We’ll be using Susan, the vandalized car, as one example because the interior of this car is a mess. It is covered in dirt, quite literally covered in dirt and mud, and that’s because it was vandalized. But not everybody is gonna have a vandalized car, so I also have my sister’s daily driver. This is the more typical dirtiness that you’d probably find in your car. Between this car and the vandalized car, we have plenty of amazing examples, so I can show you how to super clean the interior. Let’s get started!
This guide will show you how to clean the dashboard, specifically the dashboard vents, the gauge cluster, the infotainment screen, all the knobs and buttons, and the steering wheel. Then I’ll show you how to clean the door panels, which in this car are really bad. After that, we’ll clean the center console, which is also really bad with melted candies and who knows what this gooey mess is inside here. Finally, we’re going to finish up by cleaning the glass.
To clean all that, here are the tools and products that you’re going to need. I try to keep it simple product-wise. We have our cleaners, our protectors, and a glass cleaner specific to glass because we don’t want streaks, and we don’t want to damage the tint. I’ll cover more about that when we go over the glass, but that is it product-wise. Tool-wise, again, trying to keep it simple but very important, I highly suggest that you pick yourself up some of these brushes. Brushes are going to make the difference between clean and super clean. Trust me on that; you’ll see the difference.
Besides brushes, you’ll need a bunch of microfiber towels, and that’s really it. Now you see some other products here; you don’t need these, but I’m going to go over them because they do help out a lot and they’re not very expensive. This includes a vacuum attachment, which helps get you into those tight places to remove dust and dirt. We have this tool which helps get you into tight places when you clean the windshield between the windshield and the dash—super helpful again, not completely necessary. Finally, a steam cleaner; this might be necessary on this car because it is disgusting in that center console. I want to kill all the bacteria, mold, and everything that could have built up in there. I want to make sure not only is it clean but it’s sanitary, and this is going to help sanitize. But that’s all the tools and products that you’re going to need. I’ll be sure to link all these in the description so you can easily find them. The idea is to keep it affordable and simple.
Alright, to start the super clean, it’s important to roll down your windows to prevent any oily protectants from getting on them, which is a pain to clean off. You’re also going to want to disconnect the battery since the doors are going to be open and you don’t want to drain the battery. Finally, we need to remove the seats so we have more access to the interior. With the seats removed, the last thing we need to do in the preparation step is to clean out the center console. There is a ton to clean in this car; the center console is loaded with melted candies, junk, and just disgusting sticky change. Make sure you clean out the entire center console in your car, and hopefully, it isn’t as bad as this sticky mess. I can’t wait to get this cleaned up.
Next up, let’s clean the dashboard. I have a bunch of tips and tricks to make the dashboard come out amazing. Here’s the three-step process I use to clean the dash. First, we’re going to remove all the dust from the dash. After that, we’re going to clean the dash; we’re going to remove the stains and all that dirt that’s on there. After it’s clean, we’re going to do one final step and protect the dash. That way, in the future, we don’t get any cracks, we don’t get any fading, and it’ll look great for years to come. That’s all you need to do to super clean your dash, so let’s get started.
I like to start by cleaning the vents. A lot of people skip this because it’s difficult to get to everything in here, but these carry a lot of dust, and they don’t look good if they’re not cleaned. The trick to cleaning vents is to use a brush like one of these. I personally like to use this brush; it’s inexpensive and has these microfiber fingers that make it easy to get into the vent. Start off by brushing the vents with the vacuum nearby to suck up any dust that we brush off. Then, use the other end of the brush to clean each of the fins in the vent. You can really see how awesome this works to get in between each of the fins and really get it clean. Just look at all the dirt and dust we removed. Now, we were able to clean the fins on the vent and get in there just a little bit, but how do you get deep in there? Well, you can get yourself one of these vacuum attachments that basically has a bunch of straws on the end. This will let you get really deep in there and get out all that dust. Connect the vacuum attachment and fit the straws between the vents, and you can see how well this works to get in there deep. This is just another tool that works amazing for removing dust not only on the surface but deep in the vents, giving them that extra clean. Check that out; that looks really good. I don’t see any more dust, and that’s way better than what it was before. Finish up removing the dust from the rest of the vents. Here’s a before and after so you can see the difference.
Next, we need to dust the rest of the dash. To do that, I’m going to use a microfiber towel that has a high pile. A high pile means these long fibers stick out of the microfiber towel, which are helpful because they trap dirt and dust. There’s just more surface area for it to cling to. Instead of dusting dry, I’m going to grab plain old water and wet the towel down. Never use any sprays inside the interior of your car. Now, this is just water, so it’s not a big deal, but once we start using cleaners, we don’t want the mist to get all over the interior of the car because we can’t control it. It’s going to get on the glass and in places we don’t want it to be. Start practicing now, even if it’s just water, by spraying outside the car. Lightly mist the towel, and if you’re inside the car, you can spray but make sure you’re spraying directly into the towel so it’s not getting everywhere. After the towel is slightly damp, we’re ready to dust the dashboard. Lightly glide the towel across the surface of the dash, and the damp fibers of the towel will pick up the dust and remove it from the dash. It’s satisfying to see the dust get picked up and leave behind a nice, dust-free dash. Don’t forget to clean the dust off the infotainment screen and the surrounding area, like the buttons and dials, using a brush to dust them up and get them nice and dust-free.
Next, we’re going to remove the dust near the steering wheel and gauge bezel. I have a couple of very important tips and tricks so you don’t scratch up the plastic lens on that gauge bezel. The first tip is never, ever, ever use a paper towel, napkin, or tissue to wipe down or dust your gauge bezel. That is guaranteed to cause visible scratching. What I recommend is getting a very soft microfiber towel that’s lightly misted with water. All you’re going to do is very light pressure, put it on the gauge bezel, and swipe straight across. You can do it the other way as well; again, very light pressure, and swipe straight across. As long as your microfiber towel is clean, a little damp, and very soft, you won’t get any visible scratching. One more thing to quickly mention: you might be tempted to use compressed air to blow away any dust, but don’t do it. You could blow the dust underneath the gauge bezel and get it behind the gauge bezel. The only way to clean the dust if it gets behind there is to take the entire gauge cluster out, remove the plastic bezel, and dust it off. Definitely don’t make the mistake of using compressed air. Just take a look at that gauge bezel; it looks amazing. That is how you properly dust and clean a gauge bezel so you don’t cause any scratches at all.
The steering wheel is next. Honestly, this steering wheel isn’t that dirty. Just like the rest of the dash, all you need to do is brush it down with some cleaner. After you’re done doing that, you could wipe it all up. Check it out; the steering wheel is looking amazing. It didn’t really take much to make it look great because it wasn’t very dirty. However, I want to show you guys how to super clean a really dirty steering wheel, so I’m going to show you how to clean the steering wheel in my sister’s car. This has a very common dirtiness to it, something that if you take a look at your steering wheel, I bet you’ll see. That is all of this discoloration. The steering wheel should be gray, like a dark gray almost black, and you can see that light gray in there. It almost looks worn down; it almost looks like the leather or the vinyl is worn out, but it