One of the best things about picking up a rental car is how lovely and clean it is to start off with. You can feel proud of driving around in a car with no crisps crushed into the upholstery or toys rolling around under the seats. But what about when the kids get into the car? How on earth are you supposed to keep that rental car clean, and give it back in a deposit-returning state when the sticky hands, muddy shoes, and general chaos of kids get involved?
Here are some tips to help out:
Keep food in one place
Food isn’t the only factor involved in keeping a car clean, but it is possibly the biggest factor. We’ve all had to hoover crumbs out of car crevices and google things like ‘Getting chocolate spread out of car seats’. On the other hand, if you’re car leasing for a long road trip, you don’t want to starve your kids for hours on the road. So, try to keep the ‘impact zone’ of car snacks as contained as possible.
For example, you might give your kids lunchboxes to eat from (and over) to contain crumbs as much as possible. Or you might keep hold of the food yourself, and hand it out at strategic intervals (for example, when your kids aren’t in the kind of silly mood that results in food getting splattered about everywhere), with strict instructions that they must eat from (for example) a paper plate rather than plonking crumb-causing snacks down wherever they fancy.
On a similar note, make sure to keep drinks in bottles with sealable lids. Sports bottles, travel cups and reusable water bottles are all godsends for long road trips in a rental car. Open cans, cartons and uncovered drinks create more splash-risk than they are worth.
Put out a rubbish bag or car bin
Having somewhere to store rubbish can make more of a difference than you might expect. You can get inexpensive car bins to pop in the back of your car – some models fit onto the backs of the front seats – that your kids can easily use for their rubbish. While this may not be a perfect solution (especially if some of your kids are too young to understand the purpose of a bin) it will contain some of the chaos, and make cleanup a lot easier. Plus, you can keep the bin and use it for the family car in the future!
Protect the seats
Booster seats, muddy clothing and dropped snacks all leave marks behind. A towel or removable seat protector creates a crucial barrier between the upholstery and the chaos on top of it. Something as simple as a towel or an old sheet can do the job, but if you prefer to be a bit more comprehensive there are purpose-made seat covers you can buy. However, do remember to check the rental agreement before fitting anything that attaches directly to the seats.
Keep wipes within reach
Wipes are your best friend when you go anywhere with young kids, and trips in a rental car are no exception. Keep wipes close to hand to deal with sticky fingers, spills, and so on quickly. Just remember to throw the wipes away in the car bin rather than balling them up and shoving them in the glove compartment!
Deal with shoes before re-entering the car
Nobody likes wiping their feet or removing their shoes before getting back into the car – but you’ll like losing your cleaning deposit even less! A quick wipe down after being out in the mud or – if the shoes are particularly dirty – having spare ‘car shoes’ and popping the dirty shoes in a bag can save you a huge amount of scrubbing and hoovering in the long run.
Inspect the car before return
This sounds obvious – but it bears repeating. Do a clean sweep of the car before you return it. Check the seats, carpets, storage areas and boot. Remove rubbish. Remove personal belongings. Hoover up visible crumbs if necessary. Wipe obvious marks from hard surfaces. Pay particular attention to the areas children have been using throughout the trip.
If you found these tips helpful, please take a moment to share this post with other parents who are planning a family road trip. Whether you’re heading off on vacation, visiting relatives, or simply navigating a busy travel schedule with kids, these simple ideas can help keep your rental car cleaner and make the journey more enjoyable for everyone. Sharing this article helps more families travel with less stress and more fun along the way.
