How do you keep your car clean?

[Mary Poppins]

When Ben was alive my car was full of horsey stuff. The boot was a mobile tack room, all the seats were covered in hay and mud, and it was generally dirty. My kids complained it smelled all the time, which it probably did but I didn’t notice.

I now need to replace the car and as I now have money (as I no longer pay for Ben) I am going to scrap my car and buy a brand new one. The car I am going for has a lovely interior and is far, far nicer than my old one. However at the same time I am looking to start up my horsey life again. I’m going to look at a potential share horse today and have a plan to buy a new horse in 2023 when I have settled into my new job (and hopefully my heart has mended slightly).

I’m wondering if anyone who owns or rides a horse has found it possible to keep the inside of their car clean? If so, any tips for doing so? I will be changing out of my boots before I drive (I never did this before), buying a seat cover for the drivers seat and keeping a spare change of clothes in the car so I never have to drive home soaking wet. I will have boxes in my boot to put my muddy boots/clothes in, and I do intend to clean it. Any other tips?

 

[Jessey]

I’m afraid I don’t. I managed ok when on a proper yard with concrete and a tack room I could change in, I generally left my muddy boots and wet coats there to dry, and had a stash of extra coats and clothes in there so I didn’t have them in my car all the time.
Replace foot mats with rubber ones so you don’t end up with mud crushed right into the carpet ones. Seat covers and a boot liner help it be quick to get out the worst of the stray hay etc.

 

[Skib]

Why bother? We now have only one car and rarely clean it. We have no garage. It lives in the road. It is currently adorned with moss and spiders. We walk in all weathers during Covid, wearing our (lighter) walking boots and get back in the car in them. Similarly I get into the car in my riding clothes after riding. Walking boots pick up far more mud than riding boots.
The car is serviced and has an MOT once a year and our garage then valet it inside and out.
It is pelting wirth rain at the moment and that is washing the car pretty well.
We usually own some brand of mini hand held vacuum sleaner and that is what I use on the interior when needed.

 

[MrA]

You never know when you might need to sell your car, that's the ethos I live by so I try and look after it. Luckily I'm spoilt on this yard as tarmac car park and yard. So outside doesn't get muddy. I always change my shoes, often wear coveralls that live at the yard and I don't bring things home from the yard unless they are in a large storage box I have for the purpose (I keep one at home and one at the yard) I do have a small collection of hay/ mud in the passenger footwell as it's not always viable for whoever is with me to also change their shoes. I also keep a collection of towels in the boot which I sit on if I do get soggy (these are also useful for any wild animals or first aid) I'm lucky though as I'm able to store all my stuff at the yard and have somewhere I can hang wet clothes and boots

 

[Skib]

You never know when you might need to sell your car, that's the ethos I live by1

Our cars rarely have a high value. We run our cars for 8 years. Used to be 80,000 miles by which time the value is low. Our present car is 8 years old but has only done about 40,000. We bought it 2nd hand at 1 year old.

 

[carthorse]

What's this keeping a car clean that you're talking about? If people want a lift they either take it as it is or give me a few hours notice so I can muck out a space for them and put blankets on the seat - don't even think of coming in if you have a horse allergy

I always start with good intentions but they don't get past the first winter. Resale value doesn't bother me though, I run a car until it's uneconomic to keep it going and I don't buy from new.

 

[chunky monkey]

Haha my first thought when i read the title. Buy another car.

Just keep hoovering it. Honestly at the moment my car hasnt seen the hoover in a while. The front of it is encrusted with food. I eat my lunch in the car between jobs and crumbs drop everywhere.
The boot isnt too bad as it generally only has shopping in it and i have actually opened the front door when ive been house hoovering opened up the boot and cleaned that.
As the dogs havent been in it much in the last year it hasnt got dog breath smears on the windows either.
I would say get some stackable plastic boxes or shallow trays to stand stuff in in the boot.

When i was at the yard. I use to keep my boots behind the driver seat and spare clothes on the back seat. Now i dont have to the back seat area is the cleanest part of my car.

Ive got the carpet foot mats still in and then rubber ones on top. Rubber ones are great because you can take them out and submerse in a bucket to wash. The dirt tends to fall to the sides of the mats so is realively easy to clean. Note to self, I just need to vacuum more in the front.

My previous cars i used to vac at least once a month. But then i was collecting people that i worked with through the day. Now i dont do that i have become lax.

The outside sees a bucket occasionally mostly at MOT time or a special occasion but living up a dirt track road it is almost impossible to keep clean.

 

[Mary Poppins]

Why bother? We now have only one car and rarely clean it. We have no garage. It lives in the road. It is currently adorned with moss and spiders. We walk in all weathers during Covid, wearing our (lighter) walking boots and get back in the car in them. Similarly I get into the car in my riding clothes after riding. Walking boots pick up far more mud than riding boots.
The car is serviced and has an MOT once a year and our garage then valet it inside and out.
It is pelting wirth rain at the moment and that is washing the car pretty well.
We usually own some brand of mini hand held vacuum sleaner and that is what I use on the interior when needed.

Why bother? Because I want something nice. Perhaps having a break from horses has made me realise that life doesn't all have to about mud and dirt. I drive my car to and from work where I wear professional clothes that I want to keep clean. I also like sitting in a clean car which smells clean and doesn't have hay and mud ingrained in the seats. Plus when I take people for lifts in my car I don't want to be embarrassed at the dirt and smell and constantly apologising for the state of it. Is it so wrong to want to have some nice things in life?

 

[Mary Poppins]

You never know when you might need to sell your car, that's the ethos I live by so I try and look after it. Luckily I'm spoilt on this yard as tarmac car park and yard. So outside doesn't get muddy. I always change my shoes, often wear coveralls that live at the yard and I don't bring things home from the yard unless they are in a large storage box I have for the purpose (I keep one at home and one at the yard) I do have a small collection of hay/ mud in the passenger footwell as it's not always viable for whoever is with me to also change their shoes. I also keep a collection of towels in the boot which I sit on if I do get soggy (these are also useful for any wild animals or first aid) I'm lucky though as I'm able to store all my stuff at the yard and have somewhere I can hang wet clothes and boots

Very useful tips, thank you. I like the overall idea and keeping towels in the boot. I'm thinking of getting one of these dog seat covers which easily goes on and off for when I am wet and/or dirty.

And yes, the resale of the car has to be thought about. My current car is only fit for scrap due to mechanical issues, but if it was OK to sell on, I couldn't do this because of the state of the seats. The front driver seat is ripped from where the velcro in my boots has caught on it, and the engrained dirt is impossible to get out.

 

[Mary Poppins]

What's this keeping a car clean that you're talking about? If people want a lift they either take it as it is or give me a few hours notice so I can muck out a space for them and put blankets on the seat - don't even think of coming in if you have a horse allergy

I always start with good intentions but they don't get past the first winter. Resale value doesn't bother me though, I run a car until it's uneconomic to keep it going and I don't buy from new.

That is what I am like at the moment, but I want to invite people into my car without having a fumigate it first.

 

[Mary Poppins]

Haha my first thought when i read the title. Buy another car.

Just keep hoovering it. Honestly at the moment my car hasnt seen the hoover in a while. The front of it is encrusted with food. I eat my lunch in the car between jobs and crumbs drop everywhere.
The boot isnt too bad as it generally only has shopping in it and i have actually opened the front door when ive been house hoovering opened up the boot and cleaned that.
As the dogs havent been in it much in the last year it hasnt got dog breath smears on the windows either.
I would say get some stackable plastic boxes or shallow trays to stand stuff in in the boot.

When i was at the yard. I use to keep my boots behind the driver seat and spare clothes on the back seat. Now i dont have to the back seat area is the cleanest part of my car.

Ive got the carpet foot mats still in and then rubber ones on top. Rubber ones are great because you can take them out and submerse in a bucket to wash. The dirt tends to fall to the sides of the mats so is realively easy to clean. Note to self, I just need to vacuum more in the front.

My previous cars i used to vac at least once a month. But then i was collecting people that i worked with through the day. Now i dont do that i have become lax.

The outside sees a bucket occasionally mostly at MOT time or a special occasion but living up a dirt track road it is almost impossible to keep clean.

Yes boxes in the boot are a good idea. Its more the inside of the car that I want to keep nice. I plan to have separate driving shoes I keep in the car which will hopefully stop the dirt getting ingrained.

 

[Trewsers]

I struggle keeping my house clean and free from horse smells, hay, straw, shavings - let alone the car hehehee. Up until a few years ago we always ran new vehicles, it made sense for us as running the type of business we did we needed something that looked presentable and gave us a reasonable image. But I'm sad to say they did take a bashing inside. I caught the seats with the velcro off my long MH boots @Mary Poppins and it ruined the leather! When we came to trade it in we got marked down for it and other stuff inside. I think the trouble is, when you are flitting from work life to horse life - you don't always have the time to think things through. But there are lots of ideas on here like the boxes in the boot for putting your horse boots in etc. Hand held vacuum cleaners don't generally cut it either. Little Henry is generally your best bet for getting the inside straw and bit free!
We have an older car atm, but it's getting very unreliable and being honest - if we don't change it soon it's going to be worth scrap only! So this is something I need to consider, because I ought to try and keep it cleaner inside. There's no real hope for the exterior on anything we drive given our road in is full of mud, pot holes and grass. I would say if you can take out the inside mats that it arrives with. Replace with some not-so expensive unbranded ones for the duration of your ownership - then when you come to trade in or sell you can pop the really good ones back in and it goes a long way to making it look as through you've cared for it!

 

[chunky monkey]

Just another thought. If you can afford it go for the leather interior spec on your new car. It will be a more expensive car. It doesnt stop the leather getting dirty. You can use special leather cleaner and polish on it occasionally. Down side is in the summer if you get in with shorts your legs stick to it and it burns but its a compromise.
My mum has the same make of car as me, she has the fabric seats and they are definitely dirty. Mind we did use her car as the work horse car for many years as hers was 4wd and i only had 2wd at the time. Her car is hardly driven now but her seats and interior look minging.

 

[Myfellpony]

My car is now 3 years old, I’ve had it 12 months now and it is still pristine inside.

I keep it so clean and tidy by…….






using my husbands car for going to the yard, or picking up hay, feed etc

 

[MrA]

Our cars rarely have a high value. We run our cars for 8 years. Used to be 80,000 miles by which time the value is low. Our present car is 8 years old but has only done about 40,000. We bought it 2nd hand at 1 year old.

I bought my current car at 40,000 miles and 7 years old for just under £3k, it had been very well looked after. It's personal preference of course but I just try do what I can just in case I need to resell it.

 

[domane]

I don't like the interior of my car to be full of clutter so it doesn't have much in it to be honest. I'm as guilty as the next person of chucking a chocolate bar wrapper, car park ticket or a used tissue (permanent runny nose in winter!) into a side pocket, but I clear them out regularly. My boot only contains empty carrier bags for shopping and my back seat has a folded tartan blanket across it so that I can give it a shake if it gets hay or shavings on it. The footwells collect dirt but it gets hoovered occasionally. The exterior is pretty much permanently filthy from dust in the summer and mud/spray in the winter, but I've made my peace with that.....the car is white!!

 

[Kite_Rider]

I have a car cleaning fairy who does mine
I do change out of my boots and have a seat cover too though, wellies, riding boots are in boot bags in the boot and that’s the only horse stuff I keep in there.
Good luck going to see the potential share @Mary Poppins

 

[Skib]

I run a car until it's uneconomic to keep it going and I don't buy from new.

Same with us.

 

[Wally123]

I don't

 

[Wally123]

Mind you new hubby does occasionally muck it out when it has to go in for service MOT etc. But since his son does it I don't know why he bothers. We lost our gopro. looked everywhere for it and came to the conclusion it had fallen out the back of the cart. Then one day I found it, on the footwell in the back on top of the jump leads.......after the car had supposedly been mucked out for new brakes and MOT...3 months apart!