How To Clean a Car Dashboard
Once you realize that the trash and dust have been piling up and that you aren’t comfortable anymore in your car interiors, then it’s the right time to learn how to clean your car dashboard.
At times, you may realize that even after clearing out, wiping down, and vacuuming your car control panel, it doesn’t look as appealing as per your expectations.
Therefore, it is critical to understand that to make your car as comfy as possible, and you must clean up its dashboard without interfering with it or leaving stripy residue.
Although it may seem to be a difficult task, however, with these simple to follow steps, you can achieve this goal by making your dashboard look amazingly good, just like a new one.
Remember cleaning your dashboard will bring a massive difference in the interior of your car’s appearance. The car windshield is a must to keep from fogging up too. Find out how to keep your windshield from fogging up here.
Below are simple eight steps on how to clean a car dashboard by yourself.
- Vacuum your dashboard using a soft brush attachment
- Wipe the dashboard using a clean microfiber cloth
- Remove sticky stains using a mixture of soap and water.
- Clean your leather dashboard
- Clean other surrounding parts such as radio system, steering wheel, and gear shift
- Use either Coconut or Olive oil to perfect your dashboard cleaning work.
- Polish the dash.
- Perform final touches, such as adding air freshener.
Start by vacuuming your dashboard surface
The first step involves clearing out all debris, dust, and trash pieces from the dashboard surface. The primary purpose is to remove all those debris that can easily scratch or spread across your dashboard during the cleaning process.
Once you are done removing debris and trash, use a vacuum and preferably the one with a soft brush on its base to vacuum the entire dashboard.
Wipe the entire dashboard
Now that your dash has a smooth surface where you can efficiently work on, it is the right time to disinfect and wipe it out. However, remember that the type of dashboard material determines the kind of cleaning solutions you will use.
We recommend you first try a spot test to examine the effects of the cleaning reagents you are using on your dashboard since this can prevent large-scale damages on your dashboard in case of a minor error. For instance, if your dashboard is made from the following material, Rubber, Plastic, and Vinyl, then;
Remove sticky stains on your Rubber, Plastic, or Vinyl dashboard
For a dashboard made using the above materials, ensure to use mild soap solutions since some very high soap concentration can end up breaching the dashboard color. Apply your mild soap solution on a wet piece of microfiber cloth and use it to wipe the dash thoroughly.
A bristled toothbrush can help reach out air vents, crevices, and other hard to reach areas. Apply your soap solution to the soft-bristled toothbrush and gently scrub on that particular area.
How to remove tough stains on your Rubber, Plastic, or Vinyl dashboards
Note that you need to create a mixture of all-natural soap solution from the readily available household cleaning products to help you remove those hard to remove stains.’
To create a natural dashboard cleaning solution, you need the following: water, vinegar, detergent, and oil-based soap.
- Add three to four tablespoons of vinegar to one liter of water.
- Into the mixture, add a half teaspoon of oil-based soap and an equal amount of detergent.
- On to the dirty spot, spray this mixture and allow it to stay there for one to two minutes.
- Using a clean piece of wet microfiber cloth, wipe off the natural soap solution.
Clean your Leather dashboard
Are you aware that leather dashboards are more delicate to withstand most soaps and chemical cleaners? This is mainly because leather usually forms cracks and a dull appearance when exposed to most chemical cleaners.
For this very reason, you only require a damp microfiber cloth to perform a basic cleanup for your leather dashboard.
However, if you were to clean your leather dashboard thoroughly, you will need to use a non-alkaline or oil-based soap leather cleaner and a wet microfiber cloth to wipe the surface of your leather dashboard thoroughly.
You can also spray your paintbrush with the above leather oil-based soap to clean those hard to reach areas of your dash.
You can further clean the non-leather parts of the dashboard, such as the vent covers, using a soft piece of cloth and chemical cleaners compatible with plastic, rubber, and vinyl components.
Remember to pay special attention not to splash these chemical cleaners on your leather dashboard; otherwise, you wish to ruin your well-done job.
Clean other surrounding parts
Such as the glass dash cover, steering wheel, gear shift, radio system, and the central console. Using a compatible dashboard cleaning soap, i.e., the material making up your dash, wipe down these parts using a soft piece of wet microfiber cloth.
Note that you need to use a microfiber cloth and a glass cleaner to clean your radio system and the glass cover, respectively. This is because it helps avoid glare, streaking, and dust rubbles when using a paper towel to wipe them.
You can also soak the dashboard cleaner in the dirty cup holder for about five minutes before soaking up the debris using a towel and finally wipe it down using a moist microfiber cloth.
Polish your dashboard
One of the best ways of perfecting your dashboard cleanup work is by polishing it. Yes, apart from giving it an extra shiny appearance, polishing also helps protect your dashboard from unnecessary wear and tear.
To achieve this, you need to buy a compatible dashboard polish and apply it to the microfiber cloth. Remember to perform a spot test before you apply it all over your dashboard.
Once you confirm its compatibility with your dash, then you can wipe more polish to the entire dash using a piece of cloth.
After several minutes, wipe the whole dash for the last time using a clean part of a dry microfiber to clear out residues.
An alternative to achieve the above results is through the application of olive or coconut oil. However, remember to perform a spot test before applying the oil on the entire dash. You need to wipe out the oil with a dry piece of microfiber cloth.
This, too, helps protect and make your dashboard shine.
Final touch
Complement your well-done job with a natural homemade car air enhancer and freshener. You can also use a dry sheet to thoroughly wipe down and damp part of your dashboard to keep it fully clean and fresh.
Popular Posts
Useful links:
