I just got my first car. It is a 1992 Buick Lesabre and even though it is 15 years old and has 135,000 miles it has a very nice cloth interior that is still in good condition and I'd like to keep it that way. I have tried both my Dirt Devil 12v car vac (part of my Royal hand vac collection) and my Electrolux Sidekick attachment and they both have the same issue. They just don't get into corners very well. The corners I'm talking about go up the sides of the interior so no flat attachment can get to them.

I'm thinking a Kirby Zip Brush might work but I'm not sure. I need something to get the stubborn dirt out of the carpet but it can't have a flat suction opening or it just won't work. Do any of you guys have any ideas? I know some of you own very nice cars so someone must have a few tricks to keep their car interiors nice.

First Car? bloody hell..lemme get a pic of my first car (and so far only, had to sell it mind ;p), when I was 17.


Shame I had to sell Snorty (as I called im ;p) cute little thing, smokestack lightning!

#2

Congrats on the car. I know what you mean about the Elux sidekick.. it's only good for flat wide areas. I got a little doo dad attachment the other week at our local vac shop. It's about the size of a dusting brush attachment and has rubbery tentacles with holes in the end and a few brushes on it so you can poke it into corners etc.. Haven't tried it yet though. They also had another little attachment set, sort of those micro attachments for cleaning keyboards, etc. and there were a few different pieces in the kit.
I've pretty much given up on keeping my cars interior clean. I have two long haired Border Collies who love car rides, love going to the beach, love shedding, so it's hopeless and I just have to do the best I can. The hardest thing to remove though is those pesky fries from McDonalds that fall down between the seats or just under the seat by the door sill..LOL

Nice car Ian! Must have gotten great gas mileage which is very important these days. My Buick is supposed to get 28 mpg on the highway which is impressive for a car of its size. I would guess your car must have got in the high 30s which some people would kill for around here. I decided to sacrifice gas milage for the roomieness and the floaty ride of a luxury car. The $250 that I paid for it was not bad either. There is a bit of a story on how I got the car but I'll get to that later.

Pete, sounds like you got the "wacky vac" attachment. I have seen those for a number of years but have never tried one. One time I saw a tv ad for a subscription to a company that would send you a new vacuum attachemt each month and that was one of the first attachments they would send you.
You are also not the only one with french fries in your car. In my mothers Ford Taurus wagon I always used the door handles to hold the box of fries and there would always be a few that got under the sides of the seats. Of course her car has been a bit of mess anyway ever since a 12 pack of Coca-Cola exploded in the cargo area. The ceiling is stained all the way to the back seat but I'm not to crazy about the idea of using a rug washer upside-down to clean it. It will just have to stay that way.

Was one litre :P alas my brother was learning to drive at the time, so I didn't learn before we had to sell it lol :P he ran fine though, used an A series engine as in the Mini.

An Austin Metro, originally designed as the Mini's replacement..early 1980s car, not collectable per se yet but they have owners clubs lol


A Series Engine, or in the case of the Metro A+ Series.

Tranversely mounted, Radiator as seen here was at the side on the Mini wheras the Metro had a larger front mounted radiator.

#2 An early Brochure, back when they were called "Mini Metro"

(note the sump mounted transmission :P one of the A Series engines many space saving innovations, albeit only used from the Mini onwards)

That engine design is certainly innovative but I would not want to pay the labor charges for having work done on one. It looks very unfriendly for a mechanic. I tend to like my parts seperated and most american automobiles (especialy SUVs) have plenty of room under the hood for whatever the car company decides to put in. I think the biggest space saving innovation in the last 30 years in the US is front wheel drive which is in most cars these days. The American auto makers tend to stay away from designs which are more complicated than that.

Ah yes, the mechanics back in the day when first presented with the Mini layout did scratch their heads quite a lot ;p

but hey, at least the cars had character..might as well be (quite literally) stamped out a mold nowerdays ;p

Ian

Yeah, speaking of molds, the front fenders on that Buick along with a few other parts are actualy plastic. You can tap on them and they will sound funny. You can even bend them around the edges. I don't really mind any. At least they won't rust.

I wish you the best of luck with your new LeSabre. Does yours have the 3800 engine? I have a 1990 Buick Riviera that I've owned for the past four years now, and it's got 172,000 miles on the odometer. Original engine and transmission. With a reasonable amount of care, those engines last forever!

i cant help you with the revolving brush issue but i will say this: every car sale should include a crevice tool for the vacuum cleaner. A nice long crevice tool will be your best friend.

My vacuum choice would be a cloth-bag Hoover Portapower adapted to take fit-all tools. Strong suction is a must when using a crevice tool and, IMO, a cloth bag comes in real handy when cleaning a car interior.

I used to have a Buick Regal coupe that had the same cloth interior that was was on the LeSabre Custom. Even though it can't reach every spot on the surface, the Electrolux Sidekick was my preferred tool. You'll need a crevice tool, too, but the Sidekick will keep the accessible areas clean without damaging the cloth. When that car was made, I believe it was the best-selling domestic full-sized car - for good reason. The early '90s saw some really beautiful Buicks.

I've owned a few Buicks, my favorite of all was a 1976 Electra 225 Limited, and my first NEW car ever was a 1987 Electra Estate Wagon. They are great cars!

I will agree with the comments on the Elux Sidekick, but it is too hard to get into tight places. When I clean the car I don't care to use any tools at all, just the end of the hose, and the suction should be strong! First choice would be my Airway Sani-Clean, followed by my Ultralux Classic 2nd.
Last week I took delivery of a new car myself, this one has leather seats so thats one thing that will be easier to clean from now on, but interior and carpeting are black, so Jack's blonde hair will really stand out now!

GM was really on a smooth elegant design roll in the early 90s. I think the Olds Aurora was the supreme statement and I'd snap one up if it ever comes along. It was GM brought back the idea of a 'floating' roof, wrap around glass greenhouse and flush glass seams. I had the Saturn SW2 wagon with all plastic panels including the roof and loved the sheer volume of usuable space inside.
In 1998 I rewarded myself with a Subaru Legacy GT Limited in cranberry black for the same design reasons - the frameless windows bring back memories of Dad's 4 door Impalla hardtop. There's something practical about opening a door with no upper frame to bang into. And oh yeah, up here in the canadian winter boonies 4 wheel drive guarantees you'll keep moving while others park in the ditches.
Back to thread...Still driving the GT and having regularly kept it clean and vacuumed and in the garage it still turns heads.
I've selected a different vacuum this summer each time I clean out the car or the boat. Its how the neighbors cottened on to the idea I collect 'em. :-)
Truly you want lots of strong suction and a long supple hose. Now the favorites are the Filter Queen, either the Air-Way 66 or 77, and Electrolux Z89 and E. I find a power nozzle is not all that effective on sand in the boat so I'm down on hands & knees scrubbing with the upholstery nozzle and the crevice tool. Now, in the car, a dusting brush makes quick work of the dashboard vents & knobs.
Hooray for clean car interiors - makes the car run better, too, don't ya notice? :-)

Hello,

You might want to try going at the dirt with a stiff whisk brush to loosen it, and then attack it with the crevice tool. I have great luck with the crevice tool when I clean my car.

Nice car by the way! I have the 2000 SW2 saturn Wagon, and yes indeed that has a ton of useable space. I bought a chest of drawers at a secondhand shop and had no problem bringing it home in my car. I basically did my entire move using that car, aside from the larger pieces of furniture of course.

By unbolting the front passenger seat of the Saturn wagon I was able to stuff in under the dashboard straight back over the folded back seat, and haul home from Ohio all thirty-two pipes of a stopped 16 foot Tibia Clausa pedal rank plus the offset windchest on top of the pile pstacked BELOW the window line...with the tailgate closed!. Try that in a Toyota or Honda wagon...or a Volvo or Audi or Mercedes luxo 'shotting brake'.
The Subaru wagon is even longer and square-er inside so all I'd have to do next time is shift the seat as far forward as the tracks allow.

Yeah I've got the 3800 engine under the hood. Most full size GM cars, especial Buicks (because it's a Buick engine) have used it. It's the series 1 version, which is just one of many variations on the design. It is on Wards 10 best engines of the 20th century list and it seems like I have gotten about as many comments on the engine as I have the car itself so something must be good about it. The transmission on the otherhand is a GM rebuild so the trans must have failed at some point. It shifts very smooth with the rebuilt trans so no complaints there.

The styling is exactly what I like in a modern car. I agree that GM did very well in the 90s. The late 80s were a low point in my opinion and they recovered very well.

You people with Saturns have good cars. I think that Saturn is one of the most innovative divisions of GM and they put out some great stuff. I'm glad to see they are getting more aggressive by releasing a 4 door sedan and a roadster to the lineup.

Back to cleaing the interior. I'm thinking I might try a more aggressive tool. The lux combo duster does nothing when it comes to moving around the carpet fibers so I might try something with a bit more aggression. I'll be getting the car back from having some work done on it within the next week so I can start experimenting then. I plan on tring everones advice at some point to see what works best.

...I usually take the Kirby massage cup and "scrub" the floor carpets in a circular motion. It even can get out sticky hay strands and needles from a christmas tree (unless they are really "woven in"). Its little teeth poke the stuff out, yet the vinyl material is soft enough not to damage anything.
Really "el cheapo", but it works! (of course, to massage your scalp with it as given in the user manual, you might want to buy a second one, LOL)

Interesting idea my Teutonic contemporary, my dad's rug is full of black strands and fluff and that, even a old style Hoover Junior won't get them out..apparently it's because they've woven into the carpet fibres.

Ian

Now that sounds like what I'm looking for! I think I might have to get one of those. For only $2.95 I don't think I can go wrong. I assume that it will fit a 1.25 inch hose end. Heck if they don't I'll figure something out.

I've still got to get the car back from the mechanic. I'm having some strange bugs worked out and who knows how much it will cost. I'll be able to try this stuff out after all of that is dealt with.

Hi Lux,

Please follow up and let us know what ultimately worked for you.