You probably have a weekly cleaning schedule for your home and even ensure to hit the car wash the moment your car’s exterior starts wearing a bit. However, when was the last time you cleaned your vehicle’s interior? And what picture does it paint right now?
Ask any professional auto-detailer, and he or she will testify to the fact that the cabin of your car can get ultra-dirty in the absence of credible car upholstery cleaners.
It’s a no-brainer that passengers themselves will be introducing dust and dirt in your car, which will accumulate over time, particularly if you’re frequently commuting with the less than tidy kind of passengers – also known as children and pets. Therefore, keeping your automobile clean not only safeguards your hard-earned investment, but also breeds a sense of accomplishment and pride.
Car Upholstery
Although car upholstery seems absolutely hard wearing, it goes through a pretty rough life cycle. Therefore, you must give it a little attention and care every now and then to ensure its longevity. As stated above, the product designed to sustain the upkeep of your car interior is a high-quality car upholstery cleaner.
There are several cleaners available in the market, and many credible brands such as Chemical Guys, Meguiar’s, Mothers, and ArmorAll are offering fantastic products. Therefore, we have carefully tested 11 products to provide you with a broad range of options when selecting the best car upholstery cleaner to meet your needs.
Our test looked at products that don’t just remove ground-in grime, but also the marks and spills that naturally occur every day. Therefore, we applied butter, ballpoint pen ink, and ground chocolate to a spare rear seat, and addressed the mess with the products detailed below. It’s pertinent to mention that we used the products in accordance with their respective instructions, and also did minimal wiping. Here are our picks:
Top 11 Car Upholstery Cleaners:
Comparison Table
| S.No | Product | Weight (pounds) | Amazon Best Sellers Rank |
| 1 | CarGuys Super Cleaner | 1.4 | #1 in Automotive Interior Care |
| 2 | Meguiar’s G9719 Upholstery Cleaner | 1.19 | #3 in Automotive |
| 3 | Turtle Wax T440R2W OXY | 1.45 | #24 in Vinyl Care |
| 4 | Tuff Stuff Multi-Purpose Foam Cleaner | 2.01 | #12 in Vinyl Care |
| 5 | Chemical Guys Upholstery Odor Eliminator | 1.1 | #3 in Carpet Machine Detergents |
| 6 | Spray Nine 26810 Heavy Duty Cleaner | 2.33 | #719 in Automotive |
| 7 | Mothers 05424 Upholstery Cleaner | 2.7 | #88 in Upholstery Cleaning |
| 8 | Black Diamond Upholstery Cleaner | 1.98 | #24 in Carpet Cleaners |
| 9 | Armor All Oxi Magic Upholstery Cleaner | 1.6 | #802 in Automotive |
| 10 | Chemical Guys Lightning Fast Upholstery Stain Extractor | 1.21 | #4 in Interior Care |
| 11 | Blue Coral Upholstery Cleaner | 1.75 | #7 in Upholstery Cleaning |
- CarGuys Super Cleaner
Our top pick is one of the most widely trusted car upholstery cleaners and comes with a premium price tag. This is because, in return for your hard-earned money, you get a remarkable cleaning product. The CarGuys Super Cleaner is fit for practically every interior surface of your car, including upholstery, plastics, leather trim, canvas, and vinyl amongst others. However, do not use it on the instrument panel screens and glass.
The feature that makes it the best car upholstery cleaner is its capacity to tackle grime and dirt on a molecular level. Therefore, if you allow it to soak into any stained matter, it can indeed show its real colors by rendering a deep level clean. Moreover, it doesn’t leave behind oily residues that other cleaners do and wipes away without any trace.
The only limitation with the CarGuys Super Cleaner is that since it’s an all-purpose cleaner, you will swiftly go through a bottle and it’s not very cheap.
- Meguiar’s G9719 Upholstery Cleaner
Auto-detailers worth their salt will confirm that the majority of Meguiar’s detailing products are the market leaders and their G9719 Upholstery Cleaner is one of the most sought-after car upholstery cleaners. Yes, the listed price is on the premium side, but the powerful formula in the foam offers an effortlessly deep cleaning capacity. Therefore, you can always carry one in your car emergency kit for well, spilled emergencies.
When using this product, you must wait for about 10 minutes before scrubbing after spraying the foam onto the tainted area. It’s recommended that you may use an upholstery brush having tough bristles to effectively fight the dirt. Once applied, the dual purpose G9719 will quickly break down the stubbornness of stains and the bad smells, leaving your car upholstery with a refreshing fragrance devoid of any chemicals.
Notwithstanding the above, the spray trigger and nozzle method can be improved for more user convenience.
- Turtle Wax T440R2W OXY
Turtle Wax is a renowned automotive appearance products company, which manufactures one of the best car upholstery cleaners on a budget. Any driver would tell you that ketchup, coffee, and oil are the most common type of stains and this Turtle Wax cleaner can handle all of them and more. The T440R2W OXY can be used on upholstery fabrics, car carpets, vinyl, and plastic to remove odors and stains with ease.
The product comes with a triple action formula that cleans, deodorizes, and safeguards the tainted spots for a thoroughly deep clean. Additionally, the bottle itself is packed with a micro-scrub brush that enables you to really scrub off the car interior work area for a deeper clean, and a microfiber towel to sweep the remains off.
According to regular users, the cleaner is good to rid your car of at least three years old stains.
- Tuff Stuff Multi-Purpose Foam Cleaner
Among the professional grade car upholstery cleaners, Tuff Stuff Foam Cleaner maintains a fine reputation. Its strong foaming action will lift grime and dirt out of your car upholstery with ultra-efficiency. The product is effective on a broad array of surfaces but has really made its name for being one of the best car seat cleaners. This is because being a foam product, it truly renders a fantastic cleaning action when you spray and let it soak into the material.
Moreover, the cleaner will also deliver solid results when applied on harder materials like plastics and vinyl, making it an effective all round cleaner. According to regular users, Tuff Stuff genuinely lives up to its advertised commitment of restoring your automobile’s upholstery to good-as-new status. Nonetheless, a few users do complain about the less than satisfactory results on vinyl door panels.
- Chemical Guys Upholstery Odor Eliminator
Chemical Guys is an international manufacturing company specializing in premium quality automobile care products. Their Upholstery Shampoo and Odor Eliminator is considered to be one of the most specialized car upholstery cleaners available today. The product is formulated especially for car fabrics and is manufactured with inbuilt biotechnology to combat grime and dirt at a molecular level for a thoroughly in-depth cleaning process.
More significantly, the cleaner is astonishingly mild and does not contain any abrasive-cleaning agents such as ammonia or bleach. The inbuilt odor eliminator also comes handy if your pets or kids often commute in the car, adding their own distinctive sphere of aromas to the upholstery. Lastly, the price is less than a 12-pack of beer and delivers solid performance even against old stubborn fluid marks.
- Spray Nine 26810 Heavy Duty Cleaner
If you’re searching for professional strength car upholstery cleaners, then the Spray Nine 26810 Heavy Duty Cleaner is what you need. The product works like a charm on hard stains and greasy surfaces, leaving your car’s interior sparkling clean. Additionally, it’s a multipurpose cleaner, which apart from eliminating stains and grease, also removes mildew and mold while disinfecting car upholstery.
As per seasoned auto-detailers, you must disinfect your car interior every once in a while to get rid of viruses and bacteria to prevent any health issue courtesy of these elements. The Spray Nine 26810, besides cleansing your car upholstery, is also extremely efficient in removing viruses and germs from vehicles. Lastly, the cleaner can be applied to many different car surfaces such as stainless steel parts and even tires.
- Mothers 05424 Upholstery Cleaner
Say hello to one of the best car seat cleaners capable of lifting off tough dirt and hard-to-spot stains. The product is formulated with a balanced pH formula that will safeguard your car upholstery from discoloring when you spray upon them. Also, the environmentally safe trigger spray bottle is convenient to operate and takes a minimum amount of time to complete its cleaning action.
According to regular users of Mothers products, apart from everyday dirt and grime, the 05424 Upholstery Cleaner has the capacity to clean chocolate, food gravy stains, and even blood. Moreover, unlike many cheap cleaners with pungent odors, this product leaves behind a light mist after you meticulously vacuum your car interior. Lastly, it is admissible to use a nylon brush for scrubbing.
Notwithstanding the above, a few users have complained about the product not being effective in eliminating pet odors.
- Black Diamond Upholstery Cleaner
This another excellent product in the aisle of budgeted car upholstery cleaners and is offered in a large 1 qt. size bottle by Black Diamond. The product has made its reputation for cleaning upholstery that has perhaps seen the rainbow days or hasn’t been cleaned for a while. This is all thanks to its cleansing agent, which is especially formulated to tackle new as well as old grime.
Moreover, due to its chemical formulation, the Black Diamond Upholstery Cleaner is perfectly capable of tackling a number of spillages in your car, including coffee, wine, ice cream, and pet stains. Additionally, despite offering a powerful professional strength, the product is safe to use around pets and children. Therefore, you can spray down the vehicle’s interior without fretting about exhausting out the fumes before your family or friends climb inside.
Nonetheless, a few users have complains about color disfiguration when applied on lighter shade fabric.
- Armor All Oxi Magic Upholstery Cleaner
In the league of no-nonsense car upholstery cleaners, ArmorAll holds a credible reputation. As the name suggests, the Oxi Magic Upholstery Cleaner can make the most stubborn of stains disappear magically. This is because it functions with potent oxygen based action to effortlessly dissolve and pluck even ground-in stains.
Moreover, the cleaner sweeps deep into the fibers to crack up tough elements such as mud, cola, coffee, grass, ink, and motor oil to restore the original color. The ArmorAll cleaner is specifically designed for cleaning carpets, upholstery, fabric, vinyl, floor mats, and door panels. However, some users have a complaint about the product not effectively removing water stains.
Admittedly, the product does not have all the bells and whistles of more powerful and expensive products, but its decency lies in its affordability and reliable performance.
- Chemical Guys Lightning Fast Upholstery Stain Extractor
Our second entry from the Chemical Guys is also one of the most specialized car upholstery cleaners. It is specifically manufactured to tackle spot stains on soft fabrics such as carpets and upholstery, and particularly the fresh ones. Therefore, do not let an accidental spillage ruin your evening ride by always keeping a bottle of Lightning Fast Upholstery Stain Extractor handy in your emergency kit.
Its strong cleaning agents offer a quick solution, and the trigger spray bottle is easy to use. You just have to spray on, followed by a light scrubbing with a brush to break the stain, and then sweep away the remains with any microfiber cloth. Moreover, the Chemical Guys Upholstery Stain Extractor comes with inbuilt anti-bacterial enzymes and a potent anti-odor compound to completely disinfect surfaces for a sparkling finish.
Lastly, the product is designed to be ultra-gentle on the materials it cleanses without compromising its mighty cleaning power.
- Blue Coral Upholstery Cleaner
The Blue Coral Upholstery Cleaner is considered one of the more trusted car upholstery cleaners for the carpets or floor mats suffering from heavy spot staining. The product is especially formulated to handle a wide range of stains, the majority of which you presumed will never go away. Specifically, it is effective on tar, grease, coffee, ink, lipstick, and a range of other difficult stains including blood.
Moreover, the cap comes stocked with a stiff brush to get the chemically designed compound deep into the fabric to genuinely eradicate the baked in stains. According to regular users, the product does as its advertisement suggests and has saved them plenty in car seat shampooing. However, the Blue Coral cleaner is not very effective in removing pet remains.
FAQs
What Is Car Upholstery Cleaning?
Your car is a mandatory part of your everyday life as between the commute to work, health club, and PTA meetings, you perhaps spend hours inside your cozy metal machine. However, unlike at home, your dusty shoes are always on in the vehicle, and the probability is high that you occasionally consume food inside your car, apart from all the dirt your car’s interior catches from the environment.
All of the above combines to leave you with a grimy car interior that requires deep cleaning. Therefore, if you’re using a credible car upholstery cleaner, it shall help you eliminate dirt, stains, odors, and residues leaving you with a freshly minted interior.
Why Should I Use A Car Upholstery Cleaner?
That’s because that household cleaner you’re planning to use on your car upholstery is only effective on kitchen countertops. What you need is an automotive-specific upholstery cleaner specifically formulated to clean and procure your car seats, vinyl, windows, and other parts.
These upholstery cleaners integrate cleaning agents called surfactants, which assist in loosening and lifting fibers from the surface of your car seats.
What Do I Need To Clean Car Upholstery?
You need the following tools to clean your car upholstery:
- A vacuum cleaner
- Leather conditioner
- 2 buckets
- A towel
- A sponge
- A chamois
- Any of your preferred car upholstery cleaners
Will All Of The Grime and Stains Come Out?
It primarily depends upon the stain and its stubbornness as some are tough or simply impossible to eliminate completely. However, if you’re using a best car upholstery cleaner which comes formulated with advanced stain removal processes, you can bet on almost all of them going away.
Can I Use A Car Upholstery Cleaner on My Tires?
Many products claim to be effective on car tires apart from doing the interior cleansing job such as the Armor All Oxi Magic Upholstery Cleaner. However, it is crucial to read the label or consult the manufacturer’s website before spraying the cleaning detergents on your wheels to avoid unwanted aftereffects.
