How to Professionally Clean the Carpets, Seats and Upholstery

The car’s interior generally takes the most abuse over time. Every time someone jumps in and out of the car dirt and grime is tracked in. On top of that crumbs, drink spills, hair, makeup and other junk all build up over time to create a nasty mess..

Prepping the Area

The first thing we suggest doing when cleaning the interior is pulling out the floor mats and shaking them to remove any loose dirt. Afterwards a thorough vacuuming while moving the seats all the way forwards and backwards will save you time later on when you get down to the deep cleaning.

Tip: We suggest using plastic attachments on your vacuum versus metal ones because a metal piece in poor condition can possibly scratch or otherwise damage leather or vinyl upholstery.

For Fabric Upholstery

For Leather Upholstery

Leather should be cleaned one section at a time, generally areas between 2-3 square feet will provide the best results. Recommend to your customers with leather seats that they come back every 3-4 months as the leather is more vulnerable to oils in the skin and dirt than fabric interiors and by getting a frequent cleaning they will save their interior from having the dust, dirt, and oils worked deep into the leather.

For Carpet Mats

Carpet mats can suffer the most in the car, from French fries and milkshakes to soil, sand and snow they take abuse from a wide variety of elements. On top of all the abuse the stains have probably had at least 3-4 weeks of time to set in before an owner brings their car into your detailing shop.

Remember to do the prep work of vacuuming the mats then dry brush the entire fabric panel in one direction with a stiff bristled upholstery brush. Next mist the heavily soiled areas and carpet panel with a powerful spot remover such as the aforementioned X3 Fabric Cleaner and allow to set in for 3-5 minutes making sure not to saturate the mat. For the most heavily saturated areas we recommend using a crosshatch pattern when agitating the product until foam appears with a brush wrapped in a microfiber towel. Once agitated wipe the fabric dry directionally with a clean microfiber towel, vacuum the area again, and if still not removed repeat the process.

Tips for your Customers

Your customers are going to be blown away when they see a clean interior after all the neglect to the inside of their car. An extremely happy customer is worth much more than the services rendered if they go on to spread the word about the great job you did on their car.

Let your customers know some quick tips on keeping their car in tip top shape through their next professional detailing job with you.

Remind them that every couple weeks it might be a good idea to wipe down all the vinyl, leather or plastic surfaces with a damp cloth (or for best results a microfiber cloth). Tell them to pull out their floor mats to shake off loose dirt and make sure to pick up trash that might have migrated underneath the mats. Lastly a good vacuuming once a month of the interior carpet, seats, under the seats and a console will go a long way in extending their freshly reconditioned interior.