If you are passionate about keeping your car’s exterior in pristine condition don’t let it down with a neglected interior. It’s time to throw away those old parking tickets and clean those greasy finger marks off the windows. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to keep your car’s interior looking its best. 

Before anything… remove any rubbish

We are all guilty of it… leaving rubbish in our cars. Whether it’s a single chewing gum wrapper, or whether it’s a week’s worth of cardboard coffee cups. At some point or other, we all leave rubbish in our cars. So the first step is very simply clearing out your car, of any rubbish & even items you leave in your car permanently. Such as mints, de-icer or shopping bags.

Vacuum

Next, you need to remove any loose dirt or debris from your car. This could be leaves or just loose dirt. By vacuuming this away, you’re cutting down the time you’ll spend cleaning your surfaces.

Now for the cleaning 

We’d always recommend starting with your seats when cleaning your car’s interior. This means that if you knock any dirt or grime onto the floors of your car, it won’t matter. 

So, there are a few different materials which your car’s seats could be covered with. The most popular is fabric or upholstery, then there is leather, and then Alcantara. 

Cleaning Fabric Seats 

It is important to use an effective cleaner which lifts dirt and marks without damaging the fabric or changing its colour. Our FAB upholstery cleaner is a highly effective, foaming upholstery cleaner. It removes dirt, grime and water marks from fabrics. For light marks, spray FAB onto a microfibre towel, and firmly wipe the surface, ensuring to make movements in one direction. Once complete, pat the surface dry with a dry clean microfibre towel.

For heavy soiling and marks, spray FAB directly onto the affected surface. With an interior detailing brush, agitate the product into the material until foam is created. This lifts the dirt and grime from the upholstery. Then remove the foam with a clean dry microfiber towel, and pat dry.

Cleaning Leather Seats

Leather seats need a little more care and consideration when cleaning. A cleaner must be gentle but still effective at removing stains and marks. Our Cleanse: Gentle Leather Cleaner is safe to use on all leather surfaces, including modern and vintage leather surfaces. The formula quickly penetrates the leather surface and removes ingrained dirt and grime without removing any of the leather’s natural oils.

If you’re cleaning any leather surfaces within your car, we’d always recommend applying a leather conditioner afterwards. Revive Leather Conditioner, restores leather to its original look and feel. This unique blend of waxes and oils enhances your car’s leather.

Cleaning Alcantara

Alcantara is a material much like suede, except it’s made using no animals, and vegan. However, it’s not very common, which could be because it’s such a delicate fabric. Our alcantara cleaner is designed to safely and efficiently remove this kind of material. But without the need for any significant wetting of the surface or over-enthusiastic agitation.

Floor Cleaning

Now for the floors, and probably the dirtiest part of any car’s interior. We put our feet into the footwell of a car every day, and our shoes might be covered in mud or different kinds of dirt. Whilst we understand that your footwells will never always be spotless, cleaning them regularly will mean there is less chance for permanent marks. Cleaning your car’s carpet is made easy with Magic Carpet. It contains a special odour neutraliser and optical brighteners, as well as a spectacular lemon fragrance. Dilute the product as recommended. Spray product liberally onto the surface and agitate using a medium to firm interior brush. Once the product has been worked into the fabric extract the solution either by drying with a microfibre towel or a wet vac depending on the level of moisture present.

Cleaning Your Car’s Interior Glass 

You have a specialist glass cleaner for the outside of your car, so it’s only right to use a glass cleaner inside your car. Since 2005, Crystal has been a popular product with many of the AD customers. This solvent-based cleaner, a powerful product removes dirt, grime, fingerprints, grease, and food. Its formula means as soon as it’s applied it can be wiped off, and buffed, taking dirt and grime with it. Use alongside our Reflect Glass Towel, for a great finish.

Cleaning and Protecting Plastic, Chrome, and Rubber Surfaces

Once your seats, floors and glass surfaces inside your car are clean, it’s time to tackle all your other surfaces. Plastics, chrome and rubber surfaces will need wiping clean. Our Pink Sheen Finish Plastic Dressing is a non-greasy, anti-static dressing. Spray the product onto a microfibre applicator or directly onto the surfaces you want to clean. Afterwards, buff away with a clean and dry microfiber cloth. This product cleans, shines and conditions surfaces all in one, It also provides a long-lasting matte/ satin finish for all vinyl and rubber surfaces.

Making your car smell great

The finishing touch to cleaning your car’s interior is using an air freshener. Our aerosol blast air freshener comes in over 10 fragrances. It sanitises the air and removes odours, leaving behind a great-smelling fragrance that lasts.

You Now Have Everything you Need to Get Started

With this comprehensive guide, your car’s interior will not only look new but smell great and be protected. Regular cleaning and the use of high-quality products ensure that your vehicle’s interior remains a reflection of its exterior. So, roll up your sleeves and enjoy the satisfaction of a pristine car interior.Need more information about the best products for your vehicles interior? Get in touch with our team.