Claudia Finamore

You've got a new lease car, but, you need to protect your boot when transporting your dog, pram, fishing gear, DIY tools, bikes etc. Here is where Hatchbag steps in with our array of boot liners in seven colours. Plus our boot liner extras such as, bumper flap, rear seat flap, tailgate cover and a choice of three mats; rubber mat, hatchbed mat and odour mat.

All of our boot covers act as a second skin to your car boot and will prevent your lease car boot’s interior getting covered in dog hair, scratched or damaged. And you may be thinking this all sounds great, but, if I use self-adhesive tabs to attach the boot liner to the car then will this damage the interior?

The answer is no. If your car boot is made from carpet and is self-adhesive tab friendly then you will not have to attach any self-adhesive tabs to your car. You may want to consider our frequent use fitting kit, which consists of thirty-two double-sided adhesive tabs. These tabs act as a sandwich between the liner and the boot carpet, so that when you remove the liner the carpet does not fluff up.

Cleaning your lease car boot

If your car boot is made from plastic, you will need to attach self-adhesive tabs to the boot. Before you do that, we recommend the following cleaning procedure:

• - Take two lint free cloths and Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover.
• - Soak one cloth in Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover and clean down the sides.
• - Take the second cloth and dry the sides to the point the cloth is dragging across the surface.
• - Test a piece of self-adhesive to see if it adheres to the plastic. If yes, continue attaching the remainder tabs. If not, please repeat the above steps.

When you come to remove the boot liner and self-adhesive tabs from the boot, we recommend the following procedure:

• - Take Autoglym Intensive Tar remover and a cloth
• - Soak the cloth in Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover and clean down the plastics to remove any residue
• - Then take any valeting product and valet the sides of your boot

If you return the car after your lease is up then the car boot will be in the same condition as the day you got the vehicle.

The question dog owners across the county face, irrelevant as to whether they have a brand new car or if they have had a vehicle for months/years is: How do I protect my car boot from being covered in dog hair?

We’ve all been there, following a day of adventure with our pet pooch, we arrive home, let the dogs out of the back and are faced with dog hair and muddy paw prints everywhere. And, so, the process of cleaning the car boot begins, even though we know that the next time you take your dog out, you are going to be faced with the same dilemma. So, here at Hatchbag, we appreciate your time is precious and have come up with a way to keep your boot, dog hair free!

Step 1: Clean your boot from pet hair

If you have a brand new car then your car boot will be pet hair free, however, for those whose pooches have been in the boot already, the first step is to remove the hair.

To do this, you will need to give the car a good hoover out and also either use a pet hair removal brush to remove the hair from carpet, or, wrap your hands in cellotape to remove the dog hair from the carpet.

To prevent you from having to repeat step 1 on a frequent basis, you may want to invest in a boot liner. All our boot liners are tailor-made to fit the contours of each specific car model and are made from tough, waterproof and non-absorbent fabric. Plus, they are wipeable meaning, if you want to give them a clean it will literally take a couple of minutes.

You can also customise your boot liner to suit you and your family and pets needs. So, if you need a boot liner to just cover the base, the sides and back of the seats then a Standard version will be more than suitable.

Step 2: Prepare their space

Should you wish to give your pet more space by folding your backseats down with the liner in situ then you will need to upgrade the Standard version with either a Rear Plus or Rear Split. The Rear Plus allows you to fold your backseats down altogether, whereas, the Rear Split offers more flexibility in that you can fold your backseats down individually or altogether.

And, if you want to protect your bumper from being scratched or from muddy dog paws then we also offer a bumper flap, which attaches to a loop fastener strip at the end of the liner and can be rolled away in the boot when not in use.

If you have big dogs that like to drool over the headrests then a Rear Seat Flap might be of use, which attaches to the top of the backseats and flaps over the headrests. And for pets that like to press their bum up against the boot door, a tailgate cover will not go amiss.

Step 3: Cleaning your hook and loop fasteners!

Inevitably no matter how much we try, some pet hair will be attracted to some of the hook and loop fasteners, especially owners who have more curious pooches. But, we have a few tricks to help keep the hook and loop fasteners pet hair free.

Before fitting your boot liner, you may want to squirt the hook and loop fasteners with anti-static spray, as this will prevent the fasteners being covered in hair.

However, should hair accumulate in the hook and loop fasteners then you can use either a lint roller, tweezers, a comb, duct tape or even a toothbrush to remove the hair. Then you can use the anti-static spray to prevent hair from getting into hook and loop fasteners again.

Step 4: Keep pet odour at bay

And finally, we all know how much our four-legged-friends like to jump in puddles, lakes, or roll around in mud and sand, not only covering them in muck but also giving them a distinct smell. So, in order to keep pet odour at bay, Hatchbag have come up with an odour mat, which is comfortable for your pooch to sit or lie on with the quilted material, but it also has a charcoal layer in the middle to absorb unwanted odours.

Now, you can spend more time with your beloved pet than cleaning out your car boot. Don’t forget to send us your snaps of your pooch on the road, as we love sharing them on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter page.