Everybody wants their car to have that just-out-of-the-dealership feel — one only needs to consider the number of “new car smell” products on the market to know that’s true. Fortunately, keeping your car looking (and smelling!) like new doesn’t require expensive trips to the detailers.
To help you get your car looking its very best, we consulted experts and got their tips, tricks and go-to products for cleaning the interior of a car. We put together a five-step guide to detailing the interior of a car, along with all the products you need to get the job done right.
And if you’ve noticed your car smelling stale, don’t forget to check out our roundup of the best car air fresheners. We also suggest investing in a trunk organizer that keeps everything in its place —?an easy way to keep your car cleaner for longer.
What you’ll need
This spray can be used to clean virtually all interior surfaces, including plastic, vinyl, leather, rubber, metal and LCD and navigation screens. It contains UV-blocking agents to protect the interior from sun damage.?
Car cleaning wipes are a convenient way to quickly clean hard and soft surfaces, including cloth seats and carpeted floor mats, in the car. Look for wipes that have UV protection to prevent heat and sun damage.
When it comes to cleaning car seats, regardless of whether they are cloth, leather or imitation leather, the first thing to do is to reach for your vacuum. Black+Decker's Dustbuster is our top pick for handheld vacuums.
Use a foaming carpet and upholstery cleaner to remove soiling and stains from cloth car seats. It can also be used to clean carpeted flooring and floor mats.
If you prefer your cleaning products to be a little on the cool and weird side, you'll love this car cleaning gel. It's basically goo, which is fun on its own, but it's even more fun when you use it to pick up crumbs and dust from small spaces in the car like the vents and cup holders.
This leather care kit has everything you need to care for the leather components in your car. It comes with a leather cleaner, conditioning cream, sponge and cloth. You can also use it to clean leather shoes, couches and more.
Pre-moistened wipes are convenient and easy to use. All-purpose cleaning wipes are safe for imitation leather seats, but for real leather, use leather cleaning wipes formulated specifically to condition and protect the material, like these from Weiman.
When cloth seats need a deeper clean, an upholstery cleaning machine like Bissell's Little Green Machine is the right tool for the job.
Use an ammonia-free glass cleaner to clean and polish car windows and mirrors without compromising the window tint or leaving a haze on the glass.
Microfiber cloths are the right tool for cleaning virtually all interior surfaces in the car. Use a clean cloth for each individual job to avoid cross-contamination.
How to clean your car’s interior
To maximize the time and effort involved in cleaning your car’s interior, follow these steps — in this order! — for the best results.
Step 1: Open all the doors and take everything out, including the floor mats
Open all the doors, which will allow fresh air to flush out stale and unpleasant odors as you work.
Then, remove anything that does not belong in the car. Put garbage into a trash bag and place items that need to be brought into the house or garage in a bag or bin for easy carrying. Set anything that belongs in the car, like an emergency kit, aside.
Take out the floor mats and set them aside. If carpeted floor mats are stained and in need of deep cleaning, shake them well to dislodge dirt and debris, then apply a foaming carpet cleaner and allow it to work while you clean the interior of the car.
Step 2: Clean the dash, center channel, side panels and vents
After removing trash, use a handheld vacuum or a dry microfiber cloth on the dashboard, side panels, instrument panel and center channel area to remove dust and loose debris. Then, use an automotive cleaning wipe (we suggest these from Chemical Guys) or an interior car detailing spray (like this one from Meguiar’s) and a clean microfiber cloth to wipe the dash and other hard surfaces.
To clean the vents, a specialty product like a vent brush or car cleaning gel can be nice to have. However, the experts we spoke with offered tips for a more DIY approach to cleaning car vents. “Use a bristle brush to clean air vents — we also recommend using a microfiber brush, an old makeup brush or cotton swabs to be gentler on your air vents,” says Gina Perry, a cleaning senior merchant at The Home Depot.
Step 3: Clean the seats
When it comes to cleaning car seats, regardless of whether they are cloth, leather or imitation leather, the first thing to do is to reach for your vacuum to remove dirt, dust, hair and other soils from the upholstery. “Always vacuum the seats first,” Perry says.
Michael Stoops, a senior global product and training specialist at Meguiar’s, recommends using a handheld vacuum for the job. “A portable vacuum cleaner is handy for removing dust, crumbs and pet hair from carpets and upholstery,” he says.
To give leather seats a deeper cleaning after vacuuming, use a leather cleaner. Then, buff and dry the seats using a microfiber cloth and apply a leather conditioner, which will help to keep the material from drying out and cracking due to age.
To remove stains and soiling from cloth seats, Perry recommends using a foaming carpet and upholstery cleaner. The foaming cleaner will remove stains as well as dirt and grime that give cloth seats a dingy appearance. For a deeper clean, use an upholstery cleaning machine on cloth seats.
Step 4: Clean the floor and the floor mats
Once you dust hard surfaces and clean the seats, it’s time to vacuum the floor of the car. Then, clean the mats that you removed from the car. When cleaning floor mats, start by taking them out of the car and giving them a good shake to dislodge debris and dirt.
To clean carpeted floor mats, Perry says to use a spray or foaming carpet cleaner. “Spray the floor mat,” Perry says, “and then vacuum the foam to remove any stains.”
To clean rubber floor mats, “Spray down the mat with a hose,” says Marilee Nelson, a co-founder of Branch Basics. “Spray all-purpose cleaner on the mats and clean with a scrub brush. Rinse off, let dry and return to the car.” At this time, you should also bring back anything else that belongs in the car.
Step 5: Polish windows and mirrors
The final step is to clean the windows and mirrors. Stoops recommends using a microfiber cloth and a quality glass cleaner. “Microfiber helps to remove dust and debris from dashboard, windows and seats,” he says, “ensuring streak-free visibility on windows and mirrors.”
