For many people, a car is like a second home. There are even days when we spend more hours in our cars than at home. We might even sleep in our car during the summer, (if you’re the driver, please don’t ever sleep while driving!) when the weather is pleasant enough to drive almost overnight across the country. When we go camping, we may even use the car as a makeshift bed.

Because of this, it is important keep the car clean during the summer. This summer, make sure your car is kept clean with the following tips:

Schedule regular cleaning

Do you have a regular schedule for cleaning your car? It is not enough for your car to look clean. Dirt and grime live in your car’s hidden surfaces, and even on plain sight. You might be driving a disgustingly dirty machine.

But don’t worry, because it is quite easy to keep your car in pristine condition, both inside and out. There are simple and easy tasks that you can schedule on a weekly basis, and they shouldn’t take a huge amount of your time. That’s really the biggest challenge, right? Finding the time to clean your car.

For example, you can use a vacuum from time to time to remove dust and fluff from the floors and around the seats. Use a vacuum with a flexible thin snout so you can reach into even the narrowest places.

Then you can use a damp rag to wipe the inside surfaces of the car to remove caked dirt and smudges. Then apply glass cleaner liquid into another rag to clean the inside of your windshield, as well as the insides of the car windows.

Wash the linens

One thing that always gets neglected are the soft surfaces inside the car, like the carpet and car seat covers. There are even studies that car seat covers are filthier than toilet seats. It’s not surprising–we sit onto these surfaces day after day, and it catches sweat, dead skin cells, food particles, and other stuff during the hot summer months. And usually, we don’t wash these covers for months, or even for years.

Set a regular schedule to take out the carpet and the car seat covers, so you can have them washed. Ask the laundromat to use an antibacterial detergent so you are sure that the germs accumulated over the months will be removed. You can do this every three months.

Clean spills immediately

This next one’s quite obvious: when a mess happens inside your car, you have to clean it as soon as you can. Otherwise, it will harden and attract more dirt and germs. This is something that many of us neglect, and that shouldn’t be the case. For example, if we spill coffee onto the passenger seat, we just let the stain remain until we can take the car to a professional cleaner. But if the stain is not removed immediately, it will stay there for a long time.

Repair damages too

One way to avoid larger damages is to repair them when they’re still small. Once something breaks, promise yourself to repair it as soon as you can. If you notice a tear in your car seat, make sure to get it sewn once you park. Doing so will avoid larger tears onto the linen.

That being said, always be prepared to combat small stains and damages by bringing a small cleaning and toolkit along with you. A few rags, a bottle of Windex a sewing kit and heavy duty tape should be essential.

You might also want to consider banning any food or drink to be opened or consumed in the car, to avoid many of the stains. But if this is not possible, try containing the trash into just one local by placing a small trash can in a convenient area.

Don’t be a hoarder

A key to a tidy car is to make sure that it doesn’t have a lot of clutter. Sadly, many car owners seem like hoarders when it comes to their vehicles. Dig into a random car’s glove box and you might find tons and tons of miscellaneous trash: year-old receipts from a gas station miles ago, soda caps, lotto tickets, rubber bands, bubble gum wrappers, and strips of unknown plastic. True story.

Avoid this unlikely scenario by making sure that you take out the trash on your glove box and other car compartments when you get out of the car at every end of the day. It shouldn’t be too hard if you make it a habit to do so.

You also have to look at the backseat for mementos and random objects that may have been there forever. Consider if you still want that teddy bear that an ex gave you years back, or if the shrunken and ratty pillow you use to nap on is still comfortable. Consider donating these old objects so you can replace them with fresher ones.

Consider Covering your car

Car owners know the struggle of keeping the car exterior clean. No amount of car wash can prevent a parked car from getting covered with random elements like dust, soil, leaves, and even bird droppings.

Moreover, car experts believe that the sun can negatively affect the paint of a car parked under the sun. The paint will fade and will appear to be less vibrant, thereby aging your car rapidly. That’s a huge problem, particularly during the hot summer months if you don’t have a covered garage.

This is why you should consider investing in a car cover for your car. Pick one that is made specifically for your car model so that it will fit perfectly. You should also get one that is thick enough to be dust and water proof. Thin ones may be cheaper, but will not give enough protection.

This summer, make sure that your car is clean by being two steps ahead. Remember that prevention is the key, so make sure that you can avoid any mess, or if its already there, be ready to clean it ASAP.