The soft seats, sleek instrument panels, luxurious carpeting and sparkling trim that make a vehicle interior a nice place to spend time won’t stay that way if they are not cleaned on a regular basis.

Common interior cleaning tools and products include: a vacuum; brushes and towels; stain removers, cleaners and conditioners specific to various materials; and air fresheners.

Run through the following steps to make sure you don’t miss some of the trickier clean up spots in your car!

• Interior cleaning begins with removing all loose items from the car. Empty trash bags and ash trays, clean out the glove compartment and other storage bins, and remove the floor mats. Then, use a vacuum with hose extensions and attachments to thoroughly clean the floor mats and interior carpet.
• Sliding seats to the front and back of their tracks will provide easier access to the areas underneath. And, in mini-vans and sport utility vehicles, folding the rear seats or removing quick-release models can improve access as well. A stiff bristle brush can help remove dried on mud and other carpet deposits.
• Pay special attention to the driver’s footwell and areas around floor mats where dirt tends to collect and acts like sandpaper to breakdown the carpet fibers and backing.
• While in the driver’s footwell, clean the pedal pads with a cloth wetted in a car wash solution. Replace any pads that are worn smooth, or to the point where the underlying metal pedal is exposed. Never use silicone-based protectorants on foot pedals as the resulting slick finish could cause a shoe to slip off a pedal, possibly resulting in a crash.
• Next, vacuum the upholstery, focusing on seams where debris collects that will damage the stitching over time. Don’t overlook the areas between seat bottoms and back cushions which trap and conceal all sorts of things.
• Recline the seatbacks and raise the headrests for access to normally concealed areas. Suck up any debris from the glove compartment and storage bins, then use a soft detailing brush to help clean dust from ventilation ducts and grilles.
• Detailing brushes can also be used to help clean and vacuum away debris from small grooves and crevices on the instrument panel and elsewhere throughout the car. Using the vacuum in “blow” mode is another technique for getting dirt and crumbs out of hard to reach areas.
• Finally, if other interior surfaces are particularly dirty, use a vacuum with a brush attachment to remove as many of the loose deposits as possible.
   

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