How to Clean a Car's Interior

Because of negligence, dust and gunk can collect over the years and become permanent residents in your car. Regularly cleaning it is important, if you want to drive without worrying about what you're inhaling within your car's confines. Bits of food, greasy wrappers, cigarette ash, dust, and other foreign elements, will find a place to settle and multiply if not taken care of sooner. Let's take a look at what is involved in cleaning out a car.

From the carpets and storage items that cram the insides, to the car accessories and candy wrappers strewn on the floor, remove everything that can be taken out of the car, including last week's stale cheese burger hidden under the backseat.

You may notice deep-set stains in more than one place, therefore removing the entire flooring if possible, is necessary. If it is loose carpeting, rip it off and send it away for dry cleaning depending on the instructions, if any, or check with the laundromat about the appropriate method of washing after considering its make.

Once everything is out, be sure that whatever fabric-based material is extracted, is sent away for a thorough cleaning. If you happen to have plastic carpeting, use a hand-held or ordinary vacuum cleaner to get rid of stubborn debris. Give it a good beating (using a carpet beater) before placing it back in the car.

Using a vacuum cleaner with an extendable hose, clean the insides of the car, concentrating on nooks and crannies, including the compartments. Also vacuum around the breaks, hand gear, and the little crevices that line the car. Vacuum even the dashboard, around the steering wheel, and practically any surface or enclosure that a hose can reach.

Then, use a soft cloth dampened with cleaning liquid to wipe surfaces like the dashboard, windows, and insides of the car doors. You can use newspaper to wipe the windows, concentrating on the lining around it for sneaky germs and residual dirt. Use a second cloth to wipe the surfaces once more, to ensure that nothing has been left behind.

If you can lift the car seat, make sure to vacuum the insides extensively; you'll be surprised at how much dirt lies within this space. Replace the car seats and use a carpet beater to release dust and dirt from the fabric's surface; if it's leather, use a cleaning product that is specially made for such material. Once you dust the car seats, resume vacuuming the inside of the car to get rid of the settled dirt.

If you had important files sitting in the backseat, place these neatly in a cardboard box and store it away in the trunk of the car. Anything unnecessary that crowds the inside of your car, should be placed in the trunk or at home.

Don't make it a habit to throw things in the backseat or next to you, since it can add up over time and prove to be quite a task when you have to clean out your car. Also, fight the urge to litter the insides no matter how convenient it is to toss wrappers over your shoulder.

Think of the bacteria that gladly thrives in your car and how it feels to sit within such an unknowingly unhygienic space.