Cleaning your car interior

Whilst regular vacuuming, dash wiping and window cleaning will keep your interior in good condition, a proper detailing session can have it looking as good as new.

Whilst the interior may not be treated to quite as many harsh contaminants as the exterior, it often gets overlooked when it comes to car cleaning.

Interior cleaning schedules

Every few weeks: The microfibre cleaning cloth should be used each time the car is washed to wipe over the interior surfaces and clean the windows.

Monthly: Use an interior cleaning spray to clean and protect the dash, interior plastics and panels. Ideally use a spray which has a UV filter to prevent your plastics from fading and becoming brittle.

Every 3 months: Give your car a full interior detail, cleaning all fabrics, leather and plastics to remove the build up of grime and grease. Finish by applying protectants to repel water, grease and general grime.

Special surfaces: Leather

For interior leather, this should be cleaned properly 4 times a year, using a specially formulated leather cleaner. After cleaning, you should then apply a leather conditioner to preserve and protect the leather from wear and discolouration.

If the leather is damaged, scratched or worn, then you may want to consider using some of the available leather touch up dyes. These will help blend the discoloured areas in with the rest of the leatherwork.

Plastics

Car interior plastics should not be subjected to too much in the way of wear and tear, and a cleaning spray with UV filter is often all that is needed.

If you do have damaged panels or components then you may need to contact your car manufacturer or scour the internet for replacement parts.

Most dash damage is caused during the installation of aftermarket stereos, hands free kits and sat navs. If you are planning on having one of these fitted, make sure you go to a professional, reputable company, or take special care if you are doing it yourself.

Fabrics

Fabrics, due to their absorbent nature are more prone to staining than leather.

For small stains you can use a spray on cleaner when can then be worked into the stain, and wiped off using a cloth. For larger stains, or areas of discolouration, then an upholstery shampoo is the best way of getting them back into tip top condition. An upholstery brush will also allow you to work the shampoo deep into the fibres, removing stubborn stains.

Fabric protectants do a good job of deterring grease and grime between cleans, and should be applied to clean, dry fabrics.

Carpets and Mats

Arguably the carpets and mats are going to get the most punishment in terms of grit and grime of all your interior surfaces. They are designed to be hardwearing, and can be treated similarly to your other fabrics in terms of cleaning.

Before shampooing, it is important to vacuum the carpets and mats thoroughly to remove grit and dirt which could otherwise end up being washed into, rather than out of, your carpets. It is important to ensure that your carpets dry thoroughly, if you can shampoo early in the day and leave doors open for air flow that would be ideal , otherwise ensure that there is a window open to let the damp air escape.

Once your carpets are dry, fabric protectants give excellent protection from staining and grease, especially valuable for these areas of heavy wear.

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