14-07-2025
How Often You Really Need to Wash Your Car (Inside and Out), According to a Cleaning Expert
You can typically tell how dirty your car is just by looking at it. There's usually caked-on mud on the exterior and maybe some sandy grit on the interior's carpet. While cleaning your car only when it becomes noticeably messy is technically fine, that doesn't mean it's ideal. We spoke to a cleaning expert to learn how often we should actually be cleaning our cars and the impacts it can have when we don't do it Maker, cleaning expert and founder of Clean My SpaceMelissa Maker, cleaning expert and founder of Clean My Space, says cleaning your car regularly is very important. 'It's best to try to clean the exterior of the car once a month,' she says, or on an as-needed basis depending on the time of year or how often you use the car.
'In the winter, you typically want to clean your car more regularly,' she explains. 'There's dirt building up on the vehicle's exterior,' which can be very transferable to your jacket or pants.
The same thought process goes for when you take a road trip during the summer. 'The sides of your car get really dusty or covered in bugs,' says Maker. 'That's when you should increase the frequency of washing.'
How often you should clean the car's interior will also depend on how often you drive. Maker states you can clean it seasonally with detailing products—or even twice a year if you aren't driving too much or going on any long trips.
She adds vacuuming the interior regularly is a good idea while also doing a quick garbage check to keep things tidy. 'Whenever we leave the car, we take everything inside with us,' Maker states. 'Whether it's garbage or whatever the case may be, nothing stays in the car.'
Related: 7 Things You Shouldn't Store in Your Car
If you don't wash your car often, there can be some issues down the road. 'The downside of not washing your car regularly is that salt, dirt, acid, and dead bugs can wear down the paint,' says Maker, causing the exterior to dull. 'If you really care about your car and you want it to sparkle, make sure that you wash your car to get rid of that buildup.'
Maintaining a clean car also cuts down the risk of rust build-up and corrosion, which may affect your car's performance and overall "health."
'Whenever you're washing your car, whether it's by hand or at a car washing service, you don't want to do it on a sunny day,' says Maker. That's because soap or any other cleaning products you use can dry quickly outside in the sunlight and leave behind a filming residue.
The most ideal time of day to wash your car is 'either first thing in the morning or at dusk,' says Maker, or on a cloudy day. But washing a car indoors in a clean garage will also do and you won't need to worry about the time of day.
Read the original article on Real Simple
