Car interior cleaning and upholstery washing. Guide

Professional comprehensive upholstery washing and interior cleaning costs at least PLN 200-300. You can make them yourself for about PLN 100. But it's not always profitable to look for savings.

Regardless of the type of material, car upholstery quickly gets dirty and changes color. Even when the driver regularly vacuums the interior, dust quickly seeps into the fibers of the seats and contaminates the cab. Dirt in open areas is additionally fixed by a high temperature, to which the interior heats up when parked in the sun. Dust and sand are also noticeable after opening the glass on a rainy day. Even quickly wiped off drops of water leave stains and streaks on plastics and materials that cannot be removed with a vacuum cleaner alone.

Washing velor and classic upholstery - foam rubber can be used

Light stains can be removed by yourself using cosmetics available at automotive stores and gas stations. Let's start with the chairs. For products made of velor or classic fabrics, you can use foam rubber. With this tool, you can spray the contaminated place, and after drying, it is enough to vacuum. Then the dirt under the influence of the detergent turns into a powder, which comes off very pleasantly. I know from customers that good preparations can even wash away pen marks,” says Andrzej Szczepański, owner of a car shop in Rzeszow. Branded cosmetics of this type cost about PLN 30 for a 500-700 ml pack.

Leather upholstery requires care by other means. Most often, sellers recommend lotions for cleaning, moisturizing and nourishing the material. “You can also use a special finishing cream,” Szczepanski adds. These measures are a little more expensive, the packaging costs about 30-40 zł..

Plastic cleaner - don't start with polishing

Many people clean the plastic parts of the interior with a shine spray with silicone. This is a serious mistake as it creates a greasy layer of dirt on the upholstery. – Plastic must first be washed with a special agent. It is most convenient to buy the drug in a package with a sprayer. Only an element cleaned in this way can be wiped down and then preserved with a matting or polishing spray, says Andrzej Szczepański. It is better to choose matte, then the sun will not be reflected in the dashboard.

At home, warm water with a little gray soap or detergent works very well. However, after such cleaning, the plastic must be wiped again with a damp cloth dipped in clean water only. Thanks to this, the upholstery will not be covered with a white coating after drying.

A set of branded car cleaning cosmetics can be purchased for about PLN 100-120. This amount of money will be enough for detergents for washing upholstery, cleaning and caring for plastic and washing windows. But on our own, with their help, we can only deal with minor pollution. Stubborn stains, dog hair and intense cigarette smell are a task for a professional with a vacuum cleaner and even more sophisticated preparations.

We start professional cleaning of the car interior with a vacuum cleaner

Professional interior cleaning begins with a thorough vacuuming. Only after removing crumbs, debris, sand and dust, you can start washing the upholstery of the car. As Paweł Kozha from the Laundry Clinic in Rzeszow explains, floor-to-ceiling classic fabric interiors are washed with the same product. - The only difference is that we wash the seats and the floor with a brush, and the upholstery of the ceiling needs to be cleaned more carefully. It is best to apply the foam on a soft diaper. Be careful not to soak it too hard, because it can flake off and fall under the weight of the water,” explains Pavel Kozha.

See also:

– Proper parking. Repeating the rules, the most common sins of drivers

– Repair and restoration of automobile disks. What is it, how much does it cost?

- The ABC of maintenance of automobile air conditioners. Replace filter, disinfect system

If the upholstery is evenly soiled, it is usually sufficient to vacuum it thoroughly. But large single spots require the use of an additional soft brush. Plastic is cleaned with a special detergent. Professional car wash products are usually sold as concentrates, and experts mix them up depending on how dirty the interior is. Dirt from smooth surfaces is removed with a cloth, for example, from microfiber.

For porous materials, it is best to use a soft brush or sponge to remove dirt from the recesses. The washed plastic is wiped dry and preserved by the next blank. This may be a liquid with the addition of silicone or natural waxes, which will moisten the material and create an antistatic coating on it. – Various products in milk or spray are available in stores. They can give a matte or glossy, neutral or aromatic effect. The choice is up to the client, says Pavel Kozer.

Cleaning the car interior - preferably with a soft cloth

Leather interior requires the use of other cleaning products. Delicate material can be washed with a soft brush, sponge or cloth (depending on the degree of soiling). – If the dirt penetrates deep into the pores, a brush must be used. But we work very carefully so as not to damage the material. It is best to lather the detergents before applying to the seats so that they do not drip. After washing, wipe the upholstery with preservative milk. Such a procedure should be carried out every six months, otherwise the leather will lose its properties, become ugly, hard and start to crack, Paweł Leather recommends.

Car upholstery washing, car interior cleaning - what you need to remember

Interior cleaning is most difficult in nooks and crannies that cannot be reached with a vacuum cleaner or a rag. There are several ways to deal with this. For example, the air intake grilles are easy to clean with a brush. You can also buy a special, small end of the vacuum cleaner tube from hardware stores. It is best to choose a natural bristle model, which ensures that the cabin does not get scratched. It is best to choose a hot and sunny day for washing the interior. Although modern vacuum cleaners extract most of the water from the upholstery, the material remains damp after this treatment and needs to be dried. The easiest way to speed it up is to leave the car outside with the door and trunk open.

See also: Test of an attractive family van

Video: informational material of the brand Citroen

We recommend: What does Volkswagen up! offer?

Watch panel screens can be washed with glass cleaner, but instead of a traditional rag, we wipe them with microfiber. For radio display, navigation, air conditioning and other shiny, delicate surfaces, it is best to use a gel designed for cleaning LCD TVs and a soft cloth, also made of microfiber. To avoid scratching the parts to be cleaned, wash the cloth periodically in warm soapy water and rinse well.

The price of a comprehensive service at a professional car wash depends primarily on the dimensions of the car. Take the example of Opel cars. Washing the upholstery and cleaning the cab of an Opel Corsa costs about PLN 200, a Vectra around PLN 300-350, and a seven-seater Zafira up to PLN 500. The price of the service also depends on the degree of contamination of the interior and the type of upholstery materials. Cleaning leather will cost much more than velor.