What to Use to Clean Car Interior Effortlessly in Minutes [2022]

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The more you drive the car, the more it will get dirty. To keep your car interior spotless, proper and regular cleaning is required.

Nowadays, car is a social need and we often use it, to go to the workplace, dropping kids to school, or day to recharge yourself. The most common interior parts are the steering wheel, car seat, carpet, headliner, door panels, dashboard, as well as electrical components all of them are nigh hand. So, they need to be clean cautiously with valuable products.

We got you the best cleaning tips and tricks that we tried on a car and got amazing results. We will also provide you with an answer to What to use to clean Car interior?”

Before scrolling down into the main article, don’t forget to check our top recommendations best steam cleaners for cars and best steam cleaners for carpets with pets.

What to Use to Clean Car Interior with Household Products in 2022

Gather All the Necessary Equipment’s

  1. Sponge
  2. Bucket
  3. Water hose
  4. Brush
  5. Glass cleaner
  6. Carpet cleaner
  7. Microfiber towel
  8. Vacuum Cleaner

Best Household Items to Get Sparkling Car

Baking Soda

Sodium bicarbonate is also known as baking soda. And it activated when mixed with liquid. Where it offers countless health benefits, it can also be used to get rid of old dirty, and sticky stains. I Mix 1/4 part of the vinegar in water and left for a few minutes then clean with a wet sponge and remove recently happened stains in a minute.

Dish Soap 

If you don’t have a shampooer for carpet stains then you can mix your dishwasher in a water bucket and you are ready to have a homemade shampooer for your car.

Recommendation
We noticed unbelievable outcomes from this method. All from the dashboard to the car carpet and every single interior part is cleaned and sanitized.
My advice is not to use on leather seats. Once we applied it on a leather car seat it got faded and cracks on the surface.

Toothpaste

Toothpaste is best for cleaning leather interiors. Apply toothpaste to the spotted area and clean it after a while with a microfiber cloth.

Windex

To clean regular dirt and grime from the window, dashboard, or steering wheel Windex is the best choice, and this performs great on glass surfaces.

Note: This is not recommended for stubborn stains. 

Vinegar 

It works perfectly fine on the car’s interior. But keep this in mind not to leave it for minutes, it may damage the surface. Just apply and wipe it in a while.

Bonus Tip
Never use Hydrogen peroxide on your car interior. It will damage your car seat badly.

Alcohol

Rubbing alcohol is safe for every type of surface inside your car. Just wet your microfiber cloth with alcohol and dab on the stain. Try to use a small quantity of alcohol to prevent any damage.

Essential Oils

If your car stinks then use essential oils which you like. Just wipe it on the dashboard, and your car will fill up with this relaxing fragrance.  These are extracted from the plants. So their fragrance has lots of benefits to human health.

  • It can boost your mood
  • Kills bacteria and germs
  • Reduce anxiety and more

Cleaning a Car Dashboard

We Used a handheld vacuum cleaner that has a small brush and clean the dashboard altogether with this. This removes the dust particles present on it. 

Car interior cleaning spray to kill bacteria and germs that cannot be seen with the eye. if do not have it use any cleaner or add water to rubbing alcohol and use it. Spray the disinfectant or the cleaner on the dashboard and rub out the dashboard with the help of baby wipes or paper towels, etc. 

Before using the cleaner on the whole dashboard I use it on a small part of it as a test. Because not every cleaner is suitable for every material type.

Before and After Cleaning DashboardIf there are any rigid marks you can remove them by using this homemade cleaner, to get this mix the following

  •  2 cups of water 
  • ½ teaspoon detergent
  • ½ teaspoon oil-based soap.
  • 3 tablespoons of vinegar

What to use to clean a car interior as mentioned before depends on the material of a part. This is true, especially for the dashboards. 

 

Dashboards Made Of Vinyl, Rubber, And Plastic

The dashboards that are made of plastic, vinyl, or rubber can be cleaned using a cleaner that is very concentrated. Simply I put the cleaner on a soft cloth piece such as baby wipes, and paper towels, and clean the dashboard.

Make sure whichever cloth you are using is not harsh. Use a new toothbrush to clean hard-to-reach areas. 

Dashboard Made Of Leather

Leather dashboards should be treated with care because using an ordinary cleaner on them may damage the leather. It may cause the appearance of cracks or fade the top layer. 

In case of no stains on it simply clean it with water. Otherwise use a soap for it that is oil-based. 

For professional car interior detailing I never forget to clean parts like windows, radio, steering wheel, dash cover, gear shift, and other small parts. Before cleaning any of these parts with a cleaner, put the cleaner on a small area of each part to check the suitability. 

How to Steam Clean Your Car Interior

Steam cleaning is getting popular due to chemical-free and cost-effective procedures. Steaming is arguably the best way to clean the soiled car interior. 

For this sort of cleaning you’ll need:

  • Vacuum cleaner
  • Steam cleaner
  • Triangular brush 

The best way to steam clean a car interior we always to use a vacuum cleaner first.

Do it the same way as you would do for normal car cleaning. Bind the triangular brush with the steam cleaner. Now move the steam cleaner over various areas of the car. The brush will help pull out the dust trapped in the fabric and such a steamer is the best steamer for car detailing

Findings
We noticed unbelievable outcomes from this method. All from dashboard to car carpet every single interior part is cleaned and sanitized. 

Before and After Cleaning Car

FAQS

Can I use dish soap to clean the car interior?

Yes, you can use it to clean the car’s interior. Mix it with water first. Then you can clean all the parts of the interior except the one made of glass. For the safe side, before using it do a spot test.  Never apply dish soap without mixing it with water.

Can I steam clean my car interior?

 Steam cleaning car is the best car interior cleaner method as it uses less water and cleanses the soiled interior easily. Before using the steam cleaner, clean the interior with a vacuum cleaner to get better results. While cleaning the carpet, attach a brush with the steam cleaner to brush out even the smallest dust particles. 

What do car detailers use to clean the interior?

The car detailers know the secret of the right soap. The cleaners that we use at home for cleaning the interior are not suitable for this purpose. It wipes away the polish present on the car, this makes it look dull and is not good for the car. Car detailers use soaps specially formulated for the car interior. 

What is the best thing to clean a car interior with?

If you are cleaning the car interior at home then the best thing for you is rubbing alcohol. It not only removes the dirt but is suitable for several materials such as leather, plastic, fabric, and vinyl. It is present in almost every household so there is no hassle of going to market when you need it. 

Bottom Line!

If you wish to clean the interior of your car by yourself then you should get yourself a car interior cleaning kit. This process of cleaning might take some time in the begging but over the course of time, you will be able to do it quickly. You should follow the given instructions carefully to achieve better results.

Try to clean the car regularly because if the dirt remains accumulated for a longer time then it gets challenging to get rid of it. Furthermore, some stains might become permanent after some time. 

We have comprehensively guided you on what to use to clean the car’s interior. In order to prevent any damage to any part of the car, you should carefully follow these general guidelines given over here.

Andrews

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