Making Your Car Smell New

I don't know about you, but one of the things I love the most about a new car is the smell. There is nothing like it, is there? Whenever I catch a whiff of that smell, I am suddenly filled with hope, excitement, and wonder. I think it is simply the possibilities that seemed to fill my life with the purchase of that first brand-new car.

How do you get that wonderfully optimistic smell restored to an older vehicle? There are many options, most of which cost an arm and a leg. If you are looking at saving some money, in fact if want to spend virtually no money but still get that new car scent, you are in luck. You'll need to gather just a couple of items before you begin.

Items:

• Unscented dryer sheets
• Vacuum cleaner
• Crevice tool hose attachment
• Vinyl cleaner/protectant
• Clean, lint free rags

Procedure:

1. Clean out the interior of your car as you normally would. This means that you are going to vacuum out the entire car. Removing the floor mats, vacuum the floors, and then the seats. Use your crevice tool to reach into those tight spaces.
2. Take the vinyl protectant/cleaner (Armor All is a good choice) and your lint free towels or washcloths and wipe down, or clean, all the vinyl. Start the highest point of the vinyl surfaces and work your way down. In other words, start at the headrest of your seats and work down, or start at the dashboard top and work down.
3. If you smoke, dump out all of your old smoke butts and completely clean the ashtray with soap and water. (Keep in mind that smoking in your car is going to seriously diminish the life of your new car smell.)
4. Place a dryer sheet under each seat in your car. It doesn't really matter which brand or scent you use, just keep in mind that if you are going for the "new car" smell then you want to use the unscented ones—they are going to act like a filter. Turn the car on and run the heater at full blast for about 10 minutes. This will help circulate the air, and the scent. You should now have a completely fresh and new smelli ng car or truck again.