Between valets, fleet cars need a few simple habits from drivers — clearing rubbish daily, reporting damage promptly, removing bird droppings and sap while they are fresh — and a short list of things never to do, such as scrubbing dried dirt or using household cleaners. A one-page care policy is usually enough to set that expectation.
What should a driver care policy include?
Four points cover most of it:
- Clear rubbish daily. Food packaging and drinks containers are where most interior staining and smells start.
- Report damage promptly. Chips and scratches are cheaper to repair early, and a prompt report keeps the condition record accurate.
- Avoid eating in the car where practical. The single habit that prevents most interior mess.
- Keep floor mats fitted. They take the worst of the dirt and are cleaned at each valet.
What should drivers do between valets?
A little, gently:
- wipe off fresh bird droppings or sap with a clean, damp microfibre cloth — fresh contamination is easier and safer to remove, as our guide to bird droppings explains
- shake out the floor mats
- vacuum crumbs with a hand-held vacuum
- keep the boot tidy
What should drivers never do?
Anything that risks the paint or trim:
- use household cleaning products on the car
- use paper towels or old rags on the paint, which can scratch it
- scrub dried-on dirt — leave it for the next valet
- put the car through an automatic brush wash, which can scratch the paint and wear the protection
What changes with the seasons?
The contamination changes, so the reminders should too:
- Winter: knock excess mud out of the footwells before it dries in, and report any salt damage early — see how road salt corrodes fleet bodywork.
- Spring: tree sap and pollen season. PureShield makes sap harder to bond, but prompt removal still helps.
- Summer: insect residue comes off easily when fresh; a quick wipe of the front bumper and screen stops it baking on.
- Autumn: clear leaves from door shuts and under the wipers, where they hold moisture.
How does PureShield help between valets?
It makes the car easier to keep clean. Rain beads and runs off the protected paint, carrying loose dirt with it; contamination bonds less readily, so interim wipes are easier and safer; and the layer adds UV resistance. It lasts up to a month on Basic and Full valets and up to three on Ultimate.
What if cars look tired before their next valet?
Then the schedule is probably too far apart. The answer is a shorter interval, not drivers cleaning cars themselves. The condition record from each 20-point Vehicle Health Check shows which cars wear fastest, and the cadence can be set per car. Our rounds cover mobile car valeting in Richmond and mobile car valeting in Twickenham, and fleet programmes are on our Corporate fleet services page.
Fleet managers can set a schedule that matches how their cars are used through a Fleet Readiness Audit.