Cleaning Car Upholstery

Let me give you some tips of cleaning car upholstery that come straight from my world of professional auto detailing. I will be sticking to basics here, designed to help you with cleaning and ongoing maintenance of your cars upholstery. Most cars contain the basics including, but not limited to:

• Carpeting
• Cloth
• Leather
• Vinyl

How to clean your car upholstery seems like a complicated and confusing area to most; I have taken twenty years of experience and simplified the task. It will only require basic tools and products that many of you already have around the house.

The Basics First

Before I get into the actual tools and car interior cleaner, let me lay out some fundamentals to help your understanding of proper car upholstery care. Your cars upholstery can look clean and fabulous year after year, for as long as you are willing to apply some effective effort; and this is where I come in and give you some cleaning car upholstery tips.

• Consistency is king when it comes to making your interior last; cleaning on a regular basis.
• Manufacturers of car care products have done much to confuse and complicate the area; it really is simple and straight-forward.
• Despite the many materials within cars, the same cleaning tips can be applied universally.

The Tools of Clean

Below is a picture of simple tools that most will find around the house. The really good news is that for most situations, these are all the tools you will need to not only detail the inside of your car, but to keep it looking fresh and clean. Just a few short minutes of concentrated effort will be all that is required.

• Terry cloth towel
• Plastic scrub brush
• Tooth Brush
• New make-up brush

Let's Keep It Simple

I like to keep things simple whenever possible; so let's keep it simple with a product called "Simple Green". This product has been around for over twenty years and comes with many benefits:

• Biodegradable
• Non-toxic
• Non-flammable
• Non-abrasive
• Custom dilute to your cleaning needs
• Economical

• Carpeting
• Cloth
• Vinyl
• Leather

Techniques of the Expert

Most people get overwhelmed fast thinking that all these materials would require much specialized knowledge, technique and chemicals. While this could be the case, it doesn't have to be the case. Cleaning car upholstery really can be this simple.

Follow along below to see the technique I recommend for the different materials you might find within your own particular car.

Floor mats/carpeting:

• Vacuum thoroughly first.
• Lightly spray Simple Green dilution onto carpeting to be cleaned.
• Agitate with scrub brush to break up dirt.
• Mop up wetness with terry cloth towel rubbing firmly back and forth; look at your rag to see all the dirt being lifted off.
• Repeat until desired effect is achieved. It is far better to repeat with light applications of Simple Green, rather than over-saturate with heavy applications.

Cloth, Leather, Vinyl, Plastic

I told you that these methods can be universally used on all materials within your cars interior and yes, you really can use this on leather. If you are unsure and need to verify for yourself, test in an inconspicuous area first. As I said earlier, the key to saving yourself time and trouble is to stay on top of things from the start. Once you allow things to get out of hand, you are going to dramatically complicate the problem with added effort.

• Spray area to be cleaned with Simple Green solution.
• Scrub with scrubber brush; this tool is also acceptable for leather.
• Wipe up with rag.
• Repeat if necessary.

Dusting Brush

Use the make-up brush for dusting out the vents and gauges on the dash. A new paint brush can also be used if finding a make-up brush seems a bit awkward for you guys out there. The benefit to finding a quality make-up brush is the really nice ones are natural goat hair and are incredibly soft and gentle; remember, these are normally used on womens' faces. They can be costly so don't be shocked to pay anywhere from $40-$90.00 for a quality brush.

The make-up brush pictured above was purchased at Rite-Aide and it was under $15.00 if I remember correctly.

I will end my cleaning car upholstery tips by adding a few remaining suggestions:

• If you are really challenged for time and effort, simply wiping your cars interior down with a dampened cloth can prove effective; give it a try one time and see just how much dirt comes up with very little effort...seriously, just start wiping and you will be shocked at the amount of dirt.
• Don't take in what you can't get out; this means colors. Brightly colored anything will stain your interior: make-up, sodas, crayons, etc. Coffee and tea will also stain, but usually leave a shadow of a stain after cleaning.
• If allowed to remain too long, make-up and lotions from your body will collect on the upholstery, and eventually cause permanent damage.

Sure, I could have told you that cleaning car upholstery requires some glorified and specialized upholstery and leather cleaners, but it just isn't so. The problem with most of the interior cleaners is they are too mild for tough jobs. Manufacturers have to idiot proof them to the point where they are ineffective at best.

So, good luck out there...life is messy, so treat accordingly!

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