We’ve all seen those passive aggressive signs that say, “your mother isn’t here, so clean up after yourself”, right? As irritating as those signs are, it’s truthful, especially for truck drivers.
You live, work and relax all in the same small area, so your space should be as cleaned, organized, and healthy as it can be. It’s important, especially with the pandemic we are facing today, to keep your space clean; for your benefit and the people you come in contact with!
Something to keep in mind while reading this blog is that cleaning should be part of your daily routine. You don’t have to do everything in one day. Doing a little bit everyday will make your truck, and the company you represent, look better, and make you feel better and relaxed.
Look through our check list of things to clean in your truck so you can get the most out of your space!
Clean up Trash and Declutter
This one is a given, but often with your busy schedule, it can be overlooked. Not to mention with such a small space to work and live in, it can quickly become a trash-filled, cluttered nightmare!
Take time at the end of your workday to pick up after yourself. Not to sound like your mother, but throw out those drink bottles, put away your things, and when you get back home, go through what is in your truck. Ask yourself, “do I need this, or is it just getting in the way?”. If you need it, keep it. If not, keep it at home or just throw it out.
Wipe Everything Down
Another given, but a biggie! Everything might look clean, or maybe there’s only a light coating of dust, but looks can be deceiving! There can be hundreds of thousands of germs, bacteria, and who knows what else inside your truck.
Disinfect your truck with wet wipes, interior cleaner and protector products, or whatever works for you. Wiping things down doesn’t have to be every day, but doing this regularly will make a diffidence!
Hot-spot places to wipe down:
· Curtains
· Headliner
· Windows – Inside and Out
· Dashboard
· Steering Wheel
· Turn Signal
· Door Handle
· Cabinet Doors
· Gear Shift
Make Those Seats Shine
You spend a lot of your time driving, so it’s only natural that your seats will collect crumbs, dirt, stains, and eventually look a little worn out.
When your seats are looking a bit ratty, take time to uplift them! Vacuum your cloth seats and remove stains. Pamper those sleek looking leather seats with a leather treatment. And don’t forget to disinfect the seat adjustment switches!
Floor Mats
Everybody knows that you should give those floor mats a good shake-out, but they can be easily forgotten. Take those mats out and shake out all debris, dirt, rocks, and everything else! Go the extra mile and give them a good wash with soap and water.
Also, think about switching out those fibre floor mats with rubber ones. Rubber floor mats are more forgiving, look nicer, and are easier to clean!
Vacuum
A hand vacuum can be a life saver! Dirt can easily get tracked into your truck, so every couple of days, pull out the vacuum to pick up all that pesky dirt. Don’t forget to do those hard-to-reach areas like around the pedals, between and under the seats.
Wash Floors
Finally, give the floor a wash using good ol’ water and soap. Don’t use too much as you don’t want your floor to be sopping wet! We recommend using a spray bottle with water and soap, then use a towel to wipe down the sprayed area.
Helpful Tips to Keep your Space Bearable
There’s more to cleaning then just wiping everything down. It’s organizing your things, so you don’t feel crowed and trapped in a small space. It’s doing your best to keep things manageable and making an effort not to bring dirt into your working and living space.
Organize your Space
If you don’t have an organized truck, then it will be a cluttered mess. You’ll have to step over things, bump and stubble around, and honestly, it would probably be hard to find items. Save yourself the headache and find a way to organize your truck that works best for you and your belongings.
The critical thing to remember is that for organization to work, you must keep up with it! Don’t wait till all your belongings are out of place. When you’re done using something, put it away.
Shoes for Different Activities
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is wearing your dirty, mudding shoes throughout your WHOLE truck! Purchase a couple more pairs of shoes to keep your truck manageable. Have a pair for driving, outdoors, and lounging shoes for the end of the day.
Keep your work boots solely on the floor mat, preferably on a rubber one, as not to get the interior of the truck dirty.
Use Garbage Bags
Keep small garbage bags, or even grocery bags, handy. Instead of throwing that drink bottle onto the floor, throw it into the garbage. Try to dispose of the garbage bag daily at truck stops to keep your truck smelling nice and fresh!
Use Towels or Bathmats for Sleeper Area
Keep the dirt, rocks, and other debris to the minimum in your sleeper space by using towels or bathmats as floor mats. When they start to get dirty, you can just wash them with your regular laundry and keep on using them! Remember not to wear your work or driving shoes in the sleeper either.
Replace Air Filters
Replacing your air filters can do wonders for you! When air filters go unreplaced, you are breathing in unfiltered, dusty, and dirty air. This can also cause nasty smells to occur in your truck. So, if there’s a bad smell that you just can’t find the source for, it’s probably the air filters.
Also, if you have a furry friend on the road with you, you should replace the air filters more frequently than most as you will have more smells and hairs in the air.
Make sure to follow the owner’s manual when replacing filters as different models of trucks have different instructions.
Keep Wet Wipes Handy
Having wet wipes on hand will help keep messes at bay. When your hands get dirty, greasy, or smudgy instead of rubbing them down on your pants, grab a wipe; this way you are not transferring the dirt into the rest of your truck.
Purchase an Air Purifier
Still can’t get that bad smell out of your truck? Do you find that the air is smokey and musty? Tired of using chemicals from Febreeze? An air purifier can take care of all these things! Just plug it in for a couple of hours a day and you’ll notice a difference in the air!
Wash your Clothes
Ok, I sound like your mother again, but it needs to be said – wash your clothes! You work hard while wearing those clothes, so it’s natural that they will start to smell a little funky while they sit out in pile.
Make sure to have a zip-up laundry bag to put your dirty clothes in. Wash them whenever you can too.
