready is important, to ensure safety and comfort every time you take the wheel.
We hope that this feature encourages you to make the necessary checks and updates to make sure your vehicle is ready for the road every time you are this summer.
A few tips for ensuring you are prepare for your Summer Motoring:
1. Safety First
Plan, prepare and ensure that you have every eventuality covered, from ensuring your tax and insurance are in date to ensuring you have the correct oil and correct tyres fitted. Make sure to carry copies of your insurance documents as well as insurance for any expensive bicycles or equipment you may be carrying. Ensure you have a fully stocked first aid kit at all times in your vehicle as well as plenty of drinking water, food, a road atlas, fully charged mobile phone and sun tan lotion.
2. Give your vehicle the once-over treatment
We all like a bit of pampering every now and again and why not afford your vehicle the same luxury? Book in for a general servicing, whether the mileage dictates it or not. A simple battery, oil, coolant, tyres, water, brakes, check won’t take long and won’t cost a fortune but it could save your life in the long run.
3. Drive Smart
Beat the rush; set off early in the morning for your journeys when it’s cooler and the roads are quieter. Remember to take plenty of breaks, at least one 30 minute break two every two and a half hours. Take shade when possible, ensuring that when you are not driving you are parked under cover or in the shade to keep the temperature down inside the car.
4. Share safely with Farmers
Be mindful of the faming community and the huge volume of work they have to get done during the summer months. The number of tractors, trailers and other farm machinery definitely increases in summer season. Share the road safely with farmers and always be on the lookout for vulnerable road users such as cyclists and pedestrians.
5. Pump up the volume!
Music definitely shortens the journey and adds that summer holiday feeling when you’re driving off into the sunset! Having the radio on is also useful for traffic updates. Make sure your radio is working properly before you head off. Don’t forget to be mindful of your passengers through; while it’s nice to have the music blaring, young tender ears may easily become irritated with this.
The future of automobiles as we know them
If the European Parliament has its way, conventional cars with combustion engines will be banned in Europe from 2035. A majority of European lawmaking MEPs approved an electrification-only strategy for road transport in their vote on stricter CO2 emission standards for new cars and vans last week in the EU Parliament, voting to ban combustion engine cars, rejecting a technology-mix in road transport that, alongside e-mobility, would embrace all climate-friendly ways to accelerate the phase-out of fossil fuels.
An amendment, also considered last week, to count the CO2 savings of sustainable renewable fuels towards the fleet targets of new cars, failed by only 44 votes. Had it passed, this would have offered consumers another climate-friendly alternative to fossil-fuelled cars.
However, the end of the combustion engine is not yet a done deal. The Environment Council is currently busy revising the regulation and a general approach is still pending.
AI and robotic technologies to reduce road crash deaths
Researchers at Lero, Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software, are teaming up with automotive perception company Provizio to develop artificial intelligence tools to end traffic accidents on the world’s roads which result in 1.35 million deaths annually. Lero researchers Dr Ciarán Eising and Dr Pepijn Van de Ven, in association with Provizio, will focus on the fusion of data from onboard cameras and radar sensors to help eliminate traffic accidents for all drivers – human and robotic.
Dr Van de Ven said they would be working with Provizio to deploy the technology on Provizio test vehicles and make developments commercially available to car manufacturers worldwide.
