All bent over and with one knee on the passenger seat, you try to get just into that one corner with the vacuum cleaner nozzle.. Alas! The hoover is just not powerful enough to hoover the last of the dust from between the seats. Cleaning the interior of the car is not something that many people want to do. Yet it is important for the maintenance of your car to regularly clean the inside of the car. How can you do that as effectively as possible? You can read the answers below.
Step 1: Remove all cluter
Before you start cleaning your car interior, it is important to first remove all clutter. This means that there is nothing on the upholstery, nothing on the dashboard and that all larger pieces of debris is removed. This way you can continue working pleasantly without being hindered by dirt lying around.
Step 2: Centre console and dashboard
Now we can actually begin to systematically clean the car. Start with the dashboard and the center console. The reason behind it is that these places there are the ones that often gather a lot of dust. There are also many fingerprints. This quickly gives the interior of your car a rather dirty and messy appearance. Fortunately, this can be solved rather easily..
A good cleaning is enough to restore your interior to its former glory. Of course, for car interior cleaning there are products on the market, and for this step there are also plenty of materials. The best products to buy are special cleaning agents, which are not corrosive but effectively remove dust and grease.
In addition, make sure you have soft wipes that won't break anything but will allow you to clean vigorously. Besides the fact that cleaning this area immediately makes it tidy, it is a good place to start your cleaning anyway. Because there is a lot of dust here, you can let it all fall down so it ends up on the floor. Since you'll be addressing this later and hoovering said area, it's super convenient. As always with polishing, work in the car from top to bottom as much as possible.
Step 3: Clean the car windows from the inside
The car windows on the outside are often very clean, but the inside is just as important. Unfortunately, way too little attention is paid to this. That's a shame, because there is often a lot of dirt to find. Greasy fingers, dust and all kinds of grime that ends up on the car windows mainly due to the circulation of air - it creates a lot of dirt. Especially the windshield is often very dirty because of the accumulation of grime, which is very dangerous.
This can greatly reduce visibility, especially when the sun is shining. This, of course, can lead to all kinds of dangerous situations. You can prevent these situations by using a good car window cleaner to remove the deposits and other dirt, so that you are no longer bothered by the blinding glare of the sun. Keeping your car windows clean is best done with a special window cleaner. Simply spray it on and wipe dry with a soft cloth in order to avoid scratches.
Step 4: The upholstery and the doors
The upholstery of your car is of course super important. Not only does it have a great influence on how your interior looks, it's also very important in terms of hygiene because it's where you sit. Soft interior trims have a hard time in any car, whether they're made of fabric or leather. Every stain stands out. When we talk about cleaning your upholstery, it does make a big difference whether it is fabric or leather. Fortunately, you have special cleaning products for both leather and fabric.
All products for this purpose have the goal of removing stains and unwanted odours from the upholstery. Leather, however, needs more nourishment and protection than fabric. Of course, you can always clean your car interior with steam cleaner, where you really get thorough. It's certainly not a bad idea to do this every now and then.
Step 5: The floor covering and car mats
A question we often hear about dirty car mats is: should you clean car mats or buy new ones? This question is different for every situation, but in any case it is important to keep your car mats and floor covering in good condition. If you want to keep your car mats and upholstery in good condition, a clean is often sufficient. You start when the previous steps have been completed. The first step is to hoover the floor, which can be done with an ordinary hoover. Make sure to use its attachments. Have you not got any? If so, buy some attachments so you can reach all parts of your car interior.
There are also a lot of cordless hoovers out there these days. These are a bit smaller and easier to handle, especially in the car. Moreover, it means you don't get entangled with the power cord. Preferably use a brush when hoovering the upholstery, so there is no damage. Don't forget the luggage compartment. After hoovering, you can clean the carpet and mats with a special cleaner.
Are your car mats worn out or is the fastening system coming loose? If so, be sure to choose a new set of car mats. Sliding car mats are very dangerous. At Just Carpets, we manufacture and sell custom-made car mats for more than 3,000 models. Need new car mats? Simply navigate to your make and model using the configurator below.
Step 6: Rid your car interior of foul odours
When you spend a lot of time in your car, it tends to get a bit smelly. No matter how neat you are and what you do to it, this is inevitable. This is because of the environment in which you drive or park your car, and also because of the ventilation system. Food, animal or perhaps smoke scents will simply linger. The first step is always to remove the cause of the scent, otherwise you are just fighting the symptoms.
In addition, the smell may be coming from something you overlooked, and then an odour remover won't work the way you'd like either. After that, you can then use a special odour remover to get the smell out of your car. These products can deal with the most stubborn odours in the car. It is also a smart move to replace the interior filter of your car at the same time. This filter cleans the air through the air conditioning or ventilation system, and should be replaced regularly. This can also be the cause of bad smells. So don't forget it!
Step 7: Finish with a perfume
Perfume in the car? Absolutely. The finishing touch to an interior that smells good is a good car perfume. You can get these in all sorts of places these days, in all sorts of different scents. You can hang such a perfume on your rear-view mirror or buy a spray can that you spray every now and then. There are other types as well. Choose a scent you like and always have your car smelling great and fresh!
With these steps, your car interior will always be completely fresh and clean. Ideally, you should do this every three months or so. Cleaning your car interior is a job that is probably not your favourite, but afterwards you are usually only too happy with the result!