5 Must-Know Tips And Tricks For Cleaning The Bed Of Your Truck

A good pickup truck should be rugged and powerful, able to endure rough and dirty conditions with little to no problems. Of course, no matter how rugged your truck is, that doesn't mean it won't accumulate its fair share of dirt, dust, grime, and other forms of grossness. The contaminants may not directly impact your truck's ability to function but don't be surprised if your friends and family don't want to sit in it or near it when it's covered front to back in mud.

One of the biggest magnets for dirty elements on your truck is the bed. The average car trunk gets dirty enough as it is, so imagine combining that with direct exposure to the elements, and you've got an oversized petri dish waiting to happen. This is why you should regularly clean out your truck's bed, sweeping out the crud and washing away the gunk. As long as you've got a driveway and the right tools, you can do this on your own instead of going to the car wash, but there are a few particulars you should keep in mind.

Before you can even entertain the idea of giving your truck bed a comprehensive cleaning, you first need to completely empty it of physical objects. Yes, if you carry a lot of assorted tools in your truck bed, it's annoying to remove them all, but you can't give the bed the cleaning it needs if you don't. Whatever you've got back there, be it tools, trash, or attached truck accessories, they all have to go. Just leave them all in a pile in the driveway, and you can put it all back when you're done.

In addition to the junk, you should also give your bed a good dusting. A lot of dust and dirt can accumulate between and under all that stuff you were hauling, and leaving it will interfere with the cleaning process. Using a sturdy push broom and/or a leaf blower, climb up into the bed and wipe/blow all of that dust and dirt out of there. Try to sweep all of it into a bin or bag, as just sweeping it off the back will just leave it floating in the air, where it can return to the bed.

Once the debris is taken care of, it's time to wash your truck bed liner. Since truck bed liners are designed to be fairly resilient, any dirt or grime that's managed to work its way in there is probably going to be firmly attached, too firmly to remove by hand. This is when we bust out our good friend the power washer.

Standing in the truck bed, use the power washer to spray every nook and cranny of the bed liner, methodically sweeping side-to-side, back-to-front. Make sure that the tailgate is either open or removed entirely when you do this; you want the sprayed water to flow toward the opening and out of the truck bed, carrying the contaminants away with it. As a side note, if you're using a removable bed liner or mat, you can take it out of the bed first and clean it on the ground. This will make power washing it a little easier since the water can flow out in any direction.

Once the liner has been power-washed and, if applicable, removed, it's time to get down to some old-fashioned scrubbing. Make sure you're using proper car wash soap for this process, as certain intense chemicals could damage the bed and liner if applied liberally.

Splash the bed with some water, either from a hose or a bucket, making sure you get it thoroughly soaked. Once everything's wet, apply the car wash soap across the bed. You can then use a regular mop to spread the suds around and clean the whole surface of the bed. If you're encountering any really stubborn stains or crusty patches, tag out the mop for a nylon scrubbing brush to really lay into them. Don't use the scrubber too much, though, as too much abrasion runs the risk of scratching your truck's paint.

After sufficient mopping and scrubbing, rinse out the bed with the hose or bucket, and repeat the process as necessary. You may need to rinse, soap, and scrub a few times to really get all the crud out of there.

Once you're satisfied with your bed and liner's level of cleanliness, it's time to dry. The best way to dry the bed and liner is to leave them out in the sun for a while. Obviously, this works best on a hot, sunny day; if it's cloudy out, then the drying process may take longer than usual. If it's taking a bit too long for your tastes, you can grab a few dry cleaning cloths and wipe down the bed and liner yourself.

However you go about drying them, make sure the bed and liner are completely dry before you start putting your belongings back in the bed or move it into your garage. If you leave too much water in there and crowd it with objects or leave it in a confined space, you might accidentally foster the creation of mildew or mold, which means yet another day of cleaning for you.

Technically, once you're done with washing and drying your truck bed, you can just call it a day there, but if you'd like to preserve your bed's newfound shine for a bit longer, you should consider applying some wax. The wax sprays they apply at car washes aren't just for making your car shiny, they also create a barrier between the body and the elements, ensuring that the clean state lasts as long as possible.

To use wax on your truck bed, just apply some onto a soft buffing pad and gently work it over the contours of the liner. You can also use an orbital polisher to apply the wax in a more uniform coat, though you should make sure you know how to use that kind of tool first. Once you've applied the wax, your truck bed should have a lovely, resistant sheen. You might want to leave it to dry for a bit before you put any objects back in the bed, just so your stuff doesn't get covered in waxy runoff.