The interior of your car can get just as much wear as the exterior, but it probably doesn't get cleaned as often. All that dust, dirt, and grime can build up, leaving your car looking pretty disgusting. Cleaning the interior can be a bit of a pain, but if you clean it right the first time, keeping it clean can be easy. See below for some helpful tips to clean the interior of your car as well as ways to help keep your car looking that way.

Seats

Your seats can catch quite a bit of dirt from little feet or smashed snacks from little fingers. You may even have a coating of dog hair from your furry pal. Whatever is on your seats, get them cleaned easily by using a handheld vacuum or a shop vacuum. Start at the headrests and work your way down to the seat. To get hair off of the seat when won't come up with the vacuum, use a small rubber squeegee. Then use your hands to get up the hair piles and dispose of it. For leather seats, use an interior leather cleaner to help condition and clean your seats after vacuuming them gently (so as to not scratch them).

Carpeting

Clean up the carpeting by vacuuming it first. For stains, use a mixture of dish soap, vinegar and club soda in equal parts. Combine them into a spray bottle and spray directly on the stains. Then, using a scrub brush, scrub out the stains. For carpeting that stinks (or for cloth seats that stink), sprinkle some baking powder and leave it to sit for about 20 minutes, and then vacuum it up. The baking powder will soak up the smells. Add a few drops of essential oil in lavender or citrus scent to the baking powder to help give your car a fresh scent.

Dashboard

Deep-clean your dashboard and other hard surfaces inside your car by first wiping them down with a damp microfiber cloth to remove dust. Then clean the surfaces using an old toothbrush and a mixture of water and dish detergent. Gently scrub the hard surfaces to get rid of grime, then rinse the grime away with a clean, damp cloth. For sticky buildup, you can use a product like Goo-Be-Gone. For your cup holders, remove the lining if your car has them and clean the lining and cup-holder compartment thoroughly using a damp cloth. To keep this area clean, use silicone muffin tins inside the holder so all you have to clean is the silicone holders. Keep change and other items out of the cup holders. Place change into a plastic container with a lid and keep the container in your center console or glove compartment.

Other Tips

Keep a small garbage can inside your car so you always have somewhere to dispose of your trash. Make your own no-spill trash can using a plastic cereal container with a plastic bag as a liner.

Invest in good, durable floor mats to help protect the carpeting in your vehicle. 

Place a towel beneath child car seats to help protect your seats from smashed snacks or spilled drinks. You can also cover your seats with covers, which can be found at your local big-box store or at an auto parts store.

Clean the interior of your car often using the tips above to help keep your car looking like new. If you don't want to do the deep-clean yourself, you can call a professional like Epic Mobile Detailing and have them take care of your car.