Home About Writers Categories Recent Issues Subscribe Contact File Transfer





Brad Train
rad Train is the General Manager overseeing day-to-day operations of Saturn West & Saturn East for the owner Scott Davies. He joined the Wichita Saturn team in 1994 as a Sales Consultant, after 3 years he entered the Saturn Management Team. Brad is a graduate of Southeast High and Butler Community College. He and his wife Michelle have 3 children; Shelby, Andrew and Jacob. You can contact Brad at (316)219-5500, or by e-mail at bradtrain@saturnwichita.com
Cars, Trucks, Vans & Automotive
2004-02-01 16:25:00
Carkeeping tips for busy lives?
: I'm busy! How do I keep the interior of my car from looking like I live in it?
Brad Train Question: I'm busy! How do I keep the interior of my car from looking like I live in it?Answer: To most of us, our car is our second home; our bedroom, kitchen and living room combined in one space. Keeping the interior of our car clean and fresh is the key to continued enjoyment. I can't help you with your busy schedule, but I can share some great tips to keep the interior of your car in the best possible state.Shampoo and condition! Apply a leather cleaner one section at a time and work the solution into a lather. If your leather is heavily soiled, use an upholstery (interior detailing) brush. Be sure to remove all soap from the surface with a damp towel. Rinse and wipe several times, then dry the leather with a fresh, dry towel. Water will not hurt your leather as most leather is actually made (tanned) in water. Condition your leather to prevent it from cracking by applying a leather conditioner to one section at a time using a soft foam wax applicator. Work the conditioner in thoroughly. Allow the conditioner to soak in for a few minutes, then buff off the excess with a dry terry cloth towel. After a few minutes of soaking, your leather has taken in all the moisture it can. The remaining moisture will evaporate into the interior of the car, leaving that milky cloud on the inside of your windows. Gunky carpets! Remove the floor mats, the front carpets, and the foam pads under the carpets, which can get wet and take on a musty odor. These foam mats are like odor-eaters in your shoes, they can get smelly. If they are deteriorating, rotting, or falling apart, order new ones. If you have mats over your carpets, hopefully your carpets are in good shape. Start by thoroughly vacuuming them. Use a household upright vacuum cleaner, not the nozzle type like at the car wash. Lay the carpeting on a flat clean surface and go over it for several minutes with the vacuum. Pick the carpets up and beat them against a chain link fence or a brick wall. Keep beating until you don't see copious amounts of dirt and dust flying out of them, and then vacuum again. Hang them on a clothesline to air out in the sunshine. If they smell, a little baking powder sprinkled generously on them will soak up most of the odors. Vacuum the powder off before replacing in car. Floor mats come in many varieties: carpet, rubber, or soft pile. All of these respond well to the beat-against-a-chain-link-fence method, and all except the rubber mats benefit from the same vacuuming treatment. You can wash and hose down rubber matsGrimy door panels! Use your home vacuum cleaner with the round soft bristle attachment to clean the surfaces of the door panels. Don't forget the interior side panels and the storage bins in the doors. This is an important step to pick up the big surface dust before using any cleaners on the interior surfaces. If you leave out this step, you'll actually wash the dirt into these surfaces. Cracking rubber! There are small rubber pieces in the interior, notably by the windows and the foot pedals. Use a Q-tip, or your fingers wrapped around a terry cloth towel and wipe these crevices several times with a tire shiner product. Spray the rubber around the door jams, wipe down, then do it again. This rubber has a tendency to rot or tear if not taken care of. Interior odor! Buy a box of baking soda and transfer contents into a container that will prevent powder from spilling. Place the container somewhere in the car where it will not be disturbed. Forget about it for several weeks and let the baking soda absorb any unwanted smell that is currently in your car. Then just throw away the container and replace it with a fresh box to eliminate any future odors. To keep your car smelling fresh, put a pouch of ground coffee beans under the seat. Pick your flavor!Polluted vents! Take window cleaner and Q-tips to clean out the air vents on the dash. A quick shot of silicone spray, wipe down with a lint free towel and they'll look better than new.
 
The Q & A Times Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.Materials will not be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Thank you.
 
Wildcard SSL Certificates