The dreaded interior clean - NAthan smith
Tackles the task of cleaning the back of the car with 2 under 6’s who spend their time in the back. Cleaned most f the stains although struggling to get the black plastics, on the back of the seats free from mid? Anyone used any recents products for hard plastics?
The dreaded interior clean - NAthan smith
*mud
The dreaded interior clean - Cymrogwyllt

I leave it to the dealer when I part ex the car in

The dreaded interior clean - badbusdriver

A long time ago i used to valet cars, so while i am far from current on what products are available now, the most effective method i found was to use a toothbrush and a tub of warm water with a mild soapy solution in it. The problem you are finding is probably due to the plastic being grained, so it won't just wipe off. Use the toothbrush in tight circular motions to get the bristles right into the grains taking a small section at a time.

The dreaded interior clean - Wackyracer

I've used G101 from autosmart to do alot of my general vehicle cleaning both inside and out.

The dreaded interior clean - NAthan smith
This is the exact problem I have , the kids muddy feet on the back of the seat which as you say is grainy plastic. Will give it a go!
The dreaded interior clean - veloceman
My dad used have demonstrators when he had his dealerships.
We as children then weren’t even allowed to breath in any cars he brought home.

The thought of any kind of stainage would mean walking for the remainder of the journey.
The dreaded interior clean - Ethan Edwards

Once you have the surfaces clean. I use Armorall on them so next time it wipes off easier. There is a pump spray version that shines plastics up nice.

Edited by Ethan Edwards on 18/02/2018 at 21:48

The dreaded interior clean - Mr Carrot Cake

I find Auto Express good for finding effective cleaning products. Their reviews are free to read online.

The dreaded interior clean - argybargy

I found that the seats in my 07 Focus marked very easily. The least amount of moisture would leave a semi permanent mark, unless you wet the entire seat right away in order to "even out" the stain.

My son suffered from travel sickness when he was little, and on one long journey he vomited all over the back seat. We had no suitable cleaning products with us, but eventually we stopped at a roadside hotel, borrowed a bowl of hot water and I cleaned up as best I could. However, and because I wasn't able to apply anything except water, the smell of sick lingered for months afterwards despite the application of more proprietary products.

In my experience, vomit is definitely the worst thing you can get on your car seats.

The dreaded interior clean - FoxyJukebox

Some years ago , my wife had a major spillage on the rear seat with a carton of cream. We cleared it up as best as we thought--but the smell remained and indeed got worse. Summer came and it got even more intolerable. In the autumn we sold the car.

The dreaded interior clean - kerbed enthusiasm

Vomit and milk based products are dreadful. Our youngest child was consistently travel sick. At one point I owned an MPV and, after one spectacular journey, I was forced to remove two of the rear seats and hose them off - it really was that bad.

The best remedy is to clean as much as possible then apply liberal (for liberal read inordinate quantities!) of bicabonate of soda and leave it in situ for as long as possible.


Edited by kerbed enthusiasm on 19/02/2018 at 14:22

The dreaded interior clean - Mr Carrot Cake

Back on 2002 my mate vomited in my new car. I never fully got rid of the smell.

The dreaded interior clean - FoxyJukebox

For most interior plastics I use household multi surface cleaners from a spray can --costing around £1.50. Spray onto a dry cloth before applying--then-wait until it is fully dry before buffing off( 5 mins on a hot day, maybe an hour on a cold day) . This trick does not work if you apply and immediately try polishing.

As for tarnished and scratched black plastic--apply black shoe polish (£1) making sure the wax gets into the scratches. Leave to dry -then polish off.

For mud etc--obviously soap and water economically applied and dried will help first--and as somebody has already suggested--use a toothbrush on stubborn areas.

The dreaded interior clean - gordonbennet

Be careful with household cleaners, they can attack some of these new thin soft touch plastics, leading to them peeling off.

Soap and water is just as good, rinse off, then apply a proper product designed for finishing plastic, 'Finish' (i believe autosmart) is good, but back to black does a similar job, just be careful on dash tops due to reflections.

I've found Demon Shine Active Cleaner a good products to maintain general plastic trim conditions, which doesn't leave it shiny.

The back of the Mr's Scooby estate is beyond saving, three usually wet muddy dogs leave a trail of filth that has to be seen to be believed, and the dust.

The dreaded interior clean - V4 Heaven
I use warm soapy water and a cloth to wash the mud off, then once dry, use Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber Care.

It comes up a treat!
The dreaded interior clean - expat

Once you have got it clean, put on seat covers that cover the back of the front seat. If you get more marks you can then just chuck them in the washing machine, or the bin if they are really bad. Mats are useful also, including a rubber one for the boot. I even have a mat over the top of the dash to stop it cracking with the sun (no I am not in the UK!).

The dreaded interior clean - gordonbennet

Sensible stuff Expat, there are countless seat covers available, a set of which is going to be much cheaper than sourcing and fitting even one section of a seat.

Children are going to be messy, it comes with the territory, ditto the inebriated, there is a time for having lovely materials to sit on and admire, if the vehicle is child transport you have to protect nice materials from the little horrors.

Milk based products there is no alternative if its been spilled or vomited, the material whether its a carpet (the whole lot plus underlay and anything else that's been touched) or a seat, it has to be removed immediately from the car before it has a chance to dry and impregnate and soaked and washed repeatedly or the smell will be overpowering in a matter of weeks and it will never go away.

An ex colleage once spilled a cup of coffee in my regular lorry (annoying fellow at the best of times), he cleaned up as best he could, this i didn't find out about till after i had eventually traced it, but the most awful smell arrived after a couple of months and it never diminished.

Eventually i tracked the smell down, a small penny sized drop of coffee (latte) had got underand impregnated into the rubber liner mat of a centre drawer, a liner about 2ft square, when i lifted the mat out the smell was incredible, i washed the tray itself, hard plastic, that was fine after.

The rubber mat i steam cleaned it, i put it through the dishwasher cycle twice, i put all sort of chemicals on it, nothing would touch it, eventually binning it was the only option.

That would have been maybe half a teaspoon of milk, it became over 12 months of sheer misery.

Edited by gordonbennet on 20/02/2018 at 08:51

The dreaded interior clean - postie1

Hard plastics, dead easy to clean. Scrub it with a nylon scrubbing brush & the ingrained dirt will easily be removed. The autoglym interior cleaner will do it but you could use any mild cleaner as long as you scrub it.

The dreaded interior clean - oldroverboy.

Our friends, who bougt a venga last year on our advice have a labrador (female) who decided to "Bless this car" despite me offering them some seat covers.

The dreaded interior clean - postie1

They should get seat covers, i have just completed a car where the owner of a diat 500 had their dog run wild in the car. However when the dog was in season it went all over the seats.

Blood can be removed from car seats but the quicker you get to it the better.

The dreaded interior clean - oldroverboy.

They should get seat covers, i have just completed a car where the owner of a diat 500 had their dog run wild in the car. However when the dog was in season it went all over the seats.

Blood can be removed from car seats but the quicker you get to it the better.

I helped them buy the car and got them a set of covers, but female dog pee is quite acid...

The dreaded interior clean - postie1

Dogs being sick on interior plastics etches into the plastic. When the plastic is dry you can hardly notice it.

When its damp it really shows through. It also does the same on leather.