Best Way to Clean Interior of Car

Updated on April 22, 2011
R.D. asks from Haysville, KS
10 answers

Ok ladies I need some help! This is really embarassing and gross, but yesterday I got very sick and threw up all over the floorboard of our car. It is still pretty new; we bought it brand new about 10 months ago. I'm wondering the best way to clean it? I also have a fourteen month old who has ruined the backseat: there are milk stains on one side and it's just a mess! I clean it once a week but it needs some serious deep cleaning. Would an auto detailing shop do this? Do they shampoo seats and clean really good? What would you ladies suggest? Thanks!

1 mom found this helpful

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S.M.

answers from St. Louis on

My car dealer recommends upholstry cleaner for the cloth seats and the rest of the floor use a de-greaser-it also helps the car to smell like it is new again-don't know hoe this does it but it really works. I like glass cleaner for the doors and stuff like that.

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L.D.

answers from Las Vegas on

You poor thing! Both my son and my daughter have thrown up in my car several times now. The best product that I have used so far to clean it up and get that nasty smell out is Dr. Bronner's liquid soap. It's all natural, made with various essential oils like lavender, citrus and eucalyptus, and it really is the most magical product out there (I'm not kidding!). I just took a pail, squirted some soap in there, added some warm water and then used a white rag to wipe everything down.

Even though it is all natural, it costs pretty much the same as the other (more toxic) commercial cleaners and you can use it for practically everything. Here's the website: http://www.drbronner.com/

2 moms found this helpful
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C.M.

answers from Atlanta on

Like Laurie said, Dr. Bronner's soap is great for just about anything and the peppermint scent will work magic for your car. We have several bottles of different scented ones throughout our home--in the bathrooms, and I even fill the hand soap pumps with it. It's also non toxic and safe for children. You can wash your clothes with it and even brush your teeth with it. Go figure. When you finish using a bottle, simply take it to a good healthfood store in your area and they should have refill pumps in the bulk section where you can refill it with more soap and recycle for 1/2 the price.

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L.A.

answers from Chicago on

I would check out some auto detailing shops, or car wash places that do detailing. They probably have ways to get out the smell and stains better.

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J.K.

answers from Kansas City on

I would get that professionally steam cleaned by a carpet company. You know what you will smell in the heat of the summer!!!!

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T.O.

answers from Kansas City on

You could even contact the car dealership you bought the car from. My hubby sells cars and his dealership will detail (steam carpets, clean vents, etc) for $100. I had mine detailed several times when my kids were babies and I was always amazed at how clean they were able to get it!

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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Auto detailers do a great job but they can be pricey. They clean EVERYTHING from carpet and apolstry to the dust in your vents! One of our local car washes has a steam cleaner ($1.00 for about 10 minutes) and I've used it several times to get up spilled juice from my daughter and coffee from my husband. It workes well if the stain is relatively fresh, but I still have a pink floorboard from red fruit juice that was spilled over the winter. At the time I thought it was too cold to steam clean my carpets. Even though I vacuumed most of the juice up I was afraid if I applied any kind of liquid soap and/or water, it would just freeze. I tried steam cleaning it a few weeks ago but it didn't work very well. I plan to use Resolve carpet cleaner on it as it works so well on the carpets in my house. As for getting rid of smells, I found a product called Odorcide at Wal Mart. It was less expensive than Febreeze and claimed to get rid of pet odors and even moldy, musty odors in stored refrigerators. I'm not a fan of Febreeze. It's expensive and it doesn't work. I was amazed at how well Odorcide works! It's got a citris scent to it, and once the citris smell dissapates it apparently takes all other smells with it, leaving whatever it was applied to essentially odorless. Good luck!

W.T.

answers from Detroit on

Thats messy!

Baby spilling problems is what all moms face. I remember when my three year old threw up on the back seat of the car, it was a total mess and as it was a weekend I was not able to do much about it, so as the weekend finished the smell became unbearable and it baked under the hot sun.. I tried different tricks but nothing seemed to work, this is when someone recommended me to take my car to a professional steam cleaning service http://www.detailxperts.net/services_locations_mobile_det... . I did and rest was history, I still remember the silky enchanting smell that was there when I picked up the car after it was cleaned.

You should try steam cleaning to!

Updated

The best way to clean a car is to steam clean it, look for a professional steam cleaning http://www.detailxperts.net/hand_car_wash_exterior_steam_... business in your area If you want to do it your self use Griots Vinyl or any Mother product :-)

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C.H.

answers from Kansas City on

I have some stains on my seats of an undetermined origin. I saw my aunt clean a spill on upholstery with really cheap shaving cream, and it worked wonders! She sprayed it on and rubbed it with a clean cloth. I've been wanting to try it on my upholstery. I wonder if that would work on your floorboard?

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