More than a third of Brits never clean car boot

More than a third of Brits have confessed to never cleaning their car boot, despite experts advising to clean car interiors once a month, research shows.

In a recent survey conducted by boot liner manufacturer Hatchbag, 27% of respondents admitted to cleaning their car boot just twice a year, while another 7% said they only clean their vehicle’s boot yearly.

According toMotorway.co.uk, a car’s interior should be cleaned monthly. Although 17.8% of people claimed to clean their car boot once a month, 36% said they never do.

Claudia Finamore, commercial manager at Hatchbag, said: “Cleaning inside your car, including the boot, monthly will ensure you keep on top of any mess. If you use your boot frequently, you may need to clean it more often.”

In the study, nearly one in 10 respondents said they clean their car boot once a week.

Claudia added: “Empty your car boot before cleaning it and then hoover up any dirt, crumbs and dust.”

In a separate poll from Hatchbag, one in eight respondents said the boot is the area of their car that gets the dirtiest. Muddy shoes, mud from pushchair wheels and dog fur were commonly cited as the top causes for creating the most mess.

“For any dry mud marks, use a brush to loosen the soil before vacuuming,” Claudia continued. “A rubber brush or gloves can also help remove dog fur before hoovering. Use an anti-bacterial spray to remove stains from other pet mess.”

In the poll, 80.6% of respondents admitted they do not clean their car interiors as much as they would like to, with more than half of this percentage blaming it on a lack of time.

Claudia explained: “To minimise wear-and-tear and make future cleaning easier, fit a wipe-clean boot liner to the walls and floor of the boot. Before installing it, prep the non-Velcro friendly surface of the boot (plastics trims) with Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover using a lint cloth to make sure any silicon traces are removed and the Velcro tabs are adhering correctly.”

Other preventative measures include wiping down any items, such as sports equipment, before storing them in the boot and regularly decluttering the boot.

Without routinely tidying the car boot, it is easy for dirt, litter and storage to accumulate until it requires an intensive and time-consuming clean.