Car Interior Cleaning

Some funky tips for a sweeter-smelling car

Steve Temple / autoMedia.com

Has your vehicle become a second family room? That is, are you surprised what you find wedged between the seats or lying underneath the floormats? You know ... mashed fries, cookie crumbs, or a funky, multicolored object that you can't identify but might qualify as a biohazard. The problem is, even when you get rid of this crud and various other stains, their odors may linger. Here are a few tips for clearing the air.

Step 1: Vacuum

Even when you get rid of this crud, their odors may linger. After you've removed all of the large debris (hopefully it didn't require thick rubber gloves), evaluate the condition of your interior. Is it primarily dusty with a spot or two in the carpet, or are food stains, pet odors and ground-in dirt besmirching your upholstery and carpet? Whatever the level of grime, start with a good vacuuming from the top down. Attach the soft brush and start with the dash, headliner, gauges and console. You want to use a gentle stroking motion with the brush to loosen and suck up surface dirt. If the headliner is really grubby, be careful about what chemicals you put on it. Adhesives do not react well to cleaners and the last thing you want is a drooping headliner. To get in the nooks and crannies in and around the seats (where those stale chunks of Krispy Kremes like to hide), the needle-nosed crevice tool should give you enough reach.

Step 2: Scrub

Of course, vacuuming won't clean out those black holes of your car's interior, the cupholders. If you're like most people on the go, they get as much muck on them as your tires. Since most of us drink coffee or sodas while driving, cupholders accumulate a sticky residue that not only could keep those heat-shielding tiles attached to the space shuttle, but also can emanate some strong smells. To cut through this beverage sludge, spray the cupholder with a kitchen or plastic cleaner and allow the mixture to soak in before wiping with a terry cloth towel. Depending on how gooey the holders are, you may have to give them another round of cleaning (and maybe even yet another, if yours look like ours). Some cupholders can even be removed and run through the dishwasher.

Step 3: Deodorize

When odors linger after a thorough cleaning, the easy solution is to simply hang one of those scented cardboard Christmas trees from the rearview mirror (or throw a perfumed dryer sheet under the seat). That looks a bit tacky, though, and doesn't really solve the problem. It only masks the source of the odor.

Getting to the source of the stink, especially if it's embedded in the carpet, can be a tough job. If it's just a small spill on the upholstery, certain products on the market that are designed to get odors out of clothing may take care of it. Before applying a deodorizer, though, first clean the area with a car upholstery product (or spray-on carpet cleaner). To make sure it doesn't alter a fabric's color or texture, test a small, inconspicuous spot, even if the label says it won't harm the upholstery.

Work the cleaning liquid or foam into the cloth with a brush. Smooth vinyl cleans easily, but brushes can be hard on flat-surface textiles, so an old terry cloth makes a better applicator on this type of upholstery. Also, the "nap" of terry cloth towels helps to draw dirt and other contaminates away from the surface, thus minimizing the chance of grinding dirt back into the interior surfaces. In general, first use the least amount of cleaner and the softest applicator possible to see if that will remove the stain and odor without changing the look of the material. If you use too much cleaner, it can spot and create an odor of its own. It's a lot better to use two light applications than one heavy one.

Step 4: Neutralize

If the smell remains after cleaning, squirt some of that fabric odor neutralizer on the area. Use it every time you vacuum the car, and it'll help to keep the interior fresh from mold, must, smoke, and pet odors on your car's upholstery, cloth ceilings, carpeting, and floormats.

Step 5: Protect

Speaking of floormats, when it comes to dirt and smells, prevention is definitely better than the cure. It's a lot easier to remove and scrub down a smelly, rubber-backed mat in your driveway than it is to clean up a mess on the floorboards. Applying that same principle of prevention, if you know you're going to have kids in your car eating fast-food from the drive-through, cover the seats with some towels that can catch their crumbs and spills. Then you can just throw them in the washing machine (the towels, not the kids) to clean up any spills.

No matter how thoroughly you clean, certain types of odors are really hard to get rid of entirely. Some companies have developed odor eliminators that actually are attracted to odoriferous chemical compounds (usually sulfur based) and encapsulate the molecules that produce these loathsome smells. That may sound like a great plot for a cult horror movie, but they may take care of the problem once and for all. Now if they could just invent a way to keep those moldy old fries from hiding between the seats.

Resources

Armor All, www.armorall.com

Blue Coral/Black Magic/Westley's, www.bluecoral.com

Eagle One, www.eagleone.com

Lexol, www.lexol.com

Meguiar's, www.meguiars.com

Mothers, www.mothers.com

3M Co., www.3m.com

Turtle Wax/Formula 2001, www.turtlewax.com

Zymol, www.zymol.com