How to vacuum your car's interior

Written by Tom Wiltshire Published: 31 August 2022 Updated: 12 September 2023

If not appropriately cared for, car cabins can become real cesspits of food crumbs, sand, or just plain old dirt. There are many steps to maintaining a clean interior, but we think you should start by giving the entire cabin a good vacuum clean.

With a decent vacuum, you should be able to remove most of the more obvious debris in one fell swoop, transforming your car interior from dejected to desirable in only a short amount of time. However, the quality of your results will likely depend on which tools you have at your disposal and how you go about the job.

On this page, we’ll guide you through the process of properly vacuuming your car, including examples of vacuum cleaners we think are worth investing in.

Choosing the right vacuum

Vacuuming out your car with a bulky upright will be an exercise in frustration. For that reason, we’d recommend either a cylinder vacuum cleaner with a long hose or a cordless handheld unit.

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Regardless of which vacuum you choose, you’ll want the following tools for the best possible results:

• A flexible hose – this gives you more freedom in the tight confines of the car

• A crevice tool – for nooks and crannies down the side of seats

• A turbo brush – for larger areas of carpet

• A soft dusting brush – for more delicate areas

• A long extension cord – for mains-powered vacs, to give you the maximum reach

If you want to get really technical, specialist car cleaning kits are available with extra-small nozzles and brushes for areas like air vents. You can, however, approximate this yourself with a drinking straw and some duct tape – though use this with your vacuum on its lowest power setting.

Preparing your car before vacuuming

First things first, grab that bin bag and get emptying. There’s no point trying to vacuum up big bits of rubbish – they might clog or damage your vacuum cleaner, so it’s best to thoroughly clear out the car before you start. And that means everything!

Then, it’s a good idea to open up all the doors and give the car a good airing before you start.

Remove all the interior mats – they’re easier to vacuum when they’re out of the car, and give you access to clean the carpet underneath them. The same applies to the seats, if you have an MPV or an SUV with removable chairs, as well as children’s car seats. You can much more easily move around these if they’re outside the confines of your car’s interior.

How to vacuum your car – step by step

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Mats

Vacuum your floor mats outside the car. If they’re badly soiled with heavier debris like sand, you can hang them up on a clothesline and give them a good thwacking – otherwise, use a turbo brush or a stiff upholstery nozzle to give them plenty of agitation.

Headlining

Starting at the top and working your way down is a good idea. Vacuuming your roof headlining may seem like overkill, but it can hold a surprising amount of dust.

Now’s a good time to open up the sunroof, if you have one, and vacuum out any debris that may have accumulated in its channels.

Dashboard

An often-forgotten area. Use a soft brush attachment to avoid scratching delicate surfaces, especially any screens.

Cover the wider expanses of dash first, then apply either a smaller tool to get into the cracks and crevices. Remember to clean inside the air vents as well as in storage areas such as the glovebox or cupholders.

Seats

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It’s amazing how much dust and debris even a visibly clean seat can hide. Give every seat a really good going over, especially the bases using a turbo brush or stiff upholstery nozzle to get out the muck that suction alone can’t tackle.

Now’s the time to practice your origami – fold the seats in every direction they’ll go, as you never know where litter can penetrate.

Using your vacuum’s crevice tool, get into all the nooks and crannies. Slide it into the gap where the seat back meets the seat base, as well as down the sides of each one and in between the front seats and the centre console.

Of course, vacuuming can’t remove stains – so if your seats are covered in more than just surface debris you might need one of our favourite upholstery spot cleaners.

Boot

This is where you’ll want your turbo brush again – or, if your boot is particularly large, you could even use the main floor attachment for your vacuum to speed proceedings up. Work methodically, covering every bit of the floor area.

There are loads of areas you could miss, so make sure you’re covering every bit. Fold the rear seats down and vacuum their back sides, and remember to clean any debris from underfloor storage areas or the spare wheel well.

Carpets

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Finally, you’ll want to clean the car’s fitted carpets. You should vacuum these regularly to keep them in good condition, as sharp debris such as sand and grit can actually cut the pile and wear them out quickly.

Vacuum every inch, including where the carpet rises up the centre console, and make sure you get into awkward areas such as those under the front seats and behind the pedals.

Final touches

A soft cloth to wipe over the infotainment screen, instrument panel and other delicate surfaces can get rid of statically-charged dust that the vacuum missed. Give your upholstery a spritz with some fabric refresh spray to keep things smelling fresh, and when loading your personal effects back in use the opportunity for a comprehensive decluttering.

Of course, vacuuming can’t sort everything – so check out our reviews of upholstery spot cleaners here if you’ve got stains that need extracting.

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