Car interior cleaning advice

[ging]

Though my car is very well maintained and few years old, but being a fabric seats due to overtime wear and tear they look dirty, tired and aged. I have some car interior detailing videos and wondering what is the basic first step to start doing the detail cleaning. I am not up for workshop who do this job as my car is not as serious for those job at the meoment nor I have a time to leave the car for few days.

Appreciate if someone can advice the basic first level cleaning with locally available liquids / chemical. Thanks.

[treks]

Hi ging,

A good way to clean your fabric seats is to use a commercial carpet cleaner, but it is best if you remove the seats from the car.

Most carpet cleaners spray a detergent onto the fabric, but they also suck the cleaner out of the fabric at the same time. This keeps the seats reasonably dry, and if you leave them in the sun for a few hours, they should be bone-dry, and ready to be refitted. If the seats are very dirty, you may need to repeat the process, but generally speaking, commercial carpet cleaners do an excellent job of cleaning seats

You can also clean the carpets this way, but make sure you do not get the carpets sopping wet. Many cars have wiring running under the carpet and if you use too much liquid, you can get the wiring wet and cause short circuits. Only use enough liquid to dampen the capet.

If you can't get hold of a commercial carpet cleaner, you can use any good quality carpet cleaning detergent, and  a household vacuum cleaner to suck the foam out of the seats and carpets. This does not work as well as a commercial machine, but it does work.

Roof liners are more difficult to clean, and it is often best to remove the liner completely to clean it. Most fabric roof liners can be dry-cleaned, but in my experience, it is often better to replace the roof liner  because washing and/or dry cleaning often stretches the liner, meaning that it does not look good when you refit it.

It is also a good idea to remove all the trim panels inside the car to suck out the dust that has collected behind them. Also vacuum the area under the dashboard, but take extreme care not to dislodge any wiring. The point is that by getting rid of as much dust as you can, the interior will remain cleaner for longer.

As a final step, you can apply a dirt repellent to the seats. There are many brands available, and your local upholstery shops should be able to give you a good product. These products are excellent at preventing stains from setting, and spills are easy to just wipe off the seats if they are treated properly.