While your car’s exterior creates the first impression of your ride, a vehicle’s interior appearance is obviously just as important. After all, it’s where drivers and passengers experience the car while moving down the road. Freshening up your car’s upholstery, carpeting, dashboard, and headliner makes a world of difference. Here are some of our favorite tips for car interior cleaning.
Cleaning the Upholstery
Car interior cleaning begins with a good vacuuming job using the nozzle to get into creases where dirt and grime accumulate. If your upholstery is leather, follow this with a gentle wipe-down using a clean, damp cloth.
Do not use an all-purpose household product when cleaning your car’s interior. Meguiar’s and Mothers—companies that specialize in automotive detailing products—produce cleaners specific to different types of cloth and leather surfaces. Before using the cleaner, do a spot-test to make sure that it won’t discolor the upholstery.
Be careful not to saturate the surface of the upholstery with cleaner. For cloth, use a couple of quick sprays and massage the area with an interior cleaning brush. Do not use a stiff carpet-cleaning brush, which could damage the fabric. Use a microfiber towel to blot the dirty fluid before it dries.
For leather, apply a few squirts of cleaner and use a soft, wet cloth to activate the foam. A soft interior cleaning brush deep-cleans stains. After cleaning, use a conditioner to restore the upholstery’s natural oils. Stick with car interior cleaning products that are water-based and pH-neutral.
Cleaning Your Car’s Interior Carpeting
Remove any floor mats and thoroughly vacuum the carpeting. Pre-treat stains using stain remover—such as a mixture of water, a few squirts of dish detergent, and vinegar—applied from a spray bottle. Then use a clean, dry towel and blot the stains with baking soda and water.
It’s also important to pre-test carpet shampooing products before use to make sure they are color-safe. Apply shampoo into the carpet using a circular motion. Work small areas at a time so you can vacuum up the foam before the shampoo dries. A stiff-bristle brush will help lift dirt out of the carpeting.
Refreshing the Dashboard, Door Panels and Trim
We recommend an interior cleaning product such as Meguiar’s Quick Interior Detailer Cleaner and a plastic cleaner. Kevian Clean Interior Defense Car Cleaner is a good choice. Apply the plastic cleaner first using a microfiber towel to wipe up the residue. Then apply the interior cleaner foam, and use a microfiber towel to wipe clean. You can use a soft interior brush or scrub pad to treat stains. Be gentle because scrubbing too hard might discolor the plastic. A steam cleaner is a good alternative for cleaning dashboards and plastic trim on car interiors.
Cleaning the Headliner
The car’s headliner is constructed as a single piece, consisting of an outer fabric layer, foam, and a hard backing. You can clean grime and get rid of odors using the upholstery cleaners mentioned above—but if the headliner gets torn you will need to replace it. To spot clean, apply the product with a clean cloth, then clean up the area with a damp towel.
For a deeper cleaning, apply the product to the entire headliner. Let the cleaner sit for the amount of time indicated on the product. Use an interior brush to clean the headliner, making sure to reach every section—otherwise, it will show afterward.
After using liquid cleaners, leave the car windows open until the interior is completely dry to prevent mildew and mold formation.
