A Guide to Interior Car Cleaning

Unless you vacuum your car regularly, every time you jump in your car you're pumping up dust from the seats and carpet. That dust can be made up of all sorts of nasty stuff: the carpets will have stuff like general grime from the street, or minute traces of dog dirt from the grass verge tramped in by your shoes, and all that dust them puffs up into the air, and lands on your dash, centre console and in the air vents, which is then blown around the cabin and you'll be breathing it in.

The seats may have age-old crumbs of food down the back and in the crevices, which have turned into nasty bacteria, and the steering wheel, gear knob and switchgear are generally a haven for germs unless you're particularly hygienic. Skin follicles also come away, and gather in areas you touch regularly, like the window controls, steering wheel, gear shifter surround etc.

University studies show that the average vehicle is way dirtier than a house, having 1700 times more bacteria! Tests showed there was 283 different types of bacteria per square centimetre, the gearstick holds approximately 356 different germs, the boot has around 850 types of bacteria, and the cup holders generally has 228% more bacteria than the average toilet seat! Gross, and dangerous too if you're breathing that in regularly. Your car's interior trim will also suffer from a lack of regular cleaning and using protective products, as it is exposed to the sun regularly, which has damaging UV rays that can crack and dis-colour any part exposed to it. Thankfully, following this quick and easy guide to cleaning your interior should help you combat germs and bacteria effectively!

How Often Should You Clean Your Car Interior?

One of the key questions is the frequency - This depends on various factors, including driving habits and the car's exposure to different conditions. If you are lucky to live in a warm country the dryness and dust might be the main reason to clean your car interior. However, those living in the UK or a wet environment should pay special attention to car interior cleaning as dampness can be a nasty issue difficult to get rid of.

While you can do a weekly tidy up, we highly recommend cleaning the interior at least once a month to maintain hygiene and comfort within your vehicle to address deeper dirt and debris.

Get Ready Your Car Interior Cleaning Kit

The following items are just a few must-have products for interior car cleaning that you should implement in your vehicle cleaning routine and are easy to acquire in our online store:

• Microfibre cloths.
• A soft interior dash brush. Hard-bristle brushes can scratch shiny finishes, so be wary of those.
• Car interior trim cleaner. Our Factory Finish Interior and Dashboard Cleaner, removes dust and dirt, prevents re-soiling and removes contaminants. If you have leather seats and trim, you will likely need a separate cleaner for those. Visit our blog post to learn more about leather interiors.
• Stain remover for those difficult marks on your upholstery. Chipex Stain & Odour Buster uses the very latest technology in the removal of stains and odours by utilising safe natural microbes.
• Interior dressing. Avoid the cheap ones that leave a deep shine as this will reflect in your car's windscreen, and it also comes off on hands and clothes. Try to buy one that has UV protectants in it.
• A pack of car interior wipes to make maintaining the finish easy.
• A pack of anti-bacterial wipes. Make sure they do not contain bleach as this will dis-colour and damage the finish.
• Chipex Antibacterial & AC cleanser.
• An odour-killing spray for the final touch. Our Rapid Rescue is a neutraliser that removes the odour at the source.
• A vacuum with wet and dry capability, or the money to have it wet-vacuumed.

An effective cleaning kit should include products for upholstery, plastic, and leather surfaces. Look for high-quality cleaners that are designed specifically for car interiors.

Adopt These Car Interior Cleaning Steps to Your Routine

1. First of all, remove all the trash and personal items that you could have been collecting over time, then, remove carpets and floor mats. Once the car is completely cleared we can start cleaning.
2. Chipex's recommendation is to start with a quick hoovering of your car interior before getting hands on. This extra step will prevent pumping up dust from the seats and carpet when you are cleaning.
3. Localise those stains in your upholstery, spray with Stain & Odour Buster and let it work. This safe bacteria works as a silent workforce to gradually clean away the offending contamination and converts it to simple carbon dioxide and water.
4. Start cleaning the dashboard, centre console and window panels using Factory Finish Interior and Dashboard Cleaner. Firstly, with a soft dash brush remove any crumbs and dust from areas like the window winder controls, steering wheel and control sticks (wipers, lights etc), and the gear shifter surround. Grab your microfibre cloth and spray our Factory Finish Interior and Dashboard Cleaner then wipe all surfaces paying attention to areas that hold food and drink.
5. When cleaning your car interior it is important to pay special attention to windows. The accumulated dust and condensation during cold months can be a dangerous hazard. We recommend using Aquaphobic Rain-Repelling Screenwash, a super concentrate cleaner that uses biodegradable water repelling technologies to stop rainwater building up, keeping your screen free from markings and bad visibility.
6. Next, use an interior dressing on the dash and interior trim. Again, make sure you get the correct one for the correct surfaces, as one may be suitable for plastic and rubber but not for leather or metal.
7. If you have reached this step you are almost done. To do a thoughtful interior car cleaning spray Chipex Anti-bacterial Car & AC Cleanser. How to use this product is very easy, however, before you get started we advise to not use it when humans or animals are in the area. First of all, shake the can well before and place it in the rear foot well of the vehicle, with the front seats slid forward. Ensure upright on a level surface. Start the vehicle and turn on the air conditioning A/C as well as select the recycle function with the fan set on high. Allow the spray to work for 15 minutes and after use, open windows and doors to allow the vehicle to ventilate for a further 15 minutes.
8. Last but not least, hoover your car for the last time to get any dust or piece of dirt away from your now, pristine car.

Extra Tips for Your Interior Car Cleaning

• You can now buy odour-killing products, some of which will also kill bacteria and germs. Use one occasionally to rid your car of the above nasty stuff. They vary in type and always make sure to adhere to the instructions when using them.
• Keep a good quality microfibre cloth in your car's door pocket or glove box and use it to regularly wipe down the dash, centre console and doors to keep them free of dust.
• You can also buy car interior wipes to do the same job, which also adds a shine and protects the trim. Here are independent reviews of a selection of them.
• It's also good to keep anti-bacterial wipes in your car, especially in winter when there are a lot of cold and flu viruses about. Use these to wipe down areas that are touched regularly: steering wheel, door handles (inside and out), controls, and a touch screen or separate sat nav if you have one.
• If you mainly use the air ventilation, every so often whilst driving wind down all the windows and open the sunroof (if you have one), to allow the stale air out and clean, fresh air to blast around the cabin and rid it of dust in the air.
• Finally: sit back, and admire your freshly cleaned interior!