How to Easily Detail Your Car’s Interior

School is starting up again and with Caleb working at a college, he is heading back too! For us, this means detailing our vehicles so we can “start the year off right.” Fall tends to fly by, so we like to take the time to thoroughly clean the interior and exterior of our vehicles while we have time and before the cold hits.

Detailing cars (and honestly cleaning in general– especially shampooing) is one of my guilty pleasures. I don’t know about you, but our cars get pretty messy! It makes such a huge difference once they are cleaned up! It is also super simple to detail your own car!

Clean Out the Stuff

Bring a trash bag for garbage and clean everything out of the vehicle. Bring any non-garbage items inside so they can be cleaned (if needed) and put away. Remove any floor mats. Everything that is not part of the vehicle should be removed.

Vacuum Everything

Start with the seats and/or cupholders and vacuum everything. Move the seats if you are able so you can easily vacuum underneath them. Don’t forget between the seats!

Clean the Dash, Steering, Consoles, and Doors

It is important to pay attention to what materials your vehicle’s interior is comprised of and use cleaners for those surfaces. I like to use an all-purpose cleaner on everything except leather seats. For leather seats we use an auto leather cleaner. Wipe everything starting at the highest point, such as the dash and work your way down. Clean all of your doors, too!

Wash the Windows

Clean the windows inside the car. Using newspaper instead of paper towels really seems to help keep the glass steak free! Microfiber cloths also work well!

“Protect” Your Car’s Surfaces

Use protectant on any surfaces that you are able to! We use an Armor All Surface Protectant and it makes such a huge difference in the car’s appearance. It also seems to help with the dog hair that seems to accumulate in our vehicles. There are leather protectants as well, which we use on our seats and any other true leather surfaces.

Shampoo Upholstery & Carpets

This is seriously my favorite part! You may have to vacuum again in a few areas, but otherwise it’s time to shampoo! We have a small portable carpet shampooer/spot cleaner that works great for vehicles! If you have something like this, start with the seats and shampoo your heart out! If you don’t have one, it’s okay! There are many cleaners available designed to lift stains out of vehicle upholstery and carpeting. Tuff Stuff is one we have used frequently in the past! Again, just be sure that whatever you use is designed for the surface you are using it on. It’s also a good idea to try it in a hidden area first! This step will likely make the biggest difference! I have also been known to spot clean any stains on the ceiling using Tuff Stuff… I did say detail, right?:)

Clean Floor Mats

We have both carpet and rubber floor mats for our vehicles. For the carpet mats, vacuum and shampoo them in the same way that you did the floors of your vehicle. For the rubber mats, I like to use the all purpose cleaner after spraying the mat down with a hose. I then scrub it with a cloth and hose it down again. Repeat until the mat is clean, then use protectant and allow them to dry.

We give our vehicles a day or so to dry out before replacing any mats. It is sooooo nice to get into a clean car! Having a clean vehicle also encourages us to bring in all of our items and garbage when we go places! It’s always easier to keep a clean space clean! Happy cleaning! 🙂