clean the car inside It is a task that may be simple at first, but can become very complicated. Dusting is not the same as cleaning and removing the smell of drinks, food or other difficult stains.
Of course, you can always take the car to a professional car wash, but with the knowledge that we are going to give you in this article, you will be able to save you that money and get very similar results. It is a matter of following an order and knowing how to remove each type of stain.
The order of the factors alters the product.
To clean the car from the inside you do not have to make the mistake of starting the house from the roof. The order in which you do things will greatly affect the result because you may dirty what you have already cleaned. To avoid this, we recommend that you follow this order and in passing we give you some recommendations:
- empty the car completely: door wells, center console space, seat pockets, etc.
- Vacuum the inside: you can use the vacuum cleaners that are in washing centers or in some gas stations, although the latter do not usually give very good results. You can also use the vacuum cleaner in your house, not only to save you that couple of euros, but also because in many cases it is more effective.
- clean upholstery. In this case there are hundreds of specific products, but the traditional methods used by housewives will be just as effective or more. We give you the two best options for their ease of application and their results:
water and ammonia
- Mix a couple of caps of ammonia in a liter of water. Any ammonia can be used, but the one that we have seen that gives the best results is Volvon.
- Dip a lint-free cloth in the solution wring it out so it doesn't drip
- Rub the upholstery. Follow the fibers of the fabric if not visible.
- Let the upholstery dry with the windows open
dry cleaner
There are several car-specific dry foam cleaners, although you can get the same results with household cleaners such as the Bosque Verde brand. Are more economical and they are just as easy to use. You will need the vacuum to remove it, so if you choose this product, apply it before vacuuming the car.
- Clean the crystals inside. This is a step that many people forget until they start to lose visibility. Especially at night. Since you won't have to deal with tough stains like dried bird droppings or mosquitoes, it will be worth it with any conventional window cleaner. Although depending on the weather conditions where you live, a anti-fog cleaner.
- Clean the dashboard, trim, and other solid interior parts. We recommend that you use a cleanser with dust repellent. It costs a bit more, but it's worth it to keep the car from becoming dusty again after a short time. For joints between plastic, a very useful trick is to use a cooking spatula to remove embedded dirt. Silicone will not scratch car materials. If it doesn't slide well, soak it in water or your backsplash product before you roll it over.
- Clean the mats on the outside of the car. To remove the dust accumulated for a long time, a vacuum cleaner is usually not enough. In professional cleaning centers they usually have a compressed air machine. A useful tool for this task and to remove dirt from between the seats without having to disassemble them. Since you probably don't have one on hand, the grandmothers' method is just as effective, though more labor-intensive. hit the mats with a stick or against the ground. You will see how the embedded dust continues to come out even when it seems that there is no more dirt. When you have descaled all the dust vacuum it up also out of the car.
- Put an air freshener.
And what happens if it is a difficult stain?
Except for the strictest drivers, we have all done activities inside the car that can end in one complicated stain. Just eating or drinking can dirty the upholstery in such a way that the aforementioned methods are not enough. Therefore, we are going to list the recommended products for each type of stain:
Clean food and drink stains
Food stains can be some of the hardest to remove. Especially because in this case they are in a fabric that cannot be washed in the washing machine, period. The most difficult to remove are fat and protein. For both, you can use specific stain removers such as those from Dr. Beckmann, but there are other methods.
Grease stains on upholstery
Method 1
- Remove excess fat or scrape oil with a spoon and then with absorbent paper.
- Place a little mound of baking soda on top to absorb more oil and leave it for 5 or 10 minutes.
- Remove the baking soda with a brush or vacuum.
- rub with a wet cloth many times
- apply one of the conventional washes that we have described before
Method 2
- Remove excess fat or oil with the edge of a spoon or dull knife and then absorb what remains with paper.
- Use a sponge, a Fairy dishwashing soap and water. Don't limit yourself to the stain in question. Clean the entire seat piece so you won't notice the difference between what was just cleaned and what wasn't. For example, if the stain is on one of the side supports of the seat, clean it completely.
- Rinse repeatedly wiping it with a wet cloth. Rinse it every time and/or change the water. It is about removing all the soap, so you have to be careful.
Protein stain on upholstery
Use a enzyme stain remover if the stain is from egg, milk products, blood or any that contain protein. These stains are especially problematic because they tend to give off an odor over time. The enzymes in the cleaner will literally eat away at the organic remains of the stain.
Dr. Beckmann has a specific stain remover, although products from cleaning for babies. They are especially effective against old milk stains or fruit stains and are not very aggressive with upholstery. The Green Forest enzymatic stain remover will also be effective
Vomit cleaning trick
As with Coca Cola, the vinegar It is a good ally to clean the vomit. Mix it in equal parts with water, wet the lamp and wait a few minutes. Then you have to deal with the smell. To remove it, cover the stain and its surroundings with bicarbonate of sodium. Let it rest for half an hour before removing it.. If a white stain remains, rub again with a damp cloth with only water.
Other food stains
the stains of fruit, soft drink, coffee or wine they are not that complicated to remove, but they can resist conventional upholstery washing. If this happens to you, apply a clean stains dissolved specific.
Tip for cleaning Coca Cola
If the stain is from Coca Cola and it does not come out with the aforementioned methods, you can resort to vinegar. Mix it in equal parts with water, wet the lamp and wait 10 minutes. Later rub a cloth with water several times to remove it as much as possible. If the vinegar smell persists, cover the stain with baking soda to absorb the odour. Pick it up after half an hour of waiting.
Although vinegar is also effective for cleaning, we recommend that you use it only for specific cases like this. This will save you the step of getting rid of its smell with baking soda all over the upholstery.
Urine
God forbid, but the upholstery of our car can be stained with urine from children or animals. To clean them completely two methods: one homemade and one with a brand product.
the home method
- Mixture very well until foaming the following ingredients
- ½ glass of laundry detergent. One with enzymes would be ideal (Formyl Color has them), but if you can't find it or don't have it on hand, a normal one will do.
- Water glass 1
- ¼ glass of vinegar
- Clean the stained surface and its surroundings with a sponge. Moreover, you must clean the entire piece of the seat even if it is not dirty so that the difference between what has just been cleaned and what has not is not noticeable.
- Let stand a few minutes
- Rinse repeatedly with a wet cloth or sponge. Rinse it every time and/or change the water. It is about removing all the soap, so you have to be careful.
Method with branded product
Apply the same steps as before, but use a specific enzymatic cleaner for urine. It is very common to find them in pet stores.
How to get rid of stubborn car odors
El tobacco, organic stains o simple use for many years can cause undesirable odours. To get rid of them, you should not limit yourself to masking them with air fresheners. For this reason, in addition to washing the car from the inside with the methods that we have mentioned so far, we recommend that you use an odor-absorbing element. We have tested three and the results are quite satisfactory:
- Baking soda: place a few containers with baking soda overnight. As in the fridge, this powder eliminates all odors from the environment.
- Coffee grains: the effect is similar to bicarbonate although somewhat slower. It will also leave a slight smell of coffee. Do not use ground coffee, it is better to use coffee beans.
- Moisture wicking bags: in addition to absorbing water from the environment, they will also take away part of the smell. The advantage they have is that they can be left permanently in the car.
Clean the engine compartment
If you are going to clean the car inside, it is also convenient to dedicate 15 minutes to the engine compartment. A highly recommended practice to leave the perfect car for oneself or to sell it second hand.
What you should keep in mind when you get to this point is that you are going to play electric components. That's why you should use non-conductive liquids electricity and follow the advice we give you in the video below:
As you may have seen, you can find several everyday products Enough insulators as to clean the engine safely. What allows you to work fast and effectively in most areas.
In addition, although there are several expensive specific products, they are available very good results with cleaners like multipurpose, remove fat or lubricants type WD-40 or 3 in One. You just have to follow the steps indicated in the video.
Notice: If you must look for a clean the battery, it is worth adding some extra precautions, typical whenever this element is going to be manipulated. That is, never touch the positive and negative poles at the same time and never touch the positive and any metal part of the car. That the liquid you use does not conduct electricity does not mean that you touch that area without caution.
Images — Tony Alter, Geronimo De Francesco, Sabroso Itiman, Ramón Pérez Niz, LeonardKong, yo_aguilar