Tired of sticky residue, pet hair, and snack crumbs all over your car? Then it’s time to give your vehicle a little TLC. Freshening up your car’s interior isn’t just a courtesy to your passengers, as it can also help your car last. Since good car care means keeping up with your vehicle both inside plus out, learning about how to clean your car interior can help you maintain your vehicle and protect your investment.
Whether you use your car to transport pets, kids, guests, or just yourself, keeping things squeaky clean is going to keep you and your passengers riding happy. Plus, dirt, dust, and grime can build up over time to degrade your car’s interior materials, so you could end up with even bigger problems than weird smells and ugly stains.
Ready to get started? Let us help you get your car’s interior fresh-from-the-dealership clean. We put together this guide so you can give the inside of your car the attention it deserves. Say goodbye to cracker crumbs and last month’s spilled soda with these steps, tips, plus products.
What You Need
To get your car interior cleaner than the day you drove it off the lot, you need to know what stuff to use. While you may repurpose many common household items to use in your car, you can also purchase cleaners specifically designed to give your car a deep clean while protecting its components.
Keep in mind, some household cleaners may include harsh chemicals that can damage surfaces in your vehicle over time. These chemicals can weaken leather, plastics, and cloth materials, so avoid or dilute them to protect your car. Instead, we recommend using products and cleaners specifically designed to provide your car a deep thoroughly clean while protecting its materials.
Recommended Products for Your Car
Here’s what you need to banish stains, destroy germs, and get rid of that funky smell:
Cleaning Equipment
Equip yourself right before you get started. Here are all the supplies you need to care for your car:
- Microfiber cloth
- Vacuum with attachments
- Sponge
- Stiff-bristle scrub brush
- Bucket
- Duster
- Spray bottle
- Crevice cleaning tool
- Duster
Step by Step: Detailing a Car Interior
Once you’ve gathered your own supplies, it’s time to get started. Follow these steps to clean every curve, crack, and crevice of your car:
1 . Take Out and Clean Floor Mats
After removing all the trash from your car, take out your floor mats. If you’re going to wash your floor mats with water and cleaner, it’s a good idea to do this step early in the cleaning process so they have time to dry while you detail the rest of your car’s inside. When you take your floor mats out, shake them outside to remove large crumbs and other debris. Run the vacuum to collect dirt embedded in your mats.
If you have carpeted mats, apply a carpet or upholstery solution by following the instructions for the product. You can use a bucket with water and a few drops of the product to soak and scrub your pads before rinsing them and hanging them to dry. Another option is to check whether your floor mats are safe for machine washing. If you don’t have a good place to hang the mats, lay out a tarp or drop cloth instead of putting them on the ground.
With non-carpeted pads, like those made from rubber, silicone, or vinyl, you can use a hose to wash away excess dirt and soil. To wash more thoroughly, use a rubber floor mat cleanser. Another option is to add some dishwashing soap to a container of warm water and make use of a scrub brush to clean the particular mats. Rinse them thoroughly to get any remaining soap off and let them air-dry.
2 . Vacuum Interior
With the floor mats removed, run your vacuum throughout the internal of your car. Use the attachments to get into those hard-to-reach corners, like your cupholders and the space between your windshield and dashboard. Don’t forget to run the vacuum cleaner over your seats to collect all the sneaky bits of dust and crumbs.
3. Clear Dust plus Disinfect Dashboard
While the vacuum is great for picking up some of the dirt and dust in your car, it may be too large to navigate the smaller areas of your dash. Use a duster or microfiber cloth to clear your dash and vents of smaller particles. Dusters and microfiber cloths are soft enough that they won’t scratch your vents, and they’re designed to capture dust rather than spreading it throughout your vehicle.
After removing the dust from your dash, use disinfecting wipes to kill germs and bacteria living on your dash. Avoid using any bleach-based products and always read product labels carefully before using chemicals within your car. Crumbs, spills, and everyday use can cause germs to thrive on your dash, particularly on high-contact surfaces, so make a regular habit of disinfecting these areas. Keeping your dash clean can prevent the spread of illnesses to keep you and your travellers safe and healthy. Sticky dashboard? No more! Your people will thank you.
4. Carefully Clean Console
Similar to your dashboard, it’s important to remove dust, grime, and debris from your console. Be careful when cleaning places like your gearshift, infotainment panel, and console controls. For example , the climate control plus radio buttons embedded inside your console may be sensitive, so be gentle when dusting and disinfecting them.
If your vehicle has an infotainment screen, avoid using any ammonia-based products to clean its surface. Since most manufacturers use plastic for infotainment touchscreens, ammonia-based glass cleaners can damage the surface, particularly if it’s treated with an anti-glare or even anti-fingerprint coating . Instead, you can clear the touchscreen with a microfiber cloth dampened lightly along with distilled water.
5. Clean Cupholders, Door Panels, and Steering Wheel
Take care of your cupholders, door panels, and steering wheel by eliminating dust and disinfecting these surfaces. If you have removable cupholders, take them out and wash them in warm water with some dishwashing soap. Use a sponge or soft-bristled brush to give all of them a good scrub to remove any kind of residue. You can use disinfecting wipes to clean your door panels and steering wheel, which are both high-touch places in your vehicle. No one wants their car in order to double as a petri dish.
6. Wipe Interior Windows
Use an alcohol-based glass cleaner, like Invisible Glass , to wipe the insides of your windows and windshields. Never use products that aren’t made to clean glass. When using glass-cleaning products inside your car, try to use two microfiber cloths. Spray the product on one fabric and use it to apply the solution to the glass. This stops particles from the cleaner getting onto other surfaces inside your car where they might cause buildup and damage. Use the second cloth to clean the glass clean. This strategy helps you reduce streaking, and a microfiber cloth saves your own glass from abrasions.
7. Take Care of Seats
Clean your seats, first by using the vacuum with the hose attachment to remove crumbs and other debris. Then use the right products for your seat material to clean them. For leather seats, wipe the seats with a leather cleaner manufactured with cars in mind. Follow the instructions on the product and consider doing a follow-up treatment with a leather-based conditioner to keep things supple, soft, and shiny. Who doesn’t like that clean leather smell?
With cloth seats, look for any stains you need to remove. Choose a stain removal product plus follow the package instructions to apply, set, and rinse the product. Apply an upholstery cleanser over the entire seat. A scrub brush can help you work the product into the seat to achieve a deeper clean. Rinse the product using a microfiber towel dipped in water, but avoid soaking the seat since wet seats may encourage mold growth (again, no science experiments here, please). If needed, blot aside excess water with a dry towel before letting the seats air dry.
8. Deodorize
Finally, get rid of that funky smell with baking soda, activated charcoal, and air fresheners. For example , you can add baking soda or activated charcoal with a few falls of your favorite essential oil into a lidded plastic container. Slice a few vents into the lid and tuck it securely under one of your seats, or even use a gel air freshener . Every other month (or as needed in smellier cases), change out its contents to keep your vehicle fresh. Another option is to purchase a commercial air freshener to free your vehicle from the smells of your last takeout meal.
How Often Should You Clean the Inside of Your Car?
How often you have to clean your car’s inside depends on your driving conditions and lifestyle. If you transport messy passengers (i. e., kids and pets) often , your car’s interior may require more regular cleaning. Beyond that, it’s a good general rule to perform a deep clean at least twice a year. For example , you might clean your car at the start of every spring to wash out mud and road salt tracked inside over the winter. Clean it again at the end of summer to get this ready for the colder months.
You might prioritize cleaning some spaces of your car more frequently. Clean the particular insides of your windows plus windshields monthly or as needed to improve visibility on the road. Disinfect high-touch surfaces frequently , especially during cold and flu season. Remember, you want your car to run, but not your own nose. Finally, make sure to clean food and drink spills quickly after they happen to prevent bacteria plus bugs from moving into your vehicle.
How to Keep Your Car Interior Clean
Keeping your car’s interior clean can feel like an uphill battle. Use these tips to improve the cleanliness of your vehicle’s interior to protect it until your next deep cleaning:
- Buy car gel or putty and keep it on hand so you can easily clean hard-to-reach spots like your vents.
- Use a small container to collect trash in your automobile, or simply opt for buying an in-car trashcan to reduce litter.
- Get a silicone baking cup to use as the liner for your cupholders to reduce the amount of residue that builds up.
- Invest in a good over-the-seat organizer to store travel items, snacks, and entertainment for kids and other passengers.
While regular heavy cleans are important for maintaining the interior of your vehicle, using some of these accessories can help you reduce inside messes and keep your vehicle smelling better than the day you got it.
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