How often should I clean the interior of my car?
This depends on how much time you spend in your car, what you do in your car and so on. But a good benchmark is once a month, with seasonal deep cleaning. A monthly car interior cleaning can include a quick vacuum, cleaning your dash, vents, screen and cup holders. For seasonal cleaning, this is when you wash your floor mats, scrub the seats and do a thorough deep clean. But every vehicle is different, depending on usage.
Can I use an interior cleaner on my windows?
Some of them, yes. The cleaner will clearly state that it is safe on windows, but you must verify this before trying. Other interior cleaners will leave a finish or residue on your windows, which can be a nightmare to remove. Your best bet is to just use a separate glass cleaner.
Which car interior cleaner do the experts use?
Every detailer has a product they love, but we’ve seen many of the cleaners on this list fall into the detailing bucket. Pros usually stay away from wipes, but sprays are preferred. In fact Car and Driver garage crews can’t decide which one they like—there’s a whole cabinet full of different interior cleaners!
How much does car interior cleaning cost?
Our test cleaners range in price from under $10 to nearly $25. If you choose one of the sprays, you’ll need to invest in some good microfiber cloths as well, which can add up to an extra $5 per handheld cloth.
Why trust us?
Car and Driver and its sister publication Hearst Autos combine the strength, talent and knowledge of three of the world’s largest and most influential automotive publications. With this amazing tool, we don’t have to worry about gaming search engines to get traffic or promoting bad products just to make sales. Instead, we are concerned with our heritage, our reputation, and most of all the trust that you, our readers, have Autoweek, Car and Driverand Road & Track. We know you depend on us to give it to you straight, and we promise to deliver the truth, every time.
To reflect our values, these tests are conducted in an environment that provides the same test procedures for each product: Car and Driver garage. We test each cleaner on common stains and use the butter test to measure the strength of each product. We note this, along with drying patterns, odors and residue. After calculating our findings, we agree that our tests are fair, valid and provide the best information for us to recommend our options to you, the reader. In the end, that’s what matters most.
Read more about our product testing and evaluation process here.