Dog/Kid Proofing Your Beloved Car

Keep your car clean even with your dog as your passenger.
Keep your car clean even with your dog as your passenger.
Photo credit: Darrell Wheeler

We all wish we could keep our cars clean and pristine at all times, but sometimes life happens. As much as we may love them kids and dogs are particularly skilled at destroying our cars. While you canโ€™t completely avoid the messes they bring, these five tips will help protect your car against their havoc.

1. Use a designated dog blanket

Drape the blanket over the seat your dog sits inโ€”which should be the back seat to prevent any injury to the dog in the case of airbag deployment. Felt usually works best because it acts as a magnet for dog hair. More hair on the blanket means less hair on your seats.

2. Plastic wrap the windows

Yeah, it may sound strange, but this tip comes straight from racecar drivers. If your dog (or toddler) has a tendency to slobber all over your windows, take a sheet of plastic wrap and push it tight to the window. Then, when youโ€™re done driving, pull the wrap off the window. Boom. Clean windows and no clean up time.

3. Invest in all weather or heavy-duty floor mats

Did the kids jump into the car with muddy boots? Of course they did. If you keep good floor mats in your Mazda, though, it’s nothing a quick spray down canโ€™t fix.

4. Put something between the car seat and your actual seat

Kids =ย spills. Protect your seats by putting a towel that’s the same color as your seats under the car seat. Now unexpected spills can be cleaned up with just a load of laundry.

5. Lint rollers and wet wipes to the rescue

Even with all the mess-proofing you do, a mistake or two are bound to happen. In this case, keep an emergency stash of lint rollers for the pooch hair and wet wipes for kiddo spills in the glove compartment. And an air freshener never hurt anyone.

These tips will help protect your baby from your babies. What do you do to keep your Mazda safe from little ones and four legged friends?

Cheers,

CorkSport

Summer Mazda Care

Keep your Mazda looking good all summer with these tips from CorkSport.

As temperatures rise, your Mazda is going to feel the heat. With all of the road trips and picture perfect drives, you need to keep your baby looking good and driving well. We rounded up the top summer care tips that the CorkSport community submitted to us on Facebook and added in a few of our own.

Search for shade

The sun can damage your carโ€™s paint job and interior materials. Keep your Mazda safe by parking in the shade or using a garage whenever possible. Quang Lam always keeps his Speed in the garage to prevent sun damage, and Brian Pinter recommends never washing your Mazda in the direct sunlight.

Get fresh fluids

Keep your Mazda running smooth during the hot summer months with fresh fluids in your coolant system. It will protect your engine and keep your AC cold as ice.

Check your oil

Oil is your carโ€™s lifeblood. Regular oil changes are the cheapest way to extend the life of your Mazda and keep it performing at its best. Change your oil before your next big road trip or if itโ€™s been longer than three months since your last change.

Give her a proper wash

A good wash keeps your Mazda looking good and preserves its paint.

This is crucial for keeping your Mazda looking good and preserving the paint. Christopher Horton says the number one tip for washing is to never go to a car wash or use the dirty brushes at self-serve car washes. Their brushes are notoriously dirty and poor quality; youโ€™re just asking for scratches. Joey Acosta and Nick Svarens always use a two bucket system for washing. One for soap and one with clean water for rinsing. Timmy Figgatt and Jeremy Shea swear by microfiber towels to prevent scratches, streaks, and water spots.

Keep the interior fresh

Exterior shots are sexy but you spend most of your time inside your Mazda so donโ€™t forget about keeping your interior clean. Matt Buzzell specifically uses vinyl conditioner to keep his interior pure and preserve its matte metallic finish. Kevin Stockman swears diaper wipes actually make a great interior cleaner for dust and dirt.

Maintain a sexy shine

Keep your Mazda shine with regular waxes and detailing.

Now that your interior is fresh and the exterior is washed, itโ€™s time to get that sexy shine. Kiefer Westlund, a professional detailer, and John Lukis recommend regular waxing using Meguiarโ€™s Ultimate Liquid Wax. Meguiarโ€™s wax is super affordable per bottle, which will last for many waxes. Kris Pena and Jeremy Brown are loyal to Chemical Guys for all of their Mazda care needs. For more tips on keeping your exterior shine, check out our blog post on how to keep that new Mazda sheen.

Now youโ€™re ready to take on the hottest months of the summer performing well under the hood and looking good.

Cheers,

CorkSport