Comments on How to Clean a Car's Interior

A good air freshener for your car, that lasts longer and works better than any hanging tree, is any box of dryer sheets. You can adjust the level of fragrance by the amount you open the box.

Take a strip of packing tape and stick it down firmly on the area of the car's upholstery to be cleaned. Then, remove at once. The lint and hair will come right off like magic. I use this method on my clothing also, and it works great! You could also use one of those lint-brushes with the adhesive, but they cost more.

Take a strip of packing tape and stick it down firmly on the area of the car's upholstery to be cleaned. Then, remove at once. The lint and hair will come right off like magic. I use this method on my clothing also, and it works great! You could also use one of those lint-brushes with the adhesive, but they cost more.

This one is for you guys who love that old pick-up, but want a reliable cup holder. My dad found that a roll of duct tape is just tacky enough to hold onto the seat, and most sizes of drinks will fit the center hole well.

This one is for you guys who love that old pick-up, but want a reliable cup holder. My dad found that a roll of duct tape is just tacky enough to hold onto the seat, and most sizes of drinks will fit the center hole well.

We all know how messy and dusty the gauges on the car can get, especially if the car has been sitting for a while (or if you smoke). Using lens cleaner will work great. Use the kind you can get for glasses. It won't fog the gauges up like Windex or other ammonia-based cleaners will. It's also pretty handy to keep in the glove box for those stubborn smudges on your sunglasses.

When you vacuum your car, spread some baking soda on the carpet. Let it sit for an hour or so, then vacuum like normal. And never use air freshener. Unless you use the same scent forever, you could have a mix of smells that aren't complementary.

For all vinyl, including the dashboard and door handle, use ArmorAll. It keeps the vinyl protected from sun damage and gives the vinyl a luster that will last for months.

I had a bottle of iodine explode in my 2001 Celica. I thought it would never come out. The stain even set in for 3 months before I discovered it. I used a stain treatment like Shout for clothing. I sprayed it on, let it soak, and then went to the car wash and used the foaming interior shampooer. It took several passes with the foam and vacuum to get it out, but there are no traces of any stain on my light grey interior.

When and if you hand wash your car's exterior at home, NEVER use the same soap/detergent that you use for washing the dishes (Dawn, Ivory, etc.), your laundry (ERA, Wisk, etc.), and definitely not the stuff you use in your dishwasher. This will ruin the finish. Use a product made just for washing the exterior of cars.

Next time you rent a Rug Doctor from the store, pick up the hand tool attachment and some carpet stain remover. Vacuum your carpets first, spray the entire carpet down with the bottle of stain remover, and let it soak while steam cleaning your house carpets. After you are finished with your house carpets, use clean hot water to Rug Doctor your car's interior. After you are finished, leave your windows cracked to allow adequate drying.

carry a lint roller in your glove box ... the type with a 'masking tape' adhesive that can be used in a pinch to quickly clean small debris off your seats and/or mats

I just used Zep Spot carpet cleaner to clean stains on both my car's removable floormats and the underlying carpeting. It worked on both types of carpets beautifully, just like the instructions said - without scrubbing, even on a large stain on a light beige carpet that had been there for months!

Amway has a great line of car care products. And using newspaper to clean the windows can leave ink: use a lint-free cloth instead.

Be careful what you put on your plastic or vinyl. Some chemicals that make vinyl shine will also eventually dry it and make it crack. We are professional detailers and have seen damage from the use of the wrong products.

If you just discovered that your ice cream (or any dairy product) melted or spill all over your trunk, first take some towels and clean up the mess. Then, if your car's trunk lid can be removed, remove the trunk lid and take it to your garden hose and spray water all over it. Make sure you spray enough to make sure all the liquid has come out.

First clean all your stuff out of the car that you've been meaning to put away since last year, then wipe all the vinyl and plastic down with a mild degreaser. Finally, always dress it with a water-based dressing, not petroleum-based.

Having tried every form of beverage holder, I finally discovered the best - a "tall" box of tissues with about 1/3 of the tissues removed! Very stable. If you brake hard a lot, just secure it with the seatbelt!

When you shampoo your car's carpet or your home's carpet, you should use a cleaner called Citrus Cleaner. You can get it at any Home Depot near you. When you mix it, use 50% water and 50% cleaner; for tough stains, you can use 75% cleaner and 25% water.

When cleaning the vinyl interior components of your vehicle; use Murphy's oil soap mixed per the container directions. It cleans great and leaves a greaseless shine !

By putting some potpourie in your ashtray, you can keep your car smelling great for up to a year.

When cleaning your windows use an old newspaper instead of cloth. It works better and leaves no streaks. Try it, it works!

If you apply a thin layer of Vaseline to your bumper before putting on your bumper stickers, the stickers will peel off easily without leaving adhesive. Plus, they won't shift or slide off unless you want them to. I used this trick on my bumper stickers, and five years later they came off without a problem. Just wipe off the Vaseline.

I have a large 30 ounce insulated cup I take with me every day to work. I discovered that the bottom part of a baby wipe container works great to keep it from tipping over. Any condensation outside of the cup ends up in the container, keeping my passenger seat dry. I put my purse in front of the box to prevent it from tipping or sliding if I have to brake hard. I also keep one in the back seat for the kids' spill proof cups. That way they don't end up on the floor, or worse yet, under one of the seats. I am sure all parents out there know the smell of spilled milk or juice in a car once it gets rancid!

My new Sebring is the nicest car I have ever owned. Consequently, I made some new decrees that apply to everybody, particularly me! There shall be no smoking or eating in the car. Ever. My interior is staying incredibly lovely. La La!!