How to Clean Car Interior
The industry has you chasing your tail

It is only a matter of time. You want to know how to clean car interior.

But what if I told you the industry has you chasing your tail?

If you were to buy into what the industry is selling, you would soon have the shelves of your garage filled with countless cleaners all labeled as the perfect cleaner based on the very specific area of your cars interior you want to clean.

But there is a much simpler way!

How to Clean Car Interior
Darren's Tricks from His Professional World

Here is my logic: If I can make thousands of people extremely happy cleaning the interiors of their cars as a professional detailer over the course of 30+ years, I believe I have learned a thing or two.

These are the very tricks and tips I am about to teach you so you too can get professional level results in your world.

How to Clean Car Interior:
Car enthusiast, Driveway Detailer, or Beginner Detailer

Since the industry is filled with so many choices in car upholstery cleaners, it will be important for me to break this page into two categories based on you and your needs.

Driveway Detailer, Car Owner, Hobbyist: This will most likely be you. (You will be concerned with cleaning your own cars) and will not need gallons of upholstery cleaners.

Professional Detailer: Since I have many guys who find my website who either want to enter the world of professional detailing like myself, or are new to the business and are looking for some professional experience from myself.

Car Upholstery Shampoo:
Keeping It Simple for Beginners

Pick from the products below if you are looking to clean the car interior of your own car. You don't need gallons of cleaners and you want as simple and straightforward as you can get with ready-to-use (RTU) products.

Adam's Car Upholstery Cleaner on Amazon

• One of my newest favorites. ( I met Adam at the resent SEMA show in Las Vegas and he introduced me to his interior shampoo. I was completely impressed and now recommend it)
• Ready to use and ready to tackle all forms of dirt you will find in your cars interior.
• The sprayer is a quality sprayer unlike many of the ready to use car upholstery shampoos I have tested over the years.
• You won't be disappointed.
• Can be used on any material you will find in your car: carpeting, velour, fabric of all kinds, vinyl, rubber, plastic, and even leather.

Griot's Interior Cleaner on Amazon

• Another excellent ready-to-use car interior cleaner.
• Also another one of my favorites. (I also met Richard Griot at the SEMA show and he turned me onto his car upholstery shampoo and have recommended it ever since)
• Can be used to clean any material within your cars interior: carpeting, velour, fabric of all kinds, vinyl, rubber, plastic, and even leather.
• You won't be disappointed.

How to Clean Car Interior:
Car Upholstery Shampoo for Professionals

The following products are excellent car interior cleaners and can be used by professionals and car owners alike. The main difference is these versions are concentrates which make them more economical for anyone looking to do lots of cleaning. You will also need a separate sprayer to mix these interior cleaners in.

3D Upholstery Shampoo on Amazon

• One of my favorite professional car upholstery cleaners.
• Concentrate so you can custom blend according to your preference.
• Economical for any professional or do-it-yourselfer who likes to save money.
• Can be used on all materials within a cars interior: carpeting, velour, fabric of all kinds, vinyl, rubber, plastic, and even leather.

Chemical Guys Fabric Clean on Amazon

• Another one of my top picks when you want to know how to clean car interior.
• Concentrate so you can custom blend.
• Economical for any professional or do-it-yourselfer who likes to save money.
• Can be used on all car interior materials: carpeting, velour, fabric of all kinds, vinyl, rubber, plastic, and even leather.

How to Clean Car Interior:
Tools for professional results

Quality car interior cleaners is the place to start and now you are equipped —but we can't stop there. Having the right tools will not only deliver better results, but make the user experience for you much more "enjoyable".

Cleaning for most people is a necessary evil so we don't want cleaning car interiors any more evil than it already is!

This upholstery scrub brush set is the perfect set to handle all scrubbing jobs when cleaning your car interior:

Upholstery Scrub Brush Set on Amazon

• One brush: Stiff nylon bristles
• One brush: Gentle natural bristles
• Tackle any scrubbing job within your car interior from very mild to wild!

How to Clean Car Interior Tips:
The finer details of cleaning car interior

OXO Bottle Brush on Amazon

• The perfect tool for scrubbing those difficult cup holders!
• Also ideal for scrubbing the inside of door panel pockets.
• Use to scrub hard to reach carpeting area between front seats and center console.

3pc Detail Brushes on Amazon

• There will be countless uses for these smaller detail brushes.

2pc Detail Brushes on Amazon

• I prefer a 2pc brush set: one for all dry dusting and one for using with interior cleaners to do any wet scrubbing.
• Ventilation vents, gauges, controls, knobs, etc.

How To Clean Car Interior:
The exact steps of success

Now that you have armed yourself with your chosen cleaners and tools it is time to lay out the basic steps of how to clean car interior.

The steps will be the same procedure regardless of material being cleaned:

• Pre-vacuum all areas. (The idea with vacuuming first is to remove all dry, loose dirt and debris before you introduce a liquid cleaner into the equation.)
• Break your car interior into sections of attention. (Looking at the entire interior of your car will overwhelm most people)
• I like to start with the area of your interior that is either the dirtiest, or the area you are most concerned with.
• If your interior is so dirty you are overwhelmed when looking at it —break it down into "bite size" areas and attack them on separate days. (you didn't let your interior get this dirty in a single day —there's no rule that says you have to clean everything in a single day)
• Once you have a chosen area of focus, break this into smaller components and decide most appropriate tool for the job as selected from above tools.
• Spray area to be cleaned (after you have vacuumed. This includes leather seating to remove dirt from seams) with a few pumps of the cleaner.
• Scrub area to break up dirt.
• Mop up area with a micro-fiber cloth. ( I prefer micro fiber cloths for any and all detail chores. They are more absorbent, and the tight weave is far superior to any traditional cloth you may have. But don't let this stop you as any cloth is better than not cleaning your cars interior)
• Check results and repeat application/process as many times as needed for desired results. (remember that light, repeated applications is always better than heavy, overly saturated applications)
• Now stand back and bask in the feeling of accomplishment of your wonderful results. (You should have a very big smile on your face by this point)

I hope I have given you the confidence of how to clean car interior as well as empowered you to take action and renew the love affair you had at the beginning of your relationship.

Sincerely,

Darren Priest