The winter was long but now that spring has arrived we can all breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the sun and warmer weather. It’s also that special time of year when homeowners and office employees do their annual spring-cleaning.
For truck drivers, your truck is practically both an office and a home most of the time. So making sure it’s clean to the point of spotless isn’t just a good idea for yourself, the person who has to live in this space hours at a time, but to show others you take being a professional driver seriously.
We’re not telling you cleaning your truck from the inside out is an easy job, but it’s something you definitely must do on a regular basis, whenever you decide that is.
Some truck drivers may pay someone to detail their trucks, but many do it themselves. And whether you aren’t sure of everything you should clean — or how exactly to go about it — or you simply need a reminder, check out our complete spring-cleaning guide and get scrubbing.
The Interior
1) Clear out the trash first. As your cleaning out the empty fast food bags, chip bags, pop cans, etc. you’ll probably dump out some crumbs and find extra stains and smells, so don’t leave that for the end.
2) Vacuum. Remove the floor mats, shake them out, and vacuum the floors and seats. Use an attachment to get into the hard-to-reach areas.
3) Use a soft brush attachment to vacuum the dashboard gently. Then use a cleaner or water to polish it up. Avoid shiny products on the dashboard because the glare can interfere with your vision when it’s sunny out.
4) Wherever you run across stains, use warm and soapy water to scrub them out. You can also use an upholstery cleaner just make sure you read the instructions. For leather seats the same ideas apply, just remember to be gentle to avoid scratches. Leather conditioner also helps protect them after cleaning.
5) Wash the windows, inside and out. Use a soft cloth or even newspapers to take out stains. Newspapers are too rough for tinted windows, however.
6) Remember to replace the air filter to keep the truck cabin’s air clean and filtered.
The Exterior
1) Start with the wheels. Use a degreaser if you don’t have a high shine exterior, if you do, avoid it because degreasers can cause blotches. Get rid of any grease blotches and rinse them all off starting at the top and letting the dirt and grime flow down.
2) Give the truck a good wash. Use washing toolkits, scrubbers, big old bath towels or whatever you like. You’ll need probably more than one or two cloths, especially at the bottom where the dirt is thicker. Whatever soap you want, have plenty, you might even go with stronger substances for the bottom half.
3) Polish chrome and aluminum with the right products. Starnation.com recommends using wool pads with 3D Deep Blue Polish for a nice shine.
4) Now, turn on the truck, hit the gas and let the engine blow out whatever dirt and soot is left before rinsing it off again.
5) For drying, it’s recommended to use a shammie – a waffle weave towel – which “absorbs water evenly without scraping the paint,” according to Starnation.com.
The final step? Do all this as regularly as your truck needs it. Remember, a clean, spotless truck makes a big impression as to the pride you take in yourself and it will pay off if you ever intend to sell your truck.
But where exactly can you find all the cleaning products you need? Oh wait, we have just the place! North Dixie Truck and Trailer, Inc.’s parts department has everything you need. Call us at 419-222-8785 or stop by and see us at 2084 North Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45801.