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Speed-Clean Your Car Interior Checklist

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Have your car looking like new in just 15 minutes. Gather a few tools—a small plastic bin, garbage bags, glass cleaner, car cleaning wipes, air-conditioner treatment, a flat-head screwdriver, paper towels, and a hand vac—and get ready for your car to look fresh off the lot.

  • Minute 1: Toss items that shouldn’t be in the car into a small bin. Throw trash into a garbage bag. Spritz the cup holders with glass cleaner and let sit.
  • Minutes 2 and 3: Using the wipes, clean the dashboard, center console, inside door pockets, steering wheel, and gearshift. Spray air-conditioner treatment into the air vents below the windshield and let sit.
  • Minutes 4 and 5: Clean leather seats with a few wipes. (Seats that are upholstered will get vacuumed later.)
  • Minutes 6 and 7: Wrap a wipe around the end of a flat-head screwdriver, and run it along the buttons and switches on the dashboard. Wipe out the cup holders with paper towels.
  • Minutes 8 through 10: Spray glass cleaner on paper towels and wipe all the windows, including the windshield, sunroof, and rear window.
  • Minute 11: Remove the floor mats and whack them against each other to dislodge any dirt.
  • Minutes 12 through 14: On the driveway, vacuum the floor mats with the bare hose of a hand vac for maximum power (do not attach a tool). Vacuum the seat upholstery and foot wells, shifting the front seats fully forward, then back, to hit every spot.
  • Minute 15: Replace the mats and return the seats to their original positions. Open all the doors and let fresh air blow through.

Did we forget anything on this checklist? What would you add?

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