One of the things you have to do before looking into the 5 ways to make your car interior look luxurious is to clean it. No matter if you replace your upholstery or get Suede installed on your dash, your vehicle will not look very good if it has not had a thorough cleaning.
Although you can pay to have your vehicle cleaned by a professional detailer, most of what they can do you can do as well with the right knowledge and materials. The following are 6 cool car interior cleaning tips and tricks you should know to get great results!
1) Microfiber Towels Are Important
We all know how important microfiber towels are for cleaning the painted exterior surfaces of your vehicle. They are also just as great for use on your vehicle’s interior and is why it is one of the essential things to get when you purchase a new vehicle.
Microfiber towels should be used when you are cleaning any leather, vinyl, or plastic in the interior of your vehicle. For example, when cleaning your dashboard, you should wipe it down with a microfiber towel and cleaner, using medium pressure. Afterwards, you can use an UV protectant such as Meguiar’s Ultimate Protectant, to protect it from fading while giving it an incredible shine for many weeks.
Another use can be wrapping it around the steamer head when steam cleaning. This will prevent you from scratching anything in your vehicle’s interior with the steamer while trying to spruce it up. It is also great to use after cleaning your steering wheel. Once you are finished, place the microfiber towel over the steering wheel and squeeze it all over with your hands. This will get the water, that you do not want to sit idle, out of all of the nooks and crannies as well as give your wheel a matte finish.
2) Lemon Juice and Olive Oil
If you are trying to get harsh chemicals out of your life or use more environmentally friendly options when you can, this option is for you. With ingredients that can be found in most houses you will be able to protect your vehicle’s hard and vinyl surfaces while giving it a nice shine.
To make this protector, you just need to mix one part lemon juice with two parts of olive oil. This concoction can be applied to all plastic surfaces in the interior of your vehicle. This could be anything from your doors to your dashboard, leaving them looking great while still being environmentally friendly!
3) Dealing with Sticky Buttons
One of the most frustrating areas to clean yourself in your vehicle’s interior are sticky buttons. Buttons can become stuck or work less efficiently because of anything from grease on your fingers getting between the button and its socket, to spilled drinks. Whatever the reason is that caused your buttons to become sticky, there is a solution.
You will need an electrical contact cleaner such as WD-40 Specialist Quick-Drying Electrical Contact Cleaner since you do not want to risk damaging your vehicle’s electrical parts. This type of cleaner is simply canned aerosol with a straw for precision.
With this electronic safe product, you can blow away flux residue, condensation, dirt, oil, and anything else that may get in there. This type of cleaner dries quickly and does not leave behind any type of residue making it perfect for this application. Simply follow the directions on the can and then position the straw around the button. Afterwards, you will be able to use that button again with no sticking whatsoever.
4) Clean Offgas on Windshield from the Dashboard
Have you ever noticed that your windshield is hazy from the inside of your vehicle no matter how much you clean it while washing your car? That is likely because of offgas. Offgas is a term used to describe when the sun vaporizes topcoats on your dashboard’s plastic. This vapor then collects onto your windshield when it cools.
If you live in a hot area and are more prone to this happening, you will be glad to know that there is an easy fix. You simply need to clean your windshield from the inside with standard glass cleaner as well when you clean the outside of your windshield. It does take some extra effort though, and you may have to make a few attempts before getting it off if you have let a lot of offgas accumulate on your windshield’s interior over the span of years without thoroughly cleaning it. Each subsequent wipe down will be much easier after the buildup is removed.
5) Squeegees Can Help with Interior Cleaning Too
Squeegees are not only for squeegeeing your windows to make them crystal clear, but they can also be used on the interior of your vehicle. On top of using a squeegee after cleaning the insides of your windows to get offgas off without leaving water and glass cleaner marks behind, you can also use a squeegee to remove animal hair from your car’s upholstery.
The way you do this is by moistening your vehicle’s car seat or carpet with a spray bottle filled with plain water. Just lightly mist the upholstery or carpet, you do not want it to be too wet. Then, run the squeegee over the area and it will pick up the fur. If it does not collect the fur, spray a little more water and it should work. Alternatively, you can use a pumice stone to pick up the pet hair but that may be liable to catching on strings of fabric or carpet, so a squeegee is a safer bet.
6) Keep Up with Prevention
You can do a lot for your car’s interior by just preventing messes, and other eyesores. Of course, you can just be more careful and wipe your feet before getting in your vehicle but there is a lot more you can do for times where that is not enough. For example, knowing how to protect your car from dog scratches is a great idea.
Another thing that you can do to prevent damage to your vehicle’s interior is to install door jamb protectors since you constantly step on them and can have any number of contaminants on your shoes. Rather than hope that a simple cleaning is enough so that these contaminants do not damage your vehicle, you can look into the 5 quick tips to help you find the best door jamb protector.
For additional ways to protect your car, click here to check out Sliplo's DIY kit. Alternatively, use our interactive map to find an authorized installer near you. If you enjoyed this article, check out our blog.