How to Deep Clean Your Car at Home
Deep cleaning your car, no matter the size, can be a mammoth task. From the exterior paintwork to the interior upholstery, deep cleaning is no small task. But keeping your car clean and ‘like new’ can increase its resale value. So, we have put together our top deep car cleaning tips, including the interior and exterior, detailed below.
Car Deep Cleaning Tools
There are a range of tools and products which make deep cleaning the car much easier, they include:
- Vacuum cleaner – a vacuum cleaner with an extension hose and hand-held attachments can be useful when deep cleaning the hard-to-reach areas.
- Cleaning products – you will need a range of cleaning products including polish, glass cleaner, antibacterial spray, carpet cleaner (cloth mats only).
- Cleaning and polishing cloths – microfiber cloths are a great tool for car deep cleaning because they are antibacterial and will not scratch the surfaces.
How to Deep Clean Car’s Interior
Declutter the car
Before you can begin deep cleaning the car, you will need to take everything out and ensure all rubbish is put in the bin.
Dust and Vacuum
Our top tip would be to dust before vacuuming, this way you can vacuum up all the particles that are disturbed when dusting. Once all areas have been dusted, it is time to vacuum the whole car.
Dashboard
Dashboards are typically made from leather or vinyl, so can be vacuumed and dusted. Ensure all the dust has been removed before applying a cleaning product suitable for the material.
Air Vents
Air vents can be tedious to clean due to their many parts and position on the console, but dust can quickly build up so it’s worth keeping on top of them.
Door Panels
Depending on your make and model of car, door panels can be made from a variety of materials, including plastic, upholstery or leather. Make sure any cleaning products are made specifically for the material you are cleaning to ensure you don’t cause any damage, marks or staining.
Odours
How to Clean Rubber Floor Mats
- Remove from the car so you can deep clean.
- Shake the mats to dislodge any dirt.
- Wash the top side of the mats with a pressure washer or hose.
- Use a sponge and soap to clean any dirt from the mats.
- Rinse the soap off the mats.
- Make sure the mats are completely clean and dry before returning them to the car.
How to Clean Cloth Floor Mats
Cloth car mats require a little more effort to clean than rubber ones.
- Remove the mats from the car to make them easier to vacuum and clean.
- Vacuum the mats on both sides to remove any loose dirt.
- For stubborn stains, you can use a carpet cleaner of choice, following the product’s instructions.
- Leave the mats to dry thoroughly before returning them to the car to avoid a damp smell.
Clean the Interior Windows
The interior car windows can quickly become dirty with sticky fingerprints and condensation marks. Grab a glass or window cleaner of choice and gently remove stains with a microfibre cloth.
Deep Clean the Seats
Keeping the car seats clean and free from stains will preserve the cars resale value. So here are our top tips for deep cleaning leather and cloth car seats.
Sanitise touch points
The interior of a car can be a breeding ground for bacteria, specifically the steering wheel, door handles and gear stick.
Deep Cleaning the Car’s Exterior
Deep cleaning your car’s exterior every so often will not only keep the paintwork in good condition but also help prevent dirt damaging the finish.
- Start with the wheels
When it comes to cleaning the car, our top tip is to always start with the wheels. This is because wheels are often the dirtiest part of the car, due to their location. As well as being close to the road dirt, the iron oxide dust that comes off the brake pads can build up on each alloy, leaving them looking dull. It can be hard to remove the dirt and dust, so opt for a specific alloy wheel cleaner.
- Rinse the car
Once you have tackled the wheels, turn your attention to rinsing the rest of the car with a bucket of water, hose or pressure washer. The trick to deep cleaning the paintwork is to remove as much dirt as possible first. Start at the top of the car, loosening the dirt as you go with water alone.
- Start cleaning
Now much of the loose dirt has been removed, get a bucket of warm water with your car shampoo of choice, ensure you choose a product that won’t damage the paintwork. Then begin to clean each section of the car with a non-scratch sponge and the cleaning solution.
- Rinse again
After cleaning, the paintwork should be looking much brighter, but if stubborn dirt remains you can repeat the process. Once you are happy all the dirt is gone, rinse the car.
- Clean the windows
Washing your car can leave the glass windows smeared, so use a good quality glass cleaner to get the windows clean and shiny.
Deep cleaning details
If you are happy with how your car’s exterior looks now it is clean and shiny, you can pack up and stop there. However, if you want to make your paintwork to shine like new, you can go a step further by waxing and polishing.
Now that your car is all clean and shiny, you may notice a paintwork scratch or scuff, previously hidden by the dirt.
If you do find damage to your vehicle, there is no need to worry. ChipsAway specialists offer high-quality, convenient and cost-effective car body repairs.
