If you were to look inside my car you would think that this past winter lasted about five years. It looks like it’s been that long since I cleaned it. It hasn’t really but everything is so dirty.
It’s time to take it to the car wash and then detail the inside. I’m always amazed at how dirty the console gets. I think every drop of water or coffee that pops out of my drink rolls around in the dirt before landing the car, then it invites more dirt to come visit. Needless to say the console needs a good cleaning.
The upholstery is not in much better shape. Sometimes it feels like I live in my car. I spend so much time in it and it gets treated like a truck. If I pick up furniture the dusty boxes go in the car, plants for the garden, those get loaded on the seats and the floor. Not to mention the children that travel in my car. It doesn’t take long for my beige upholstery to look very dirty. I thought since Hailey was older I was safe with light upholstery and carpet, apparently not.
The best thing to do after cleaning your carpet and upholstery is to treat it with a stain repellant. This is one area where it’s important to use a trusted brand. If you use a cheap knock off brand it can actually prematurely age your carpet.
Make sure you treat stains as soon as they happen and you will have a better chance of removing them. Cleaning the car is quite a time consuming chore but once it’s finished it looks so much better. Make sure you use the right products for each surface. Don’t clean your leather interior with a cleaner made for vinyl.
Since I have fabric upholstery I just use my carpet shampooer, it has a nozzle for upholstery. After you clean the carpet and the upholstery make sure to leave your windows down a little to let everything dry well, otherwise you will be left with a clean looking but mildew smelling car.