Almost 20% of Americans say they haven’t cleaned their car at all over the last three months, with 35% saying they don’t even know how often they’re supposed to clean it. But none of them are as bad as the 10% who couldn’t even tell you the last time they cleaned or vacuumed their vehicle.
If you fall into any of those unfortunate categories, you’re not just sitting around in a gunky car that’s accumulating dirt. As our detailing pro explains, you create a hazard to your health (and that of anybody who rides in your car) and even hurt the resale value. Let’s bust some dust as we look at what happens when you don’t vacuum your car.
You Create a Breeding Ground for Bacteria
A quick sandwich eaten in the car is a bigger deal than you think because every crumb that drops off that sandwich is a breeding ground for bacteria. Leave even a small piece of food out in the open at temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit and it can take as little as 20 minutes for the bacteria that was already on that food to double up. It just gets worse from there as the bacteria will multiply exponentially for as long as it takes for you to finally engage in some mobile car interior cleaning in Chandler.
“People underestimate just how much damage even a few morsels of food can cause,” says our detailing pro. “Food can get stuck in seat folds or knocked underneath seats where you don’t even see it. And all the while, it’s accumulating these bacteria that can lead to foodborne illnesses unless you vacuum it up as quickly as possible.”
Allergens Accumulate
It’s not just bacteria that’ll accumulate if you’re not vacuuming your car regularly. Dust builds up, with every minute you spend in your car creating more as dust is primarily made up of your dead skin cells. Add the dust mites that’ll love to make your car their home (and the droppings they leave in the dust you breathe in) and you have a recipe for an uncomfortable ride. And that’s before we even mention the pollen you might end up bringing into your car.
“Just like crumbs, all of this dust gets into crevices. Only now, you have all of this nasty stuff circulating in the air,” our detailing pro points out. “It’s enough to make me want to cough up a lung just thinking about it.”
Around 20 million Americans have a dust mite allergy that can contribute to asthma attacks. That’s dangerous enough on its own. However, consider what might happen if the dust you didn’t vacuum triggers an asthma attack while you drive. The potential for accidents is high.
The Car Starts to Look Terrible
“There’s a bit of a disconnect between what somebody thinks is a clean car and what a clean car really is,” our detailing pro tells us. “I remember reading a stat once that about three-quarters of people in Britain will spend most of their time cleaning their car’s exterior while ignoring the interior entirely. I see that a lot in the U.S., too.”
Perhaps you’re one of those people who thinks a little shine on the surface will hide a lack of car interior cleaning. That may not be a problem if you have no intention of selling your vehicle. However, as soon as it’s time to sell, you start to see why not vacuuming regularly is a problem.
Potential buyers will inspect every inch of your car, including the seats and the general conditions inside. A lack of vacuuming creates a generally dirty interior that creates the perception of neglect elsewhere in the car. If you haven’t bothered to take the time to vacuum, what other (perhaps more serious) issues have you pushed to the side? You don’t want these questions floating around in the heads of potential buyers. However, a lack of vacuuming makes your car look terrible to anybody who takes the time to open the door, and those types of early impressions tend to stick with buyers.
Your Upholstery Might Get Damaged
Most of us don’t think of dust and debris as problems that can affect a car’s upholstery. Spills are usually the greater focus. They’re more visible and you can see the damage that they cause immediately.
“The problem most don’t recognize is that all those little particles left in a car cause damage over time. Think of it like having a light layer of sandpaper sitting on top of your seats and car mats whenever you don’t vacuum. You won’t see the damage straight off, though you may see dust accumulate. However, those particles keep on rubbing away on materials, degrading them over time,” our detailing pro explains.
Fading, staining and tears – all can be the long-term results of not vacuuming regularly. Avoiding these issues is one of the key reasons to engage in regular car interior cleaning. You keep your seats and mats looking as close to new as possible, which feeds into the “maintaining the look” issue you’ll encounter when selling.
Vacuum Regularly and Your Car Will Thank You
Combine the health issues that come with a lack of vacuuming with how dust and dirt affect your car visually and you have clear reasons to break out the vacuum. If you don’t want to do it yourself, a mobile vehicle detailing service in Gilbert can handle the job for you, along with getting rid of stains and adding a shine to your vehicle’s exterior.
