Whether it’s your fault or not, the frustration of a smashed or shattered windscreen is enough to make anyone mad.
When you add cleaning the broken glass into the mix, it’s a whole new level of stress. Even the most stoic may struggle to cope.
The most comparable scenarios would be cleaning either sand, grass, or dog hair from your car, but glass is sharp and it hurts.
Thankfully, over time I’ve learned to deal with cleaning glass and other tricky substances from cars. Follow the steps listed below to clean shattered glass from your car without any more stress!
Equipment Necessary For Cleaning Shattered Glass
Just like any other job, if you have the right tools and equipment, cleaning glass from your car interior will be a lot easier.
I’ll also recommend some PPE. Nobody wants to slice their hands up while cleaning their car.
Using these 4 pieces of equipment you’ll be able to clean glass from your car with no issues. Odds are you already have a vacuum and a scrub brush too, so a clean interior will come at very little cost.
How-To Clean Glass Out Of Your Vehicle
The process is super easy, you probably knew what to do already, you just needed confirmation.
When cleaning glass from your car, the vacuum will do most of the heavy lifting.
Follow the steps listed below to remove shattered glass from the interior of your car:
- Pick Up The Big Pieces – Depending on the way that the glass smashed, you may find big shards of glass around your vehicle. If this is the case, equip your cut-resistant gloves and pick it up, placing it into the bin as you work.
- Vacuum The Smaller Pieces – Now that the big shards of glass are out of the way, grab your vacuum and start vacuuming the area.
- Agitate The Stubborn Glass – As you work, you’ll find that some pieces of glass just don’t want to move. This is why we have the scrub brush, if you find some stubborn glass, use the scrub brush to dislodge it from the carpet.
Make sure to do it gently though, the last thing you want to do is launch glass into your face. - Vacuum The Area Again – If you’re confident that you’ve gotten all the glass, you don’t need to vacuum the area again.
You may even decide to spot vacuum the areas you just removed the glass from. There’s no “correct” way, as long as you remove all the glass from the car. - Use A Lint-Roller (Optional) – This is a completely optional step. If it’s your own car and you’re satisfied with results, there’s no need to lint roll but doing so will guarantee that all glass has been removed.
For me, when it’s a car that sees high traffic, whether it’s children, animals, or even other adults, I’d suggest lint-rolling the affected areas just to be safe.
If it’s your windscreen that has been smashed, you may need to call in the professionals.
Because the windscreen sits over your dashboard, the glass may get stuck in areas that you can’t access yourself. Cleaning the glass out of air vents is more complex and so is removing a car dashboard if you need to clean in behind that.
While you’re cleaning the glass from your car, I’d recommend properly cleaning your car upholstery at the same time.