Car Interior Cleaning: Beautiful from the Inside Out
Most drivers spend a lot more time cleaning the exterior of their cars than the interior, especially during the summer when we’re likely to spend more time on the road. However, if you prefer your car’s beauty to be more than just skin-deep, here are a few tips to help you keep its interior clean and in great shape.
General Spring and Summer Car Care
Looking for quick car care tips that can help make a difference this spring and summer? Start by clearing your car of any leaves, litter, dirt, or debris that may have accumulated over the last few months on the floor or in cargo areas. Then, shake out your floor mats and vacuum the floor and seats—you’ll be amazed what a difference this quick cleaning will make.
Windows
Clean, streak-free windows are not only nice to look at, they’re important for safe driving—especially in the rainy spring season and during sudden summer storms. To help improve your visibility, regularly clean your windows with glass cleaner and a paper or microfiber towel. We suggest 3M Glass Cleaner, available at your local VW dealership.
Car Care Tip: Spray glass cleaner onto the towel while you’re on the outside of your car so it doesn’t damage the plastic, fabric, or leather.
Plastic Parts & Instrument Panel
Moisten a clean, lint-free cloth with water and clean the plastic parts and instrument panel. If that is not enough, use a special solvent-free plastics cleaner and care agent like 3M Leather and Vinyl Restorer, available at your local VW dealership.
Careful! It’s important to never clean the instrument panel or the surfaces of the airbag modules with cockpit sprays or cleaners that contain solvents. Cleaning agents that contain solvents could cause the surfaces to become porous and could cause damage. Should the airbag deploy, plastic parts could fly loose and cause serious injuries.
Upholstery & Fabric
Between long drives, family vacations, and other summer travel, this time of year can see a lot of interior mess. Wipe up any dirt or spills immediately with a slightly moist cotton or woolen cloth.
Vacuum lightly with an upholstery attachment and be sure to clear folds and seams of dust and dirt. The best way to clean spots off upholstery and the fabric lining on doors and headliners is with special upholstery cleaner or dry foam and a soft brush.
Seat covers—available at your local VW dealership—can also help provide excellent protection against spills and messes. This video shows how they can help keep your upholstery looking like new no matter the season.
Leather
Wipe up any dirt or spills immediately with a slightly moist cotton or woolen cloth.
Vacuum lightly with a soft dust brush attachment. Pay special attention to dust and dirt in pores, folds, and seams, as they can scrub the material and damage leather surfaces.
Proper leather care, especially during the spring and summer, can help prevent fading due to sunlight and can help keep leather supple and unblemished. Please use caution during care. Treat the leather at least every six months. Apply a special leather care agent sparingly. Wipe it down afterwards with a soft cloth. We suggest leather care agents like 3M Leather and Vinyl Restorer, available at your Volkswagen dealer.
Heavily contaminated areas should be cleaned with a cloth and a mild soap solution (two teaspoons of neutral soap to about one quart of water). Make sure that no part of the leather gets completely soaked and that no water is able to ingress the stitching. Wipe it down afterwards with a soft, dry cloth.
For more information on interior care and to purchase high-quality car care products from 3M, please visit your local VW dealership.
