The BIC Car Care Thread

[JoSometimes]

I spend a lot of time in my car going to work, picking up my kids from daycare, running to Sephora for more skincare and checking out makeup errands and getting groceries. I’m putting a lot more effort into self-care these days but I think it’s also important to put some effort into taking car if my car too. My high school mechanics teacher once told my class “if you take care of your car, it’ll take care of you.”

So I thought I’d share a few car care tips and tricks with the BIC community. If you have any tips to share, please feel free to add to them. Or if you’re worried about a weird sound your car’s making, a warning light going off, or just want to learn a new skill, feel free to ask questions! I’m not a mechanic. I just enjoy working on cars as much as I enjoy makeup and skincare and I’m happy to share my experiences. 🚗

[Samtian]

@JoSometimes I didn't know this thread existed. Great tips you have shared thank you! I am an idiot with cars. Mine is sitting across the street waiting for the long line of cars to get worked on at the shop 😞 I miss my baby. 

[JoSometimes]

Haha thanks @Samtian! My interests and hobbies are pretty eclectic and all over the place. Sometimes I’ll watch a car channel on YouTube while I paint my nails. 😅

If you ever have questions, I’m happy to share what I know! 

[JoSometimes]

My girls were complaining that my car was stinky. I know sometimes it’s just them being silly but I have noticed it smells musty on really hot days when I absolutely must use the air conditioning to keep cool. Air fresheners only cover up the problem and spraying disinfectant from inside the cabin will only reach so far. Here’s how I cleaned it from the inside-out and got it smelling fresh again. 

I started by draping some old towels over all the vents. I also weighed them down (not pictured). This will prevent disinfectant from spraying everywhere and making a mess. 

I located the cabin air filter. This filters out air from the outside, catching dust, pollen, leaves, and the occasional wasp, before blowing it across the heater matrix or ac unit and into the car. On my car, it’s in the engine bay on the passenger side but I’ve also seen it under the dashboard by the footwell. Your user manual or a quick google search can usually tell you where yours is.

It’s a good time to replace the filter too. Pay attention to which way the arrow is pointing for air flow and make sure to match it when putting the new one in. I usually replace mine once a year but you might need to do it more frequently if you live somewhere really dusty.

Back inside the car, start it up, turn on the fan to max, select all the vents, and make sure the recirculation is off. This might also mean setting the temperature to hot.

Back at the air filter location, with the filter out of the way, start spraying disinfectant. Since I turned on the fan, it will suck the Lysol through the opening, into all the pipes and vents, cleaning the system from the inside out and killing whatever might be lurking around in there.

Replace the air filter, matching the direction of the arrow with the old one. And one hack I just learned: Toss an air fresher on top of the filter! It’ll blow the scent into the car and continue working no matter which vents you choose. The ones that clip on onto a vent only work when that vent is selected and open. Also, sometimes the scented oils on these types of fresheners drip all over the dashboard. At least if they drip here, they just get caught by the filter and blown into the car.

Now I can enjoy a fresh smelling car again!

[JoSometimes]

After pulling out a car seat, I have this. A vacuum can make quick work of this but I have a sneaking suspicion there are more cheerios hiding elsewhere…

The bottom cushion of the rear seats in most cars can actually be pulled upward and out of the way. They’re usually just held in by clips. (Sorry SUV owners, your seats are a bit different.)

Just as I thought, cheerios everywhere! 😩

Sometimes, plastic trim can also be pulled out of the way to really deep clean. I guess my girls aren’t the only ones leaving crumbs everywhere… 😅

If you live somewhere really sandy and have a hard time getting the sand out of the carpet, try finding something that vibrates or shakes and turn it on while it’s on the carpet. It’ll vibrate the sand up out of the carpet and you can get it with the vacuum. 

So much better! A quick wipe down with some leather protector and everything’s ready to go!

If you have cloth seats, an upholstery cleaner works really well for spills. You can also use it on the carpet floor and even the headliner. If you don’t have one of your own, you can rent a carpet cleaner from the grocery store and use the upholstery attachment (sometimes they’re rented separately). My friends and I used to rent one for an entire day. We’d all take turns cleaning our cars and split the cost after.

All done and time to clean up. Sometimes hand soap just isn’t enough though. Dish soap could work but it just strips all the moisture out of my hands. Cleansing oil or makeup remover works really well for getting rid of any grease or grime without being too harsh. I basically double cleansed my hands!

Thanks for coming along on this car cleaning journey with me! ☺️❤️🚙✨