How to Help Clients Pet-Proof Their Cars During Your Auto Detailing Career

Warmer weather is on the horizon in Canada, which means it’s time to roll down the windows and take our four-legged friends out for a ride. While driving around with a pet can be fun, they’re still animals, which means that sometimes cars end up filled with mud, hair, and more.

Interior reconditioning and cleaning is part of an automotive detailer’s primary duties, and during your career you may often see clients with cars that have clear signs that they own a pet or two. Pets can be messy by nature, but keeping a car clean of debris might be easier than you think.

If you’re interested in a career in auto detailing, read on to find out a few helpful tips you can use to protect client’s cars from pets.

Auto Detailers Know the Secret Behind Mud and Stain Removal

Whether a client has taken a dog for a muddy hike, or their cat has had an accident on the backseat, pets can cause a variety of stains that can tarnish the interior of any vehicle.

Although the best thing to do is to clean stains as soon as they occur, sometimes a client may come in long after the stain has set. Fortunately, auto detailers have the tools and training that can get stains out stat.

A wet or steam vacuum is the perfect tool for stains involving mud or dirt because the moisture dampens the material and loosens the debris, allowing it to be removed. A high-quality leather or upholstery cleaner can also help remove spots or stains from a car’s seating—if you’re unsure about the right product to use, check to see if the auto manufacturer has any specific recommendations.

Get Rid of Odour and Keep Cars Smelling Fresh in Your Auto Detailing Career

Pets can leave a variety of less-than-pleasant odours behind long after they’ve been in the car. While it may seem like a quick solution, hanging a car freshener should actually be your last step, as it only masks the smell without removing it. Finding the source of the odour may be difficult, especially if it’s been shaken across a car’s interior, so it’s a good idea to clean it from front to trunk using the techniques you learn in auto detailing training.

A wet vacuum can help lift odours from the fibres of upholstery and car mats, as well as prevent mold and mildew. You can also use an odour and bacteria removal system to eliminate smells coming from urine or vomit. If car odour seems to be a particular recurring problem for clients, you can use a water and stain-resistant fabric guard or suggest a protective coating be applied to the interior to keep it from being soaked by wet pets.

You Can Give Clients Tips to Prevent the Accumulation of Pet Fur

One of the tell-tale signs that your client is a proud pet owner is the presence of fur. As anyone with pets knows, animal hair can be an issue that’s hard to control and annoying to constantly clean, but there are a few things you can do in your auto detailing career to help keep a car’s fur levels manageable.

A clean car can only stay that way for so long—especially if a pet’s involved. After you’ve made sure there’s not a hair in sight, you can recommend that clients use seat covers, towels, or blankets that protect the seats and floors, and are easily removable. Hard plastic floor mat covers or liners can also help keep carpets clean and fur-free.

Are you interested in starting a rewarding career in the automotive industry?

Contact Automotive Training Centres for more information about our auto detailing course in Toronto.