You missed a spot

Posted 2 July, 2025 John Pedler

Washing the car is hardly a favourite weekend task, which is why it’s a good earner for children’s pocket money.

But even with their enthusiasm and attention to detail, the kids occasionally miss a spot.

Here are five parts of a car that are often neglected during a wash.

1. Cup holders

After a few spillages, blended with crumbs from driving snacks, you can build up quite an ecosystem in the cup holder. Unless you’re filming an Attenborough-esque nature special, give this bacterial nest a good wash next time you’re cleaning the car.

A vacuum crevice nozzle can get rid of the loose muck, then use a clean cloth soaked in warm, soapy water to remove any sticky horrors, before drying thoroughly. 

2. Inside the fuel filler flap

You open the fuel filler flap and cap, squirt in a mortgage payment worth of fuel, then close it again until next time. Out of sight, out of mind. But it can get fairly grubby in the little space behind the flap, and that gunk and spider colony can find their way into the fuel tank when the cap’s off.

This isn’t a job for a high-pressure hose, but a clean rag will do the trick. Keep the fuel cap on while you’re wiping this area, so no dirt ends up in the fuel tank.

3. Door jambs

The door seals are your car’s last frontier to prevent the grubby outside world entering the sanctuary of the cabin. Consequently, door jambs can become thick with grime, mixed with grease from the hinges.

A detailing brush can remove much of the built-up debris from the nooks and crannies, and then a car detailing spray and a cloth can help finish the job.

4. Wiper blades

The job of the wiper blades is to clean the windscreen, but the blades also need cleaning. Dirty blades will likely smear any built-up grime across the glass.

To clean the blades, first swing the wiper arms away from the windscreen. There’s a universe of internet recommendations for cleaning blades, but a soft cloth and soapy water will usually do the job.

While you’re at it, inspect the blades for any splits, chips or rubber hardening, and replace them if they’re damaged.  

This is also a good time to thoroughly clean the windscreen so the blades don’t simply pick up what they deposited last wipe, and then you can start from scratch… for want of a better word.

5. The underbody

This grime-heavy area collects all sorts of filth flicked up by the tyres, particularly in wet weather. Left unchecked, it could lead to corrosion and can even gum up some of the suspension components.

If your house is blessed with good water pressure, the power setting on your garden hose gun can usually flick off most of the gunk.

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