Giving the inside of your vehicle a thorough clean is something that few of us do on a regular basis. It can be time-consuming and laborious but, once done, creates a much more pleasant, safe, and comfortable environment for travelling. Are you guilty of just chucking things onto the abyss of the back seats or into footwells and forgetting they exist? Do your passengers have to move your clutter before they pile in? Or is your car rubbish-free and just needs its sparkle and shine back? Whatever the state of your car, here’s a step-by-step guide to getting your interior looking like new.
The first step is to clear out the mound of clutter and rubbish. Dig deep into all the pockets and compartments of your car and get rid of all the wrappers, reciepts, plastic bottles, and old parking tickets. Don't forget to check doors, glove compartment, centre console, cup holders, the backs of seats, under seats, and the footwells. If you're lucky, you may find a forgotten coin or two.
Starting with the dirtiest part of the interior, mats and carpets are subjected to all the mud, stones, and soggy leaves that our shoes trapce in, alongside all the crumbs from empty food packets and hairs from our precious pets. If you have removable car mats, take them out of the footwells and boot and give them a good shake. Then, just like carpets indoors, get the hoover out and give them a good going-over. Move the seats back and forward to ensure you're giving the easily-forgotten carpet underneath them a good clean as well. Once all of the loose dirt is up, treat any stubborn marks and stains with a specially-formulated carpet and upholstery cleaning spray. Before using a new cleaning agent on any area of your car, it's advised that you try it on an inconspicuous area of fabric first.
Yours and your passenger's home for the duration of your journey, it's only right that each seat is clean, comfy, and fresh. Just like the carpet, start by giving them a good hoover to remove any loose dirt and crumbs from between the creases. If they're upholstered with fabric, spray with a carpet and upholstery cleaner and give them a good scrub to lift off any grime or stains and help return them to their original appearance. Leather seats need more care and have to be conditioned to prevent the material from drying out and damaging. Try using leather wipes to clean and preserve their sleek appearance.
Filled with a mixture of lots of little nooks and crevices and flat surfaces, dashboards can be a nightmare for gathering dust and quickly losing their showroom shine. A regular wipe-down with some antibacterial dash wipes is a fast and effective solution, but for a long-lasting like-new appearance, give every surface a spritz with some anti-static dashboard cleaner which helps to repel dust and leave a glossy appearance. Don't forget the steering wheel!
For the extra-tricky areas between buttons and along the trim, try using an old toothbrush or paintbrush to gently scrub out any grime. Most dashboard cleaners are designed to give your console a glossy or matte finish to leave your cockpit with a dazzling shine or sophisticated and sleek appearance.
Get your microfibre cloth at the ready. To get that professional finish, you'll need a smear and streak-free cleaning agent. Spray the agent onto the cloth or directly onto the inside of your car window and give it a good wipe-down to remove grease, dirt, and finger marks. For a next-level clean, use anti-fog glass cleaner which will help prevent your windows from fogging up and leave you with a clearer view. Once you've cleaned your windscreen / windshield, driver side and passenger side windows, and rear window, go over them with another dry microfibre cloth to remove of any dust particles that may have settled. Ensure you don't use any sort of abbraisive cloth as this will scratch the glass.
Once your car is looking fabulous again, finish off the valeting task by hanging or placing an air freshener inside to keep it feeling pristine for longer. To prevent the rubbish from building up again straight away, put a mini trash can in one of your cup holders for any old receipts, wrappers, and parking tickets. Shop our full valeting collection for all the accessories you need to give your car a deep clean and showroom-worthy sparkle.
