A complete guide: Preparing and cleaning the vehicle interior
interior car detailing: Remove sticky residue, pet hair and crumbs from your car’s interior.
A clean interior not only ensures a pleasant driving experience, but regular cleaning also extends the life of the car.
Whether you’re transporting pets, children or guests, a clean interior prevents material degradation and ensures a comfortable, long-lasting ride.
Say goodbye to spills and crumbs with this complete guide to decorating products and methods.
Table of contents of interior car detailing
1. Why it matters
2. What you need
3. The process
4. Key points
Why a clean car interior is important
Understanding the nuances of car interior cleaning is critical to preserving and protecting your investment.
The accumulation of dirt and grime over time can damage interior materials, resulting in a dull appearance and possible odor problems. Neglecting this maintenance can lead to major problems.
What you need for an interior detail
To restore a car’s interior to showroom condition, for interior car detailing you need the right chemicals and equipment. It depends on what you use. Some cleaning products are better for your vehicle than others.
The best products to clean your car (interior or exterior) are those designed specifically for your car. It is best to avoid household cleaners or shortcuts.
Household cleaning solutions can contain harsh chemicals that can damage your car’s surfaces over time.
To ensure the longevity of materials such as leather, plastic and upholstered furniture, choose special products made for these surfaces and tailored to these sensitivities.
Cleaner you need
1. Degreaser or all-purpose cleaner
2. Cleaner for hard surfaces
3. Inner lining
4. Leather cleaner
5. Leather care products
6. Leather cover
7. Stain remover
8. Carpet and furniture cleaners
9. Odor removal spray
10. Glass cleaner
Necessary equipment for interior car detailing
1. Garage or shady area
2. Carpet hangers/clips
3. Vacuum cleaner with accessories
4. Access to water
5. Disposable gloves
6. Scrub brush with stiff bristles
7. Soft brush
8. Clean microfiber cloths
9. Application pads
10. Vacuum cleaner
11. Empty spray bottles
The Process: How to clean your car’s interior like a pro
Before you start
Make sure all surfaces inside your car are cool and that you have access to a garage or can work in direct sunlight.
Never clean or clean hot surfaces on a vehicle as the temperature can affect the consistency of the cleaning chemicals and even cause damage to these surfaces.
Provide all cleaning agents and make sure you are familiar with all instructions on the product label. Follow all application and safety instructions carefully.
Always test chemicals for color fastness and transfer before full application according to product label directions.
1. Vacuum up large debris
Use a vacuum (preferably a small vacuum or handheld vacuum) to remove coarse and loose dirt and debris from your interior.
2. Clean and hang doormats
Start DIY decorating your apartment by removing all the floor mats. Thoroughly saturate all carpets with a degreaser, e.g. B. Prizm™️ Gold Citrus Degreaser.
Rinse off all dirt and remaining degreaser. Allow your door mats to air dry while you finish the rest of your decor. Carpet hangers and clips are available for optimal drying.
3. Clean hard plastic surfaces
The next step in the interior of the car is to clean all hard plastic surfaces.
This can include parts of your vehicle such as vents, center console, dashboard, door panels, backrests, cup holders, steering wheel and more.
Start by dusting the dashboard. Then choose a material compatible cleaner and use it to thoroughly clean all plastic surfaces.
Depending on the cleaning agent, you may be able to spray the solution directly onto the plastic. Others must be possible
cover the entire area.
4. Protect hard plastic surfaces
After you have cleaned your plastic surface, it is important to protect them. Improve and protect these surfaces with car care.
Never put bandages on the handlebars or pedals. Dressing creates a slippery surface, which can be dangerous on certain parts of the vehicle.
Use Clean & Shine™️ wet wipes for even faster cleaning and regular maintenance.
5. Clean leather surfaces
Next, all leather surfaces in your car should be thoroughly cleaned. In general, three types of leather are used in car interiors: vinyl, coated leather and aniline leather.
Use of an incompatible cleaning agent may cause discoloration and other damage.
For cleaning leather surfaces in cars, we prefer Leather & Plastic Interior Cleaner. It’s a penetrating formula that makes leather, plastic and vinyl look like new again.
6. Care and protect leather surfaces
While vinyl surfaces require no maintenance, leather (rich in natural oils) tends to lose moisture over time, causing drying and cracking.
Therefore, regular conditioning is an important step in leather care. It is advisable to care for car leather surfaces every time you clean them to restore and maintain their structure.
Our leather care product perfectly revitalizes tired or hardened leather and removes dirt without leaving a greasy residue.
All types of leather benefit from extra protection. Ensuring the durability of your car leather surfaces is crucial to the appearance and longevity of the material.
It is specially designed to prevent staining, color transfer and UV damage to leather and vinyl.
For the easiest approach to leather care, try our “leather wipes”. These long-lasting, lint-free cloths are enriched with a formula that cleans, moisturizes and protects leather surfaces.
Regenerate and beautify interior leather surfaces while protecting them from drying out, fading and premature wear.
For more information on restoring, cleaning and preserving leather interiors, see our blog on cleaning and protecting leather car seats.
7. Remove stubborn stains
Removing stains from carpets and upholstery can take valuable time. For effectiveness, we recommend starting with stain removal.
Choose a stain remover that is compatible with the substances in your vehicle and follow all application and safety instructions.
Use this in gentle circular motions to loosen the stain.
For a fast-acting formula that removes stubborn stains quickly and easily, try Instant Out Spot & Stain Remover in interior car detailing.
