18 Brilliantly Useful Car Cleaning Hacks

Keep your car clean by using cupcake liners in the cupholders, covering the back seat, using a sponge brush on the vents, and putting a cereal canister in the car for a trash bin.

These Easy Car Detailing Hacks Will Save You A Fortune

Between commuting for work, running errands, and shuttling the kids to school, I’ve spent my fair share of time behind the wheel over the years, and I picked up a lot of great car cleaning hacks during that time too. If you spend a lot of time in your car too, you know how quickly the interior can get dirty, which either means an expensive trip to an auto detailer or buckling down and cleaning it yourself.

But cleaning your car interior doesn’t have to be difficult, time-consuming, or expensive. The car cleaning hacks and car detailing hacks I’ve picked up over the years can make it easier than you thought possible!

Whether you’re hoping to keep your clean car clean, or preparing to deep-clean a dirty car interior, these 18 tips will help.

18 Brilliantly Useful Car Cleaning Hacks

Use a DIY carpet cleaning solution to clean dirty floor mats for a lot less money.

1. DIY Car Upholstery Cleaner

Make your own car upholstery cleaning solution to help you tackle muddy mats, carpets, and any dingy spots on your car seats. It’s a great way to save money, it’s easy to make, and it works great too!

2. DIY Car Interior Cleaner

You can also make your own car interior cleaning spray (like a DIY version of Armor All) quite easily! Use the spray to clean and condition the vinyl surfaces in your car’s interior, like the dashboard and center console, or even to shine your wheels.

A can of compressed air makes short work of dust in tight spaces when cleaning your car interior.

3. Dealing With Dust

A can of compressed air makes short work of dusty air vents and other small crevices.

Cleaning your car's AC vents is a snap with a damp sponge brush.

4. Cleaning Crevices

For dust and dirt that stubbornly clings to your vents or other hard-to-clean areas, dampen a small sponge brush with your cleaning solution of choice and wipe the dirt away. (If you don’t have a sponge brush on hand, you can always use cotton balls or swabs as well!)

For really stubborn stains in your car interior, you can use a Magic Eraser.

5. Erase Stubborn Grime

Use a Magic Eraser to scrub away stubborn dirt, dust, and grime in your car. It’s particularly effective on plastic and vinyl surfaces, and you can even use it on leather seats (as long as you’re extra gentle!)

A toothbrush makes detailing your car interior a lot easier when it comes to tight spots.

6. Scrub Ground-In Dirt

If you have textured vinyl in your car, you may have dirt that’s ground in to all those nooks and crannies. An old toothbrush can help you scrub deep into textured surface for a more thorough clean!

Having the right tools makes cleaning your car interior faster and easier -- this window cleaner gets to those hard-to-reach areas on your windshield.

7. Windshield Helper

That grimy film that forms on the inside of car windshields is one of my pet peeves, but this handy microfiber windshield cleaner tool takes care of the grime in seconds. I keep this tool in my glove box, because it’s also useful for wiping away condensation during the winter.

An inexpensive cereal canister makes a great trash can when lined with a grocery bag, and it helps keep your car interior clean.

8. Cereal Container Trash Can

Line a plastic cereal container with a grocery bag and use it as an in-car trash can. Especially useful for long drives with the family!

Cupholders can be hard to clean, but using cupcake liners in them makes cleaning your car's cupholders easy -- just take them out and give them a quick clean, then replace them.

9. Line Your Cup Holders

No one enjoys cleaning up the gunk that invariably winds up in the bottom of our cup holders. Avoid it entirely by placing silicone muffin cups at the bottom of each cup holder. When they get sticky or dirty, you can just swap them out for clean ones—no frustrating scrubbing required!

Keeping a small packet of car interior wipes in the car makes it easy to get rid of grime before it has a chance to set.

10. Keep Wipes On Hand

For the messes that miss the cup holders, keep a small pack of auto cleaner wipes in your glove box. They only cost a few dollars, and you’ll have a lot more peace of mind knowing that you’re ready for any messy emergency!

Keeping the back seat clean can be tough if you have a dog, but a pet hammock for the car will help you keep your car interior much cleaner.

11. Cover The Back Seat

If you have a furry friend who loves car rides, you may want to invest in a back-seat pet hammock to help keep your car clean! Many of these pet hammocks have buckles, so putting it in the car only takes a few seconds. You can purchase one, or get instructions on how to make a back-seat pet hammock.

An inexpensive organizer for your important car papers will help you keep the glove box clean and organized.

12. Get Organized

Keep all of your important car documents, such as your registration, insurance card, and owner’s manual, organized and clean by keeping them in an organizer. This one I found on Amazon even has a small pad of paper, in case you ever need to swap insurance info with another driver.

Waxing your car helps keep the car clean because dirt and stains slide right off.

13. Wax Your Car

Getting your car waxed (or doing it yourself!) a couple of times a year can go a long way toward helping to keep it clean. Dust and dirt will lift away easily when you go through the wash, and it will also help protect your paint job!

Got some beat up stickers making your car look bad? Clean off those car stickers with the help of a razor blade.

14. Remove Stickers

Use a razor blade to remove old stickers from your car. Hold the blade (carefully!) at an angle, and gently push it under the edge of the sticker. Keep pushing until you’ve removed a section, then repeat until the whole sticker is gone.

Use cooking spray to help clean the bugs and other sticky messes off your car.

15. Get Rid Of Bug Splatters

Instead of scrubbing and potentially damaging your car’s paint job, go grab your can of cooking spray! Spray a bit onto the stubborn bug, wait a few seconds, then use a microfiber cloth to wipe the area clean.

Keeping a small box in the trunk for odds and ends related to your car will help you keep the car clean and organized.

16. Box It Up

I like to keep a small box in the back of my car to corral gear like washer fluid, jumper cables, my ice scraper, and more. It keeps them from rolling around noisily in the back of my car.

Once you've cleaned your car interior, keep it smelling fresh with the help of a car diffuser and your favorite essential oils.

17. Keep It Fresh

Part of keeping a clean car is making sure it smells clean too, and a car diffuser is the perfect tool for the job! Just add a few drops of your favorite essential oil(s) to the pad and plug it in to keep your car smelling fresh. For those who prefer a more hands-on approach, check out 3 easy options for DIY car air fresheners here.

Clean your car's cupholders with a pair of socks rolled up tight and sprayed with cleaning spray. Just put them in the cupholder and twist to get the dirt out.

18. Clean Your Cup Holders

Looking for a quick way to clean out grimy cupholders? Grab a jar that fits your cup holder, a clean sock (the fluffier, the better!), and some glass cleaner. Put the sock over the bottom of the jar, spray the cleaner onto the sock, then press the jar into your cup holder and twist.

The cleaner will cut through gunk and grime and the sock will wipe it away!

Do you have any easy hacks for cleaning your car (or keeping it clean?)