There’s nothing as awful as sitting in a car covered with stickiness and grime. You might overlook cleaning a car interior; however, a messy car is unappealing and is often a breeding ground for bugs and germs.
Remember that you can’t run your car’s interior through a car wash as you would the outside. Therefore, it’s best to find effective and simple methods of cleaning your car dashboard, such as using everyday cleaning products like rubbing alcohol, essential oils, and baking soda.
Here are some cleaning tips to help you clean your dashboard:
What is the Best Thing to Clean a Car Dashboard?
You don’t want to harm your vehicle’s interior when cleaning, but you also want to ensure it’s clean. You are most likely frustrated if you use a paper towel or any other cleaning tool that leaves small white specks all over your dash. The dust might be gone; however, you will remain with an irritating white remnant.
Below is the best cleaner for your car dashboard:
- A vacuum cleaner with attachment.
- Water and mild soap
- Soft microfiber cloth
- A toothbrush or soft paintbrush
- Polish
Once you have the items above, you can clean your dashboard using the procedure below:
Procedure:
- First, use your vacuum with the brush attachment to vacuum the dashboard. Next, try to pick up any dust and debris on the dash.
- Next, dip a soft microfiber cloth in water and wipe down your dashboard. If your car’s interior is particularly grimy, fill a bowl with mild soap and warm water. Use this solution to wipe your vehicle’s steering wheel, dashboard, handbrake, and interior plastic.
- It might be difficult to clean the small vents and crevices; therefore, use a soft paintbrush, toothbrush, or designated dash brush to remove dirt gently. Be careful not to scratch the delicate parts of your car.
- You can use a dry microfiber cloth to rub down the dash once it’s clean and dry.
- You can add shine to your dashboard by polishing it. You can polish by putting a small amount of polish onto a clean and dry cloth and then rubbing the cloth over the dash.
- Repeat the procedure above until the entire dashboard is well-polished. You can also polish the center console, and if there’s excess polish when you’ve finished, remove it with a dry cloth.
What Household Items Can I Use to Clean the Dashboard of My Car?
You don’t have to go for expensive cleaners to have a clean and shiny dashboard. Instead, you can use common household products to clean your car dashboard because you probably already have them, which makes them easily accessible and inexpensive.
Here are some household items to help you clean your car dashboard naturally:
Vinegar
When cleaning your car’s dashboard, you always want to maintain a lustrous shine. You can achieve this by combining dish soap, baby oil, and vinegar into one cleaning solution.
Vinegar will disinfect your car, leaving a streak-free shine, and the dish soap will also help lift grease and grime from your car’s interior. The baby oil is also an important part of this solution because it adds a beautiful shine to the plastic, giving it a glossy finishing touch.
Here’s how to clean your dashboard with vinegar:
What You Need:
- One tablespoon of white vinegar
- One tablespoon of dish soap
- 1 cup of warm water
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of baby or mineral oil
- Microfiber cloth
- Spray bottle
Procedure
- Add white vinegar, dish soap, warm water, and baby oil to a small spray bottle and shake well.
- Spray the solution on a clean microfiber cloth, then wipe along the top.
- This solution will work on most of your car’s hard and plastic surfaces, including the center console and the steering wheel.
Use Baking Soda
Baking soda is a household item that neutralizes odors in every cleaning situation. For example, if your car has a foul odor, baking soda is the ultimate upholstery cleaner for both the front and back seats. It also acts as a DIY car freshener for the entire vehicle interior.
Combining baking soda with your favorite essential oil can help clean and deodorize your dashboard while creating a fabulous car cleaning solution for fabrics of all types. Here’s how to use baking soda to clean your dashboard:
What You Need:
- 1 cup of baking soda
- Ten drops of essential oil
- Small shaker
Procedure
- Add baking soda and essential oil into a small shaker.
- Ensure the essential oils have entirely seeped into the majority of the baking soda, then sprinkle the mixture over the dashboard.
- Let the powder sit for at least an hour before vacuuming away.
- If you prefer cleaning with a more liquid solution, add a cup of lemon juice to the mix and then wipe away with a soft cloth.
Use Olive Oil to Clean Dashboard
You can use olive oil and lemon juice to clean your dashboard. The citric acid in lemon juice lifts away dust and grease particles, while the olive oil provides a lovely shine afterward and forms a powerful protectant against dirt and damage.
You can clean your dashboard with olive oil and lemon by following this procedure:
What You Need:
- One cup of olive oil.
- ½ cup of lemon juice
- Microfiber cloth
- Spray bottle
Procedure
- Mix olive oil and lemon juice in a spray bottle and shake well.
- Spray a microfiber cloth with the solution and wipe along the surface of your dashboard.
Make a Dashboard Cleaner Using Rubbing Alcohol
When trying techniques for cleaning a car interior, you should consider rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is a great stain-fighting solution; however, it might discolor the appearance of your dashboard. Diluting rubbing alcohol with water can lessen these effects.
Here’s how to use rubbing alcohol to clean your dashboard:
What You Need
- ½ cup of warm water
- ½ cup of rubbing alcohol
- Spray bottle
- Microfiber cloth
Procedure
- Combine equal parts warm water with alcohol and gently rub the dashboard with a microfiber cloth.
- You can use a spray bottle for an all-over clean, then quickly rinse away the rubbing alcohol with a damp cloth.
Clean Your Dashboard With Dryer Sheets
Dryer sheets are highly underrated cleaning products. They are excellent cleaners and should not be reserved solely for your laundry because they can greatly help keep your car interior smelling fresh and clean.
Dust particles cling to dryer sheets; therefore, it’s the perfect material for dusting the top of your car dashboard, air vents or even cleaning your car ceiling of dust and debris. When cleaning, ensure you get in all the cracks and crevices in your dashboard and vents.
Once you’ve finished using the dryer sheet, toss it on the floor or tuck it underneath a cup holder. The dryer sheet can then act as a delightful air freshener.
Toothpaste
Toothpaste is a go-to cleaning agent that you can rely on to clean many things, including your car’s interior.
Applying toothpaste to glass and plastic surfaces such as headlights, rear-view, or side mirrors makes them crystal clear. You can also use toothpaste on the glass surfaces on your dashboard.
However, be sure to test a small area first by applying toothpaste and then wiping off the stain to ensure no undesirable discolorations are left behind.
Windex
Windex is an effective cleaning agent for your car’s dashboard, especially for all glass surfaces. However, it would help if you didn’t restrict it to cleaning the glass only; you can also use it on the rest of the dashboard.
If you want to use Windex to clean your dashboard, you can spray it using the spray bottle and wipe it with a clean cloth. However, this solution might not get rid of tougher stains; therefore, if this is the case, you can try the other cleaning options listed above.
How to Clean a Vinyl Dashboard in a Car
It’s best to clean your vinyl dashboard regularly if you don’t want it to become dull and dingy. Here’s how to do it:
- Dampen a microfiber cloth with cool water and wipe your vinyl dashboard with the cloth to remove surface dust and dirt.
- Remove ink from the dashboard by gently rubbing the marks with a cloth saturated in rubbing alcohol.
- Rub scuff marks off your dashboard using a damp magic cleaning eraser.
- Spray an automotive dashboard cleaner on a clean microfiber cloth.
- Wipe your vinyl dashboard with the cloth. You can start at one end of the dashboard and work toward the other. Alternatively, you can use automotive cleaning wipes to clean the dashboard. Scrub any stuck-on debris with the cloth.
- Spray glass cleaner onto a clean, lint-free cloth. Clean the coverings on the odometer and other indicators.
- Apply baby oil to a paper towel and rub the indicators’ coverings with the saturated paper towel to cover any scratches.
- Apply a dashboard protectant to a clean, lint-free cloth. Then, rub the protectant into the dashboard to add a coating that will help prevent scratches, marks, and excess heat damage.
How Do I Get My Car Dashboard Shiny?
Your dashboard performs various important functions that can be helpful to you in very many situations. Therefore, it’s always best to keep your dashboard clean and shiny.
You can use the following to ensure that your dashboard is shiny:
Car Dashboard Polish
A dashboard polish formulated with premium-grade ingredients can leave your dashboard looking brighter and coverings protected.
Once you have cleaned your dashboard, you can apply your chosen polish easily and leave a protective coating that prevents dust particles from sticking to the surface and staying on it longer.
Use Natural Oils
Natural oils from your kitchen will make your dashboard shiny. You can use olive oil; however, vegetable or coconut oil will also work quite well.
These oils will restore shine while conditioning your dashboard’s surface. This process will help prevent fading and cracking caused by UV rays that bombard your dashboard over time.
You can apply a small amount of your chosen natural oil on a clean, soft cloth and wipe down your dashboard. It’s best to test out this option on a small unnoticeable area first to ensure that no discoloration occurs.
Check this too: Why Are My Dashboard Air Vents Not Working?
The best thing about using oil is that it eliminates the funky stench caused by chemical cleaners. Additionally, it saves you a lot of money! A bottle of car interior cleaner costs between $2 and $10; however, you can save this money since you likely already have some oil in the house.
Your car dashboard plays a very critical role in the functioning of your vehicle. For example, it hosts various indicator panels for each part of the car and is a divider between the front and the driver. It is also a communicator through which the vehicle communicates with the driver.
It’s best to clean your dashboard regularly using the tips above to ensure it’s free from dust and debris.