Interior car cleaning – That’s how it’s done properly!
Probably only a few drivers really enjoy performing a rigid interior car cleaning. But just like the famous spring cleaning, it becomes necessary from time to time. – For hygienic reasons only, but also before a car sale or when a professional car evaluation is due. A car, which experience a regular interior cleaning, as well as cockpit care, can gain from it, as this encourages the conservation of value. Basically interior cleaning should always happen at a place where there is enough electricity and in best case water supply provided. If the own garage is sufficiently well-lit this might be the perfect spot to see and remove all the dirt on your car. Of course there are also other places where you can clean the interior of your car well. A lot of drivers like to take advantage of the offers of gas stations, which provide them with vacuum cleaners for this purpose in their forecourts.
Upholstery- and cockpit care
Certain preparations should be made before you begin cleaning the interior. Remove all lose items, as possible, from the interior of the car. Remove floor mats, blankets, and other utensils. Do not forget all your personal items, so that they won’t get damaged during cleaning. The first step after removing everything is to get the vacuum cleaner ready and vacuum all the dirt off thoroughly. Do not forget the trunk as well as the spare wheel carrier as this is prone to getting very dirty very often. Use the nozzle to vacuum clean gaps and cracks, so that you also get rid of hard to see dirt. Windows are best cleaned from the inside with a special window cleaner and paper towels.
In case the inside of your car roof is covered with cloth, it would be best to use special, not too aggressive, cleansing foam. Get a bucket with lukewarm water and some degreasing detergent ready. Use a fuzz-free cloth to clean all plastic surfaces and wipe off the cockpit, as well as all control elements, gently yet thoroughly. Specialist retailers offer a lot of different care products for this job, their suitability depends on material and preference. But please be extremely careful, as especially aggressive materials can dissolve already existing predetermined breaking point in the airbag area and then in case of impact the airbag will not inflate properly anymore. In this case protection is not guaranteed anymore. Therefore please be extremely careful to avoid such life-threatening scenarios.
Leather care: What has to be considered?
Special attention needs to be directed on the leather care in your car. When it comes to interior cleaning this may be the most challenging task, as a lot can go wrong here and the leather can be damaged. Brush off all leather utensils in your car and wipe them off with a damp cotton cloth afterwards. It is best to work widespread; avoid getting water into the seams, as this can damage them as well. Use special care products when maintaining leather. You can find a plethora of products offered in stores for all different needs, e.g. intensive care, soft care, or dust removal.
Some recommend home remedies for the leather car in your car. They believe that detergent is a suitable product to clean leather seats. But for a really reliable and save interior cleaning, all conventional household remedies and detergents are taboo. Especially for leather you should use products which are geared to the individual materials. If the to be treated leather is fairly bright, the care product should first be tried on a small and not so visible spot. This way you can ensure that color and leather will not be influenced negatively. As a rule of thumb: Leather shall be cleaned with a special cleaner about twice a year.
Interior cleaning: do it yourself or professionally
It shall not go unmentioned that a professional interior detailing is the most comfortable but also the most expensive alternative. Depending on the provider this service costs between 200 and 500 Dirhams, but therefore it is done professionally. Drivers, who want to save some money, better do the interior detailing themselves. Many of them even enjoy spending time with their cars and to grapple with it. When acquiring some expert knowledge they can even reach the same standard as the professional car detailing. This however may take at least a whole Sunday. For most people this is merely a matter of costs, and therefore this is a very individual decision.
After you decided for a do it yourself interior cleaning, there are some more useful tips so that nothing will be missed and that hardship cases can be treated as well. If you for example transported skis and now have salt stains on some of the plastic parts of your car, you can’t simply remove them with brushes and detergent. In this case, it is useful to treat the affected areas with a mixture of vinegar essence and water (ratio 1:1). This way salt stains can be removed without any problem. Furthermore ashtray, venting slots, and armrests are often simply forgotten when it comes to interior cleaning. Take good care of your care and pay special attention to the care production you use so nothing will be damaged.
Additional tips
For a clearer view, clean your windows regularly in winter. Dirt on the upholstery is best dabbed off und never rubbed in. Old chewing gums on the upholstery are removed easily using ice spray. As soon as they are frozen, they can be scratched off a lot easier. In case the chewing gum is stuck on leather, consequential damage can be avoided only in the rarest cases. If an attempt to clean is undertaken nevertheless, it is best to use Exotan. It is available at every well-assorted footwear store. Most likely a tear will remain. This can be closed again with filler leather in the right color. In case you are unsure, this step should be done by a leather professional or you proceed in accordance with our short instruction.
- Grease the damage leather using white gas
- Burnish abrasive areas or edges of broken leather with a leather sanding pad
- Fill the crack with the needed amount of filler leather
- Spread the filler leather evenly with a scraper
- Dry the fill leather with a blow drier until it is covered as desired