Science has proven that a cleaner car can increase confidence, and increase morale putting you in a good mood for the day, whereas a dirty car can result in higher stress levels which can set the tone for the rest of your day as you step over last weeks weeks coffee cup and a Woolworths ooshies wrapper to get into the car. I hope you have had the opportunity to read my exterior clean post, if not then you can find it in the posts section. A clean interior is often not always just about aesthetics, a clean interior will prevent the spread of bacteria, mould, smell ect. Coffee spills, food spillage, hand grease and sneeze residue can coat the interior plastics, dash and carpets and lets not forget the years worth of farts stored in the seats.
Cleaning the interior is quite easy and depending on lifestyle, can be done quite quickly and efficiently. Unlike the cars exterior paint work, the interior has less stages that can cause irreversible damage. Listed below is the what you will need to efficiently clean your cars interior. We will not focus on a detail as this requires more stages and equipment.
Equipment
1x Vacuum
1x Crevice tool (Comes with most vacuums)
4x Microfiber cloths
1x Soft bristle toothbrush
1x Hand held brush (For brushing the carpets if needed)
2x Detailing brush ($15 from Repco)
1x Glass cleaner ($3 from Coles)
1x Dash/ Plastics cleaner ($5 from Repco)
1x Carpet and upholstery cleaner ($5 from Repco)
1x Dash protectant ($8 from Repco)
1x LCD Cleaner kit ($5 from JbHi Fi- Only needed if you have a GPS)
1x Leather cleaner spray ($10 from Repco- For cars with leather seats)
Method
Empty any rubbish or belongings from the car.
Remove the floor mats being careful not to spill any dirt from these onto the center console or seats, place the floormats somewhere safe elevated off the ground.
Do a quick vacuum over the vehicle removing any larger pieces of dirt or rubble fallen into the vehicle from shoes. Vacuum very carefully in the cup holders avoiding any glossed surfaces. If your crevice tool comes with the brush extension, then push this down and give the vents a gentle vacuum.
Spray dash cleaner onto a microfiber cloth and start wiping down the dash to remove any dust and bacteria, it is recommended to spray onto the cloth to avoid covering the windows and making the glass cleaning tougher for yourself. Give the dash, center console and steering area a good wiping ensuring the cloth has cleaner on it. Avoid surfaces that have a glossed or wood finish and any clear plastics such as radio screens and odometer clusters. Make sure these areas are done first to avoid putting any residual dust or dirt onto them which may scratch them.
Spray dash cleaner onto the brush and brush the air con vents and corners of trim that dirt may be tougher to get at with the cloth. Do not brush a GPS or touch screen with dash cleaner if you have one, instead use a clean glass cloth and LCD cleaner, you can buy kits from most electrical stores for less then $5. A detailing brush is fantastic in these instances for getting dirt from the joints where panels connect and the cup holders, a toothbrush can be handy on more stubborn dirt, but only use on plastic or harder surfaces, not on glossed or wood.
Once your dash, vents and center console is clean you can start vacuuming the carpets thoroughly. Dash dirt and dirt from cloths will fall onto the carpets during cleaning which is why carpets will need to be done after the plastics and dash. For harder to clean carpet due to pet hair or sand can be helped through the use of a brush, lightly brushing the carpet will loosen the harder stuck dirt making it easier to vacuum, rub the brush gently ensuring you are not putting to much pressure as you are only loosening dirt, not brushing the dirt out. Make sure to adjust the seat positions to get under the seats and get into the boot.
If the seats are leather, use a microfiber cloth and leather cleaning spray ($10 from Repco) to remove any layered on dirt, for fabric seats vacuum and then use a upholstery clean to get any spot stains. Spray onto the stain, agitate with a detailing brush and wipe off. Be careful cleaning leather with a vacuum, never push the leather with the vacuum, instead gently put the nozzle onto the leather, for stubborn dirt, use your soft detailing brush to loosen.
Apply dash protectant onto a microfiber cloth and apply to all plastics and trim to protect from the sun and get a new plastic look.
Clean the glass all round. Use a microfiber cloth and spray the glass cleaner and rub with one side of the cloth, flip the cloth and use the other side to buff off.
Vacuum the floor mats and once clean put back into the vehicle, make sure you check the bottom of the mats for any stuck on dirt.
This is the basic interior clean that can be done safely and quickly at home. This in conjunction with a interior detail will ensure your car is not only cleaner but inhibits less bacteria and also is less likely to harbor mould. There are other reasons mould and smells may develop which could be completely down to an external issue and not anything in the car, I will cover these in a future post.