Automotive Academy

Oil and grease stains are unfortunately a common problem for car interiors, due to oil being leaked onto driveways, parking spaces etc and then being stood in and wiped onto the carpet of the car. I was recently asked the best way to remove oil stains from carpets without making it worse, so here is a tutorial to get rid of any nasty stains! 

1.) Remove excess oil or grease by blotting or scraping, using a blunt knife, this will make it easier to get the stain out as the move you remove beforehand the better the result. 

2.) Place a sheet of butcher paper or a portion of a brown paper bag on the stain, glossy side up and then gently press the tip of a warm iron over the affected area whilst holding the paper flat.

3.) Lift the paper from the carpet after the paper has absorbed the grease.

4.) Apply carpet shampoo with a moist sponge if any residual stains remain and then wipe away the carpet shampoo foam with a clean, dry towel.

5.) Finish by hovering the area, if a stain still remains repeat the process again until clean. 

Other products which i have heard apparently work well – but i have not tried – are Head and Shoulders Shampoo and men’s shaving cream straight from the can.

Car cleaning products can be made at home, much less expensive than the store bought cleaners and they are better for the environment too. Here are some home made recipes that will take care of all of your car care needs.  

CAR WASH SOLUTION: Add a couple drops of liquid castile soup which can be found in health food stores to a bucket of water and wash with a sponge or soft cloth.

WINDOW CLEANER: Fill a clean spray bottle with full strength white vinegar and spray onto windows, then allow it to sit for a few minutes, then, wipe dry with a piece of newspaper.

CHROME CLEANER: Mix together equal parts white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Then, spray it on your wheels; and work it in with a sponge or cleaning rag. Note: Vinegar should not be used on aluminum alloys.

CARPET AND UPHOLSTERY STAIN REMOVER: Mix white vinegar and baking soda together to form a paste. Then, work the paste into any carpet and upholstery stains with an old toothbrush or something similar. Allow the paste to dry. Then, vacuum up the baking soda, and the stains should be gone. Note: Some stains may need to be treated more than once.

INTERIOR CLEANER: Mix together equal parts white vinegar and water. Then, spray it on any vinyl, plastic, wood, or leather surfaces in your car that need cleaning. Allow it to soak in. Then, wipe dry with a clean rag. Note: As with any leather cleaner, you should test on a small area before applying to the entire surface.

WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID: Mix half white vinegar with half water and fill your windshield washer fluid reservoir. The acetic acid in the vinegar dissolves grime, bugs, and sap. It also helps keep windows frost free in the winter.

Rear-facing not only turns out to be safer for infants, but for people of all ages. In fact, we would all be safer rear-facing in cars, airplanes, trains and elsewhere. Of course, this would not be acceptable to most adults.  

When seating babies, it is best to remain rear-facing to the weight and height limits of the carseat.  Some convertible carseats have 30 or 35 pound rear-facing limits.  In all cases, infants should be rear-facing until they are both one year and twenty pounds at the very minimum.

Usually a child can be moved to a booster when they are too big for a harnessed carseat, and once they are able to sit properly in a seatbelt.  A child should be in some type of booster seat until around 8 years old, unless they are already 4′ 9″ tall.

Fortunately, adults are somewhat better able to withstand the forces on the head and neck in a severe crash when they are front-facing. Babies have very immature bones and connective tissue, and this is especially the case when they are younger than 1 year or under 20 pounds. For that reason, front-facing babies face a particularly serious risk of spinal cord injury in a frontal crash.

Frontal crashes are more frequent, more severe and usually have less ride-down time than rear-end crashes.  In such a frontal crash, it is easy to see why a rear-facing carseat is a better choice.  The entire shell of the carseat cradles the child’s back, neck and head. Some seats even have foam protection in the shell to cushion the child even more. 

The crash forces are spread throughout the large area of the child’s back and head, reducing the pressure during the crash, and keeping the head from snapping backward with respect to the body.  Unlike this rear-facing carseat, a child’s legs and head are not restrained at all if they are turned front-facing.  In a serious frontal crash with a front-facing carseat, the head and legs of the child are thrown forward like a rag doll, and serious forces are put on the child’s spinal cord. 

In a front-facing carseat, only the harness couples the energy to the child’s body.  The smaller area of the harness means more pressure on the child.  In the egg analogy, the egg is much less likely to break if it is caught using the whole padded area of your hand rather than with just a couple bony fingers.

Similarly, for the uncommon rear-end crash, a front-facing carseat may be safer than a rear-facing model.  Still, rear-end crashes are much less common and much less severe than frontal crashes, and it is for that reason we choose to maximize the protection for a frontal crash instead. 

In addition, rear-facing carseats can also provide an added degree of safety in side-impacts.  Rear-facing seats will usually protect the head from being thrown outside the shell of the carseat much better than a front-facing carseat in a frontal offset or side impact.

Even with best practice, not all injuries can be prevented. Some crashes are unsurvivable. Still, much of best practice is based on statistics, and how to have the best chance to reduce injuries. Best practice may also be based on crash forces and physics. Both are very important regarding the use of rear facing seats.

Rear-facing seats are a lot safer for babies, as they would face a greater risk of spinal cord injury in a front-facing car-seat during a frontal crash, a rear facing seat may not be as effective in a rear end crash but severe frontal and frontal offset crashes are far more common and severe than rear end crashes.

A few factors govern the physics of crashes as they relate to children in car seats. Obviously, the faster the vehicles are going, the more energy will be in the crash.  Perhaps most important is the length of time passengers have to “ride-down” a crash.   The longer the “ride-down”, the more time your skeleton and organs have to absorb the crash energy.   Longer time means less power is transferred to your body, and less chance of injury.

Frontal and frontal offset crashes are accountable for 72% of severe crashes, side impacts are 24% and rear crashes are only 4%. The odds of being in a fatal frontal crash are far higher than a rear end crash. Rear end crashes are very common when cars are moving at a low speed, and these types of crashes usually result in whiplash injury to adults especially passengers lacking head restraints. 

Homemade Recipes for Cleaning and Conditioning Leather:

Read ingredients in leather cleaners carefully. You will find that the ingredients are pretty common: olive oil, lanolin and Neat’s-foot oil (animal rendered oils) are generally used in commercial products. If your vehicle has leather seats, avoid hot, sunny parking spots and use a sun screen in front of your windows, or cover the seats with a blanket to protect the leather.  Spot cleaning, dusting and using a protective spray will increase the life of the leather.

For full cleaning and conditioning, try this mixture:

• 1 part white vinegar
• 2 parts neatsfoot oil OR raw or food grade linseed oil
• Use a white lint free cloth to swirl on, leave overnight then buff for maximum shine.

Remove any mildew or mold on leather before starting with a regular cleaning. To remove mildew, try this inexpensive, easy recipe:

• 1 part rubbing alcohol
• 1 part water
• Spray on or use on a dampened cloth. Use a clean white lint free cloth and replace as it gets dirty. Avoid direct sunlight and allow to air dry. You may also turn on a fan and allow it to gently waft over the surface.

Removing Stains From Leather

It may be impossible to remove all stains from leather, depending on their origin. However, here are some simple cleaning tips that might help.

• Toothpaste straight on the stain, lightly scrubbed in and then wiped off.
• Try non-acetone nail polish remover wipes on ink stains.
• Aerosol hairspray works well on tough stains. Spray the hairspray directly on the stain and wipe away. This may take several swipes so keep at it.

1) Before you start you should thoroughly vacuum the carpet to ensure that it’s dirt free and clean. If you have any car mats you should take them out and clean them separately as it will make it easier for you.

2) The carpets should be clean if you have had your mats in for any length of time, if there are any stains or marks on the carpet you should spray them with general purpose cleaner or degreaser depending on the severity.

3) Apply a little water to the soiled areas and then scrub with a brush, again depending how bad the stain/mark is will determine how long/hard you will need to scrub for.

4) After you are satisfied with the result you can simply hoover everything up which should leave your carpets clean and fresh.

5) You are best doing each section of the carpet before moving onto the next section, the process itself is not very hard or time consuming but can make a great difference to the smell and appearance of your car.

6) Once you have done the carpets you can concentrate on your car mats, spray them with a hose and apply the same cleaning product used on the carpets. Scrub with a brush and repeat the process you did on the carpets.

7) Put the mats back in and you have finished.

1) Most odors tend to be from spillages in the car that don’t dry up or get cleaned up properly. The proper method to remove the smells would be to take out the carpet or upholstery, clean it thoroughly and they let dry out properly.

2) Not many people would be happy to do this so there are other options you have, buying and using anti-bacterial spray will kill the source of the smell whether it is mould or mildew.

3) You should always wash and shampoo the area first and wait until it’s dry, then apply the anti-bacterial spray evenly and lightly. You then just simply let it dry out and the odor should be gone. You may still find small traces of the odor depending on how severe the flooding/spillage was. If you want to remove the smell completely then you would have to replace the area that was contaminated.

NOTE: Avoid getting this spray on any plastics in the car, they may stain.

4) If you have identified that the odor is coming from the vents then professional help is required. Never try to use any solution yourself as you may end up damaging the ventilation system of your car.