3 Handy Tips For Cleaner Family Car Trips

One of the hardest aspects of owning a family car as a dad, is how to keep your car clean with all the rough and tumble of daily travelling with kids and pets. No matter how many weekends you spend detailing the interior, it seems that our little ones and furry friends have an unerring ability to make a mess of the car in exactly the same areas that you find most difficult to clean.

In fact, according to research from the University of Nottingham, the cars of drivers who are parents are those that tend to be far dirtier and full of more bacteria and bugs inside than any other vehicles! This is most likely due to the probable increase of spillages. The same research found that only 16 per cent of parents clean the interiors of their cars weekly. This creates a potentially harmful environment for those with young children or babies from bacteria and viruses E.coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter 

According to Dr. Ron Cutler, director of biomedical science at Queen Mary University, London, “Most people clean their homes but many are neglecting to clean their cars and are driving around in vehicles which resemble a rubbish bin”

So let us take a quick look at ideas to keep our cars and our loved ones safer and cleaner on family car trips

Children and cleaner cars

The fact is that children love to eat in cars, and if you have multiple children, very often they get possessive about their bottles, sippy cups, and more. I’m sure that like mine their squabbles over which ones belong to whom has caused spillages of sticky drinks all over your car from time to time! So why not make sure that even though your little ones may know the idiom  ‘What's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine” (even though it is doubtful they have read Shakespeare (!).

1. Our first tip is to use reusable, washable name labels from Nomi + Sibs that your kids can continue to use for to come, in a sustainable way as they graduate to snack containers, thermos and sports bottles. Simple - No arguments, no spillages!

2. Don’t forget the babies and under-4 year olds – they must by law have a safety car seat, so make sure you not only make a sound investment for their car safety, take a look at Andy Stork car seats which have a whole range of accessories such as portable storage, tables and bottle attachments, that will help your little ones to stay in control of their snacks and food and keep the mess away from your car seats and floors   

3. How to deal with pets’ mess your car - no matter how much you love your best friend, even the best trained and cared for dog will make a mess of your car, it is virtually impossible to avoid their pet hair shedding – in fact many of the most common dog breeds are the ones that shed the most hair, including

• Labrador Retriever

• German Shepherd

• Golden Retriever

• Siberian Husky.

• Saint Bernard

Soo you can’t avoid dogs shedding their coat, but you can reduce the hair everywhere type of décor by  brushing your dog’s pride and joy with  daily with an efficient tool like the Sleek EZ tool to remove shedding hair, dirt and dander, and you can also use one to remove debris from fabric car seats and carpeting.

We hope these tips will help you keep your family car fresh and clean and be a valued family member as your family grows for many years to come.