Pro Tips: The Cleanest Car Interior
A clean interior not only looks great, it is also good for your vehicleâs longevity, value and even your health. So without further ado, heres a few tips on how to clean the interior of your car like a TRANSERV Pro.
Remove the floor mats. Vacuum the seats, and the carpet. Using the proper attachment, reach under the seats, around the pedals and the area between front seats and central console. Vacuum floor mats separately.
Use soft brush attachment to vacuum the dashboard and doors. Be careful not to damage knobs, vents and other parts. Use the same attachment vacuuming the seats. Leather seats are easy to damage, so be careful not to scratch them with the vacuum hose.
#2. Clean the fabric and door upholstery
There are number of upholstery cleaning agents available. Apply evenly on the seat or door upholstery, rub vigorously and then wipe it thoroughly with a dry cloth.
If you don`t have an upholstery cleaner, simple laundry detergent will work as well. Just mix some detergent with warm water, dip a clean cloth into it, wring out, and then wipe the seat. Work harder on dirty areas and, again, rub dry with a clean, soft cloth.
Don`t soak the seat with water â it can cause stains and mould.
Clean the carpet the same way you cleaned the seats and upholstery.
Spray evenly with carpet cleaner and rub vigorously. Then, wipe it thoroughly with a dry cloth.
Laundry detergent will work on the carpet as well. Dampen a rag with a little bit of water and detergent, squeeze out the excess of water and rub the carpet vigorously. Then, rub dry with a clean dry cloth.
Don`t soak the carpet with water, which could cause mould and corrosion under the carpet.
#4 Clean and polish the dashboard
Clean a dashboard, central console, and other plastic parts with a slightly damp cloth. Use very small amount of laundry detergent to remove the stains. Dry with a clean soft dry cloth. To shine it up, spray plastic polish and spread it evenly with soft brush. Don`t spray directly on the stereo â use a brush instead.
To dry, polish gently with clean soft dry cloth. Polish not only makes the dashboard shiny, it protects the plastic. All you need to do afterwards is use a soft dust cloth periodically and your dashboard will maintain itâs new appearance for a long time.
#5. Get rid of any musty smell from the air conditioner
If you experience that unpleasant musty smell from the vents when the air conditioner is turned on, try one of the odor treatments you can buy in your local TRANSERV. It kills the bacteria and removes that mildew smell.
A clogged air conditioner drain tube and accumulation of leaves and other debris under the cowl cover may also cause that damp mildew smell. Ask the mechanic to check it when you do your next oil change.