Top 10 Tips on Cleaning Your Semi Cabin

For many truckers, the truck cabin is their home away from home while on the road. And much like cleaning our homes, commercial truck detailing becomes about the trucker’s health. While professional detailing services are available, most truckers choose to keep the cabin well-maintained while out on the road. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or you’re a brand new driver, here are some of our top tips to keep your truck clean.
 

Cleaning Checklist for your truck's interior 

1. Start removing garbage: Look under truck seats, floormats, inside the glove box, middle console, cup holders and all areas for trash and loose items such as receipts and wrappers. We recommend leaving a container or bag designated for trash in your truck’s cabin. Always take a piece of garbage with you whenever you leave your truck at a pit stop or gas station.
2. Remove and wash floormats: Typically, floormats are the dirtiest part of your truck’s cabin and it’s common for them to be caked with mud and grime. Be sure to remove the floormats before you vacuum, pat them down outside to remove any loose pebbles and debris, thoroughly wash them, and leave them out to dry.
3. Vacuum before you wipe surfaces: We recommend vacuuming first because vacuuming can kick up dust as you clean, which can dirty the surfaces you've just wiped. 
4. Use steam to clean seats and sleeper area: A steam cleaner is one of the most effective and safest ways to thoroughly clean upholstery, leaving seats looking new and fresh again. Steam removes odour, stains, and bacteria from deep within the seats. A steamer with an extractor saves on drying time.
5. Dust before wiping with a cleaner: Wiping a layer of dust with a cleaner or soap and water can push the dust around and be harder to remove. Instead, if the surfaces of your truck are quite dusty, we recommend dusting with a microfibre cloth or vacuuming using a horsehair brush to remove fine particles first. 
6. Wipe all surfaces and apply protectant: Once you've dusted the interior, use an appropriate cleaner or a simple mix of soap and water to clean all hard surfaces of the truck. Wipe down the steering wheel, gear shift, high-touch areas, dashboard, center console, cupholders, door panels and various compartments. Apply a UV protectant spray or lotion to prevent fading, discolouration and cracking from harmful sun rays.
7. Don't forget about the ceiling: The ceiling is often overlooked when cleaning a vehicle, but this area also gets dirty from dust, smoke and grime. Use steam to clean an upholstered ceiling and the same combination of cleaner and UV protectant for hard surface ceilings.
8. Clean the glass: Using an ammonia-free glass cleaner, wipe down all glass surfaces, including the rearview mirrors, side mirrors and windows. Avoid using just any surface cleaner on windows as the product can streak and dull your view of the road. It's always good to carry glass cleaner with you in case windows and mirrors get particularly dirty.
9. Replace air filters: Be sure to get your air filters replaced routinely. Dirty filters impact the air quality of your truck and you could be breathing in musty air. 
10. Establish a routine: Last, but certainly not least, we recommend creating a system and routine to keep your truck clean and tidy. Carry a caddy of microfibre cloths, a vehicle interior cleaner to quickly wipe down surfaces and a portable car vacuum cleaner. Completing small cleaning tasks here and there add up and makes detailing your truck more efficient.

Brandt Truck & Trailer knows commercial truck detailing is an essential part of regular maintenance. Keeping a well-maintained vehicle also preserves its resale value and quite simply, a clean cabin makes for a more enjoyable drive.