The outside of your car is an important part of a first impression, but that impression can be spoiled if the interior’s a mess. Cleaning the inside can be a pain, though, especially if you’ve let it go for a while. And it can be a bit of a puzzle, too, because the best way to clean a car’s interior will depend on the car itself, the materials inside, and what tools you have on hand.
With that in mind, we put together a list designed to make the inside of your car sparkle as much as the outside does after a fresh wax job. Use these tips to whip the interior of your car into shape with common cleaning tools you already have on hand, saving you time and money.
The best way to clean your car’s interior
Start big and work your way down
The first tip is to sort your tasks by size. You’ll want to kick things off by dealing with the largest stuff — any stray water bottles, coffee cups or discarded mail scattered around the interior — then work your way down until you’re finely cleaning details or harder to reach spots.
This way, you won’t constantly be shuffling larger pieces of garbage around while you’re trying to do finer work (plus, you’re less likely to ding your tailbone by accidentally sitting on your water bottle or Fido’s dog toy while you’re vacuuming).
Give the whole interior a thorough vacuuming
After you’ve taken care of all the larger pieces of junk kicking around in the footwell or on the seats, give the entire interior a careful vacuuming. If you’ve got a vacuum with various attachments, your car is a perfect use case for them.
For hard-to-reach places, consider attaching the cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels to your vacuum hose. This gives you a flexible end that can sneak into deep crevices or easily get beneath seats. For smaller areas, attaching the top of a squeeze bottle can help you reach even the tiniest crumbs.
Remove and clean any floor mats
The next step is to pull out your floor mats. If they have a fabric component, feel free to apply some upholstery cleaner. For rubber mats, scrub them down with some dish soap and hot water; then hang them to dry. For fabric mats, to truly get out the dust and dirt, you may want to give them a good knock with a carpet beater or pull them out and run them over with a carpet cleaner. You’ll be shocked at the clouds of dust that come flying out of even a modest-size mat (and you may want to wear a mask for this step for that very reason).
Clean your seats based on the fabric/material
How you clean your seats, including the backs and bottoms, will vary depending on what material the upholstery’s made of. After you’ve vacuumed, the next step for leather seats is a good wipe-down, using either a damp rag or, ideally, a rag and some saddle soap or specially designed leather cleaner. For fabric seats, spritz them with some upholstery cleaner and then use a soft brush. After that, rub them down with a soft cloth and leave them to dry, either outside the car (if you have removable seat covers) or with the windows down.
Use a common household cleaner to tidy up the dashboard
A soft cloth (we prefer microfiber) and a light dose of common household cleaner is usually enough to clean off your dash and most parts of a center console. If your car has displays or a lot of glass elements, give them a once over with a slightly damp microfiber cloth. You can also opt to tackle crevices and seams by breaking out a toothbrush or a vacuum cleaner with a squeeze bottle top plugged into the hose.
Use a pair of soft cloths to clean the windows
The best approach to cleaning your windows is to treat one microfiber cloth with a bit of alcohol-based glass cleaner (avoid ammonia, as it can damage surfaces on the dashboard or console) and, after a thorough wipe down, to finish with another dry microfiber cloth. Continuously rotate to fresh areas of the cloth as you work your way across a window, to avoid depositing gunk you’ve just scrubbed off one part of the window onto another.
Clean the steering wheel and other surfaces
Typically, your steering wheel will be swathed in the same material as most of the rest of your dash, so approach cleaning it in a similar way. Using a rag and some common household cleaner, or even just a drop of dish soap and some warm water, carefully wipe your way around the wheel, being sure to scrub both the top and bottom parts as well as the face. The same technique applies to armrests and other parts of the interior.
Given the frequent contact, and for vehicles with multiple drivers, consider frequently giving your steering wheel regular touch-ups with disinfectant cloths or even a tissue and some hand sanitizer spritz.
Don’t neglect the trunk
One oft-overlooked part of a car’s interior is the trunk, though it can hold a forgotten stockpile of detritus and even be a major source of odors. You’ll want to vacuum it while you’re doing the rest of the interior, and if you’ve got a trunk mat, remove it and treat it with the same care as the floor mats from the footwells. You may also want to squirt a bit of odor-neutralizing spray into the compartment if there’s any hint of mustiness. To remove the smell of cigarette smoke or other strong odors, your best bet is to use an ozone generator in a well-ventilated space.
How to clean a car interior FAQ
Can you detail a car yourself?
Though it can save you a lot of time and annoyance, paying to get your car detailed is an expensive proposition. If you’ve got some common household cleaning items on hand, doing it yourself is fairly simple and often takes less time than you expect.
What type of vacuum works best for a car interior?
Generally, a canister vacuum is best suited for car interiors. Canister models are easy to hoist inside and move around the inside of a car as you work, and they generally come with a variety of attachments and a flexible wand that makes working around a cramped space much easier than with an upright or stick vacuum. A hand vacuum is also a fantastic option.
How do you clean upholstery and car seats?
As we mentioned above, how you tidy up upholstery will depend in large part on what material it’s made of. For leather, a good saddle soap or leather cleaner is a boon (though a slightly damp microfiber cloth is a decent alternative in a pinch). Fabric upholstery calls for a soft brush and some upholstery cleaner. Either way, you’ll want to kick things off with a thorough vacuuming.