Cleanup tips post road trip
When I was young and idealistic, I swore that my children (at that stage they were pretend children who didn’t yet exist) would never create a huge mess by eating in the car while we travelled.
Many years later, with the hindsight of pragmatic parenting, I can tell you that you can indeed train your tiny children to be kind to cars.
I have two, and right from the time they could walk they learned to be careful when opening doors, not to stand on seats and be generally respectful of switches and buttons.
I’ll admit I’m much more conscious of these issues because of my job as a motoring writer because, 99 per cent of the time, I’m driving other people’s oftenexpensive cars. But the results speak for themselves.
In 17 years, not a single doording or broken piece of switchgear. True story.
But I’ll admit that the idea your kids will never eat in the car is pure fantasy.
Most expert advice does indeed say to keep food away from very young children in the car due to risk of choking, especially if they are in rearfacing child seats. Good advice.
Besides, teeny tiny humans pretty much go to sleep straight away once the car is moving. So save the food for stops in the journey.
But keeping older kids nonabusive on road trips is going to require in-car sustenance, solid and liquid. And that’s going to result in at least a few spills and stains. It will also result in said food coming up again if motion sickness is an issue.
The good news is that car upholstery is tough, durable and able to be cleaned when the worst happens. Which it will.
Professional grooming is always an option. An expensive one.
But, after a basic vacuum, you can clean up the car interior yourself with a few home ingredients. The methods are pretty much the same as you use use on home furniture and fabrics, except the car fabrics are probably a bit more durable.
Word of warning: Before you try anything, test it on a small area that’s not visible, to make sure you’re not doing any damage.
If you have baby wipes (and we know you have), then give one of those a try. You’d be surprised what they can lift out