Messy interiors (Personal vehicles)

C

CharlesW

The Rainmaker
Recently I read some discussion about how a product worked for cleaning/maintaining vehicle interiors.
What surprised me was the number of comments about cleaning up coffee or pop stains in their own vehicles.
Is this a big problem? I can't remember when I had to clean up spilled food or drink in one of my vehicles. If you use any of the readily available closed containers, it seems like you would almost have to make an effort to spill a drink.
We didn't even have the problem when the kids were around.
My biggest interior upkeep is the mud, tar, grease residue that I pick up on my shoes and track onto the carpeted mats.
How about some of your experiences in this area.

Charles
 
I gavea ride once to a new coworker at my old job. He commented on how mine was the cleanest car he'd ever been in. He said his old car was full of junk such as wrappers, pop cans, fast food bags, etc.

I just don't get it.
 
My problem is keeping kid accessories hidden under the cover in the back during a work week, so that customers aren't sitting on soothers and stuff. The prev owner of my Jimmy left some carpet stains I'm still working on, mostly mud and some yellowing. Might dye them. But no significant spills.
 
Even with covered coffee cups I still spill coffee in my truck. When using my own container what happens is that I miss the holder area and the cup falls onto the floor dribbling until I am able to grab it. If this happens in traffic I usually make sure that it is safe before grabbing it up. Then there is a mess to clean up. Have seen to many times the fast reaction of a driver that causes an accident. Stains can be corrected. Accidents go on your record.
 
I have had a problem with coffee cups you get. I notice that lots of time they will have little leaks in them. I notice them but theirs nothing I can do.Its either i let it leak in my cup holder or throw it out the window. I choose to let it drip, gives me a good excuse to detail my car (not that i need one) :yes:
 
I eat in my car every once in a while and I have never ever spilled anything. The majority of filth in my car is just a little sandy/dirt mixture from the roads, and thats easily vaccuumable.

Greg
 
For the years BC (before children :stick ) I had a rule, no food, no drinks in the car -- no smoking either back in the days when people smoked (seems like fewer and fewer people smoke now?). As the kids grew and we went on family trips, the drink/food rules were relaxed, yet we still tried to select foods that weren't too messy and used drink containers.

As the years went by, I found that we enjoyed our coffee on the way to work instead of drinking the coffee provided at work. I'll often bring along a bottle of water, and will still carry out a to-go glass of iced tea (no sugar) from a restaurant from time to time. I can remember only one coffee spill, which was due to an avoidance manuever. The rubber OEM mat contained the majority. There was a DIY car wash in the vicinity, I pulled in and soaked up the majority of the spill with a cellulose drying towel from their dispenser and went on in. I was able to do a more complete clean-up later that evening.
 
Mr. Clean said:
As the kids grew and we went on family trips, the drink/food rules were relaxed, yet we still tried to select foods that weren't too messy and used drink containers.
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That just about echoes our experiences with our two kids. If they learn from the start to be careful with food & drink, it's not too difficult for them.
Kind of like when we first started going to car shows with the kids. They were taught to look at cars with their hands clasped behind their backs. No fingerprints on the show cars was the result.

Charles
 
My car is almost always "showroom ready" on the inside. Seat belts in the back all straight and the middle one lined up, windows spotless, blah blah blah. (It's a '94.) But that isn't the case after a trip with my sister. I have to clean up candy wrappers (even have to look under the seats!), throw out coffee cups, bottles, clean finger prints off the windows, and so on. (She's not all that young either.) This doesn't bother me too much, but the only spill I've had (that I can recall) is when she spilled some pop over my console. :eek: My shifter is still a little sticky. :(
 
CharlesW said:
...Kind of like when we first started going to car shows with the kids. They were taught to look at cars with their hands clasped behind their backs. No fingerprints on the show cars was the result.
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Similarly, our two spent some of their earliest years in an antique shop "assisting" their Mother and Grandpa. We never hesitated taking them into another shop where crystal or china were on display. I don't recall them keeping their hands behind them, but they definitely knew the rule "do not touch". :bigups
 
Food and drinks are the least of my problems. In fact I can't think of one stain I've gotten for such things.
 
I have had one accident in the truck I have now. I bought some milk at the dairy and my daughter was holding it on the way home. One of the gallons had a leak. It got my daughter noticed this and did what every child should do, kept it over the floor mat. She also stayed outside with me while I cleaned the mat. Both of my kids, 6 and 9, know not to touch the cars. The only use the handles to close the car and there are very rarely any fingerprints on the windows.

My nephew on the other hand is allowed to eat, drink, paint and various other things in his parents car. He goes into culture shock when riding with me.
 
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