AARP Smart Guide to Cleaning Your Car Like a Pro

Tips, tricks and advice for keeping your car spotless

Brett Berk,

Updated June 16, 2026

AARP

Comments

Updated June 16, 2026

Illustration of red car in a bubble with smaller bubbles around it

It takes more than suds to keep your car spick-and-span. Read on to learn how to clean it from top to bottom.

AARP (Getty Images, 3)

Key takeaways

THE BASICS: Regular washing protects paint, body panels and drainage systems that can trap moisture and lead to corrosion if ignored.
CLEANING THE INTERIOR: Microfiber towels, proper tools and gentle methods help prevent scratches, odors and damage to sensitive surfaces.
CLEANING THE EXTERIOR: Adequate lubrication, straight-line motions and wheel-first routines reduce swirl marks and make future cleanings easier.
MAINTENANCE BETWEEN CLEANINGS: Quick-spill cleanup, clutter control and simple habits can limit bacteria, stains and buildup between full washes.

We Americans love our cars, but with busy schedules hauling around groceries, kids and pets, they can be a challenge to keep tidy. Here, we provide tips from industry professionals on how to best clean your vehicle’s interior, exterior, storage and under-hood systems, plus advice on protecting those areas from filth and corrosion.

THE BASICS

Towel, sponge, gloves, bottle of cleaner on grey table

Build a cleaning kit that has tools for every part of your car.

Getty Images

1. Maintenance matters

Keeping your car clean isn’t simply a matter of aesthetics; it’s also a key part of a regular maintenance schedule. “If you actually look it up in your owner’s manual, they tell you that you need to do it,” says Larry Kosilla, founder of Ammo Auto Care and star of the popular YouTube car-detailing channel Ammo NYC, where he has more than 2.3 million subscribers. According to Kosilla, this includes protecting the paint and body from corrosion, and maintaining drainage points on the car’s exterior that prevent water from backing up and entering the car or causing damage elsewhere in the vehicle’s systems. “Just like in your house, you have drainage from your gutters, but if the drains are clogged, it either goes back up into the roof or it goes down the wall,” he says. Kosilla recommends cleaning your car every other week and having it fully detailed at least twice a year.

2. Curate a cleaning kit

It makes sense to invest in the proper tools, such as “a little cheap electric pressure washer, some buckets and brushes, some good microfiber towels,” says Jessica Tran, owner of Studio 94, a car care shop in Southern California, who posts car-detailing content to TikTok, where she has more than 1.6 million followers. “You should really get good tools for about $200, and that should last you 20 of your own washes,” she says. Read up on the best products for the job from a reputable tester such as Car and Driver, Wirecutter or Good Housekeeping. Some products may work in your home and your car, says Carolyn Forté, executive director of the Home Care and Cleaning Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute, which oversees product testing for the magazine. Forté says surfaces in your car may be exposed to greater extremes of heat and cold than similar materials in your home. If you park your car outside, for example, some materials can freeze in the cold and bake in the sun. “We look at regular cleaning products in terms of how easy it might be to use in the car,” Forté says. “But you may need products specifically tailored to a car, because they do at many times provide advantages like UV protection and other ingredients to help guard against fading, cracking or drying out of different car materials.”

3. Microfiber is best

Wash mitts, sponges and chamois cloths used to be the standard equipment in a car wash kit. Now is the time to ditch them. “Sponges hold a whole lot of dirt. And people aren’t really throwing sponges into the washing machine. They’re just leaving them in the bucket and waiting for the next wash,” Tran says. “And in that time, it’s accumulating a lot of dust sitting there, or it’s picked up dust from the previous wash. And because it’s a flat surface, the dirt will sit on the surface of the sponge, and the next time you wash your car, it’ll end up scratching it. Same thing for the chamois.”

Instead of sponges, mitts and chamois, use quality microfiber cloths and towels. And buy them in large quantities, because you’ll need quite a few for each wash. “Microfiber is the safer choice, because all the dirt can be entrapped within the long fibers of the microfiber” and lifted away from your paint or other scratchable surfaces, Tran says. “And then microfiber is also machine-washable, so you can get rid of all the previous wash residue before you start on the next one.” Detailer’s Preference is a great quality pick. Amazon Basics is a great budget pick. Meguiar’s is right in the middle.

4. Color-code your towels

For professional results, Kosilla recommends separating your microfiber towels so that each one gets used for a specific job. That prevents the towels that touch the dirtiest places low on the car — the wheels, the inside of the doorjambs — from ever coming into contact with easily damaged surfaces, such as the paint or the interior. Kosilla uses lighter towels for more sensitive areas, and darker ones for the filthier regions. “You really want to separate them,” he says.

5. Keep clean in dirty weather

Most people wash their car when the weather is nice. But your car actually gets dirtier on rainy, snowy or icy days, because driving kicks up muck and salt from the roads. Even seemingly pure rainwater can pick up and deposit debris from the atmosphere. “The irony is, the time you should be washing more regularly is in wintertime, and people don’t do that,” Kosilla says.

6. Protect yourself

If you use chemical cleansers, make sure your skin and vulnerable areas of your body are covered. In the industry, detailers routinely don nitrile chemical-resistant gloves, protective eyewear and masks to shield themselves. A hat is also recommended to keep hair out of the cleaning process.

CLEANING THE INTERIOR

Person wearing gloves wiping down steering wheel inside vehicle

Make sure to thoroughly clean the steering wheel and other surfaces you touch frequently.

Getty Images

7. Start smart

People tend to wash the outside of their vehicle first, but it may not be the best place to start. “If you do the outside first, you’re going to have a muddy area around the car, and you’re going to track all of that into the inside of the car” when you clean it, Tran says. You also risk introducing dust and dirt from the floor or floor mats into the car’s just-cleaned exterior.

8. Get the full picture

Start by surveying the interior and prepping it for a deep clean by removing everything from the car. “Open up the front and back doors and the hatch,” Kosilla says. “While you’re doing it, you’re assessing the interior, looking at everything you’re pulling out.” He suggests you “have a garbage can nearby” to toss trash and other items. This is also the time to remove the floor mats and take them some distance away to wash them without splashing back on the car’s interior or exterior.

9. Focus on touch points

It makes sense that the places you touch most frequently are going to be the dirtiest in your car. Your steering wheel, transmission shifter and door handles can be as germy as a public toilet seat, or even more so. It’s important to clean those crucial touch points in your car thoroughly.

10. Check under the seats

According to Kosilla, the hidden areas of your car’s interior are likely sources of unappealing odors. Additionally, even the tiniest food or drink residue in the cabin could attract bugs and rodents. He recommends starting your cleaning routine by sliding the front seats all the way forward on their tracks and checking from the back seat to see what’s under there.

11. Don’t be a drag

While cleaning the interior, if you’re moving a vacuum nozzle, cleaning materials, the hose or yourself from one side of the vehicle to the other, make sure you go around, rather than across, the interior or exterior of the car. “You should never drag across the car going from the driver’s side to the passenger side,” Kosilla says. “But this is what people do, and things get wet or messy, dragged across the carpet or the seats. Now you have extra work to do.”

12. Steam your way out of a mess

Gum and gummy candies can be difficult to remove from a car’s interior, as can lingering spills of milk or ice cream. For those, Tran recommends using a small appliance you might have around the house. “If you have access to a steamer, it’s fantastic for odors, and it’s fantastic for melted gummy candies, melted gum typically,” she says. “I steam the area and slowly lift [the problem material] up, and then we can pull it off and wipe it up with a towel.”

13. Nix the disposable wipes

For the best, most professional effects, Tran advises against using any product that comes in a cylindrical or rectangular wipe dispenser, like those often used for baby wipes. Though the single-use category can be convenient, the chemical saturation in individual wipes can contain far more product than you need, Tran says. “For example, if you have a leather interior, leather absorbs water like crazy. And in the rare case that there is too much product on that wipe, the leather will absorb it, and it can do something called swell. And because it’s an organic matter, once it swells, it’s not coming back. And you’ve got this weird poofy spot on your seat.”

14. Opt for detailing spray

Instead of single-use wipes, Tran recommends using a general-purpose, all-in-one interior detailing spray with ultraviolet protection, and a microfiber towel. She strongly cautions against spraying directly onto the surface you’re trying to clean, as you may use too much product or distribute it unevenly. “Spray onto the towel, and then take that and wipe the surface,” she says.

Kosilla’s company, Ammo, makes detailing sprays, including ones specifically for leather, plastic and vinyl. Meguiar’s and Chemical Guys are also recommended products.

15. Care for the trim

The plastic-trim pieces inside your car need care and protection to prevent fading, cracking and decomposing. Tran recommends a water- or silicone-based solution and says petroleum-based products “typically dry out trim, and they’re really streaky and don’t leave a nice finish.” To minimize UV light damage, choose the appropriate solution for cleaning plastic trim.

16. Invest in vacuum attachments

Most professional detailers recommend using a shop vac to remove dirt and debris from a vehicle’s interior. Whatever type of vacuum — larger or handheld — that you use, Tran says it’s important to invest in the proper attachments. “Look for a crevice tip,” she says. “A crevice tip is going to help with detailing because you can get into the tight corners in between the seats, you can get underneath the seats, you can get into the cupholders.”

17. The devil is in the detailing

“You definitely need detailing brushes. That is one thing I wouldn’t skimp on,” says Tran. Natural and synthetic bristle brushes, used dry, will remove dirt from vents, seams, between buttons and in crevices around the steering wheel, cupholders and other equipment. “We’ll just take that brush and just go in there and dust,” she says. “That cleans it up big-time to the point where all I need to do now is just take a damp towel with my interior cleaner and wipe right up to get in between all those buttons and such.” Yisharry Li makes a good budget five-piece set. Chemical Guys’ three-piece set is more expensive. Proper Detailing lands right in the middle.

18. Be gentle with the headliner

The headliner covers the ceiling of your car’s interior. It is usually made of fabric, but could also be leather. “If you want to clean the headliner, spray onto the microfiber cloth first, then blot and dab and do very light scrubbing,” Tran says. This delicate treatment is rooted in the area’s fragility. “You don’t want to put too much force when you’re scrubbing the headliner, because all these are glued on, so if you scrub too hard, you’re kind of starting to detach the headliner from the roof.” Spraying product directly onto the headliner can have a similar effect, saturating and delaminating the glue that holds it in place.

19. Glass cleaning calls for new gloves

Windows and windshields are difficult areas to clean because they show imperfections. “The Achilles’ heel to detailing is glass, because you can’t make any mistake because you see through it, literally,” Kosilla says. To avoid contamination from oils, dirt or anything else you may have picked up while cleaning, he recommends donning a fresh pair of gloves before starting the glass.

20. For glass, water works best

“The best way for a streak-free finish is to use water,” Tran says, because glass heats up outside, and if it’s warm when you’re using a window cleaner, the heat will evaporate the water out of it. “So it’s not giving the solvent time to do its job, and the solvents are leaving a chemical trail on there,” she explains. A damp microfiber cloth, and another for drying, should do the trick most of the time.

21. How to reach the interior windshield

To get the best access to the front interior windshield, Kosilla recommends working from the passenger side. This way, he says, “you don’t have the steering wheel in front of you to limit access to it.” If you’re right-handed, he recommends placing your left hand on the passenger-side seat. This provides pressure and allows your right hand to lie flat against the glass. Again, a damp microfiber towel will do the trick.

22. Remove stubborn pet hair

Removing pet hair can be difficult, even with a vacuum or brush. Tran recommends a rubber squeegee blade or roller. “The rubber just attaches itself to the hair based on a molecular charge, and it’s a little bit sticky,” she says. “So the rubber brushes help remove hair better.” Uproot sells several different sets. SM Arnold makes a budget version. Chemical Guys has a midrange option.

23. Ceramic coatings find new uses inside the car

Ceramic coatings are extremely durable and help maintain your vehicle’s shine when applied to its exterior. Today, some of that same long-lasting protection is now available for a vehicle’s interior as well. “Ceramics are moving into the interior,” confirms Kosilla. Chemical Guys and Cerakote all make a range of such products for different materials.

CLEANING THE EXTERIOR

Car wash hose washing outside of orange vehicle

Rinse your car top to bottom before you begin deep cleaning.

Getty Images

24. Start with a top-down rinse

Once you begin washing the rest of your car, do a top-down initial rinse to remove as much dirt as possible. Use a power washer or the jet on your garden hose at its highest setting. “This is when you want to knock off as much dirt and debris as you can, so that when you go for the wash you’re not dragging that stuff all over the paint,” Tran says.

The area under the hood of your car needs care and cleaning to remain free of debris buildup. Even small leaves or pine needles can hold moisture, causing corrosion, impeding airflow into or inside your vehicle, and providing nesting areas for insects. In newer cars, Kosilla recommends using a power washer, and in older cars, he says to simply “take a damp towel and wipe down the engine real quick.” He adds, “This is also the point where I usually check the air filter and just make sure everything is functioning.”

25. Focus on lubrication

Don’t attempt to remove a stain or scratch by wiping it furiously. Kosilla says that any scrubbing motion on your car’s exterior, in the absence of proper lubrication, can lead to further damage. Lubrication makes cleaning easier and smoother. “Lack of lubrication is the number one mistake that most people make. They don’t have enough lubrication,” he says. “It’s like running an engine with no oil. Agitation just has to be lubricated.”

26. Use straight lines

If you wash your car in circular motions, you risk creating swirls or rounded scratches in your paint, which are much more noticeable and harder to remove or correct. “The old days of The Karate Kid ‘wax on, wax off’ is actually terrible for your paint. So don’t do that,” Tran says, referencing the round motions favored by sensei Mr. Miyagi in the 1984 film. This goes for removing water, too. “When it comes to drying the car,” Tran says, “grab a good microfiber drying towel and dry again in straight lines.”

27. Start with the wheels

It is common practice to start at the top of the car and work your way down so that the dirt flows with gravity. But there is an exception to that rule. “Start with the wheels first,” Tran advises. “That’s the dirtiest part of the car. And so if you wait [until you finish the exterior to wash them], a lot of that dirt is going to splash back onto the car in the wash process. But if you do the wheels first and then wash the car, even if all the dirty, soapy water from the car is going to get on the wheels, once they’re clean, all you have to do is rinse.”

28. Avoid acid

Many wheel cleaners contain acids. They can be great for removing stubborn stains, but they’re risky. According to Tran, they should be used only by professionals who are familiar with their capabilities. “My biggest advice is get an all-in-one wheel cleaner, a nonacid wheel and tire cleaner,” she says. “Acid-based wheel cleaners can work really, really well; however, you can mess up the wheel pretty quickly. ”

29. Use a wheel-cleaning mitt

Tran says many contemporary wheels are delicate and need extra care. “A lot of wheels these days are also clear-coated, just like your paint, so they can swirl and scratch” if you don’t clean carefully. This is especially true, she says, “if you have shiny gloss black wheels.”

To protect your rims, she suggests purchasing a microfiber wheel-cleaning mitt. The Rag Company, Griot’s Garage and Adam’s Polishes, among other brands, sell such products. “It fits over your hand like a little glove,” Tran says, making it easier to poke into all the little nooks and crannies. As with the other areas of your car, clean in straight lines.

30. Consider tire gloss

After you finish the wheels, Tran recommends scrubbing down your tires as well to give them a professional look. Then apply the tire gloss of your choice. “If you don’t have a properly clean tire, whatever tire shine you put on there, it’s not going to look that great,” she says. She herself uses a matte finish. “Nobody really likes the super-glossy tires anymore. But it’s still important to put on, because these contain conditioners and inhibitors in them, like dust repellent. So it keeps your tires healthier for longer.”

31. Seal the wheel

Ceramic coatings are also available for protecting the gloss and coating on your wheels. Again, these are specially formulated, so make sure you’re purchasing a dedicated coating for this part of the car. “Wheels have a much higher heat content — they’re abused a lot more, they heat up and they cool down,” says Kosilla. Using a ceramic wheel coating also helps with future maintenance. “Wheels are the part of the car that is closest to the ground, which is where the dirt is. Wheels also collect brake dust, which people really see as it collects,” says Kosilla. “When you put a coating on wheels, you can come back in and just power-wash the wheel, and like 99 percent of the dust and dirt comes off.”

32. Bugs begone

If you have a lot of squished bugs in the grille or front bumper of your car, a special bug remover treatment will get rid of them without excessive (or potentially damaging) scrubbing. “The way those work is, after you rinse the car off, I would say spray the bug treatment onto the grille, and then save that panel for last when it comes to the washing part,” Tran says. “That way, you don’t introduce too many bugs into your process.” McKee’s 37, 3D and Meguiar’s sell these products.

33. Choose the proper soap

Car-washing soap should be properly pH-balanced: not too alkaline or too basic. “It should be advertised on the label itself and say it’s neutral for the car,” Tran says. “And the reason is, if it’s a super alkaline soap, over time it can build up a residue, and it can oxidize on your car, and it can damage the paint. And if you get a super acidic car soap, then it’s very harsh on your paint, and it could eat away at the clear coat.” Car and Driver, MotorTrend and Road & Track all provide expert product guides to help you choose one.

34. Try the single-bucket method

A two-bucket method — one for soap and one for rinsing — has long been recommended by detailers for washing a car’s exterior. But Kosilla advocates for using only one bucket of soapy water for the exterior. “You get five or six clean microfiber towels,” he says, and “you put them in a bucket. You put in a very, very, very, very lubricated car-cleaning product, not dish soap.”

Remove a soapy towel from the bucket, but never rinse it out or return it to the bucket. “Once that towel comes out, that’s it. It is never going back in the bucket,” he describes. Set it aside to start a pile you will put through the wash. This way, “you are not reintroducing junk into the clean-wash water bucket,” Kosilla says. “If you just eliminate contamination or the cross-contamination potential, you just eliminate all your scratches. It’s a no-brainer.”

35. Fold as you go

Fold your towel in quarters, and as each quadrant gets dirty, turn it into a new, clean fold. “You’re going to go until that whole towel becomes soiled, which will happen,” Kosilla says. “You’ll probably go through three or four towels. Maybe six or seven if your car is very dirty.”

36. Lather, rinse and dry

If you have the stamina and it’s not so hot outside that the soap is drying on your car’s surface, you should be able to keep drawing soapy microfiber towels out of your bucket, folding and unfolding as you use them, until the entire car is sudsed up. Then rinse off the soap and wait until the water coming off the car runs clear. Now it’s time to remove the water in preparation for the next stage. “Wash the whole car. Then you can rinse the whole car. And then you can dry the whole car at once with a good microfiber,” Tran says. She suggests using large microfiber drying towels for this stage.

37. Avoid friction when drying

Counterintuitively, even getting the water off your car should be done in a way that avoids friction. “Any time you touch the car, you should have lubrication,” Kosilla says. He recommends a drying lubricant. “Get your microfiber towel wet, and then you wring it out. Then you spray drying lubricant on it.” Chemical Guys, Obsessed Garage and Lithium Auto Care have products that do the job.

38. Prevent water marks

Difficult-to-towel-out areas such as your side-view mirror housings, body-side moldings, license plate holder and even the gaskets around your headlights can hold water drops that, if left unattended, can slosh out and create drip marks on your perfectly clean paint. To avoid that, Kosilla suggests purchasing a portable blower to remove the water, then drying the areas with a lubricated towel.

39. Don’t forget to jamb

When you finish cleaning your vehicle, take a few extra minutes to wipe out any moisture that has collected on the door edges, door bottoms and in the doorjamb, the area where the doors seal. “If you don’t, you’re going to get hard water spots,” says Tran, referring to the mineral deposits left behind from your tap or well water that can bind to your vehicle’s paint. “And unfortunately, hard water spots are not super DIY-friendly to remove.” Because of all the nooks and crannies in these areas of the car, it could take a detailer as long to remove just those spots as it does to complete work on the entire exterior of a vehicle.

40. Seal the deal

According to Tran, the days of traditional car wax — typically blended with natural carnauba wax — are over. Instead, she advises applying a car sealant (or car paint sealant), which is a tougher, longer-lasting synthetic product, two to four times a year. Car and Driver offers a list of products it endorses. “I would definitely recommend sealing your car every three to six months,” Tran says. “And if you get a spray sealant, it takes five minutes to apply, and it can last you six months easily.”

Read the instructions before selecting a sealant, and choose one that is relatively easy to apply. Tran suggests those that can just be sprayed on and wiped off with a good microfiber towel once the car is clean.

“Then spray one mist onto your towel,” she says, “and then wipe in straight lines.”

41. Beware of brake dust

Car brakes work via squeezing pads made of various materials against a metal rotor. The friction between these surfaces releases dust composed of fine metal shards. These shards can scratch your car’s surfaces if they’re picked up on a towel or your gloves.

This is another reason to keep your wheel towels separate from other towels, and to take care of your wheels first. It eliminates the chance of this dust entering the closed-loop system of your car-cleaning. “If you go up and you wipe your clean car with a brake towel, you just cross-contaminated, and all your work is out the window,” Kosilla says.

42. One word: ceramics

Ceramic coatings have long been popular among high-end car collectors, as they offer intense, durable protection with a high shine. However, their expense, along with the intensive, time-consuming application process, has made them less accessible to mainstream DIY car cleaners. That has changed a bit in recent years with the advent of spray-on ceramic coatings.

“Everyone in car care has always wanted to have something that goes on their car that takes no time to do and is super protective and keeps their car shiny,” says Kosilla. “The market has responded with developing products that are [as] similar to that as possible, which would be spray ceramic.” Cerakote, Turtle Wax and Jimbo’s all offer such products.

Keep in mind that a full detailing and a professionally applied ceramic coating will offer far superior protection, durability and shine. “These products are really designed to maintain what the detailer has already done,” Kosilla says.

43. Getting in at the ground level

If you live in a region where it rains or snows frequently, it’s important to clean the underside of your car regularly. Caked-on dirt can trap water, clog drains and cause corrosion, as can salts used to help keep roads free of ice. If you don’t have an undercar power-washing tool, Kosilla has an easy fix. “Just take a garden hose, duct-tape it to a broomstick, and then lock on your garden sprayer and just hold it under there,” he says. “Take it up and down under the car, and you can make a little makeshift undercarriage wash.”

MAINTENANCE BETWEEN CLEANINGS

Person cleaning driver's seat of vehicle with a hose

Vacuuming is a crucial part of cleaning your car's interior.

Getty Images

44. Don’t delay, clean up right away

Your car is subject to extreme temperatures, so stay on top of spills and other issues. “You don’t want to let things linger,” Forté says. She recommends keeping an enzyme-based stain cleaner or remover on hand in the vehicle in case of spills to help eliminate bacteria. (Pull over to a safe spot before using it.) “If you don’t get rid of that bacteria, over time, even if you feel like you cleaned it, it can keep coming back, especially when it’s hot and humid inside the car.”

45. Click your heels together

Your shoes pick up all manner of detritus, so to avoid trailing excess dirt and mud into your car, Kosilla passes on a simple trick. “When I get into the car, but before my feet have entered the car yet, I tap my feet together to get any stuff off of them,” he says. “It takes probably less than a second for me to do that. And I just knocked off a chunk of stuff I don’t have to carry into the car.”

46. Control the clutter

Keep your car tidy and organized between major cleanings, Forté says. “Make sure you’ve got a trash container in the car. It helps contain some of the mess,” she says. “Keep things like a pet hair removal tool in the glove compartment, or even some cleaning wipes in the glove compartment to take care of sticky residues on your steering wheel or on the door handles or anything like that. And certainly, if groceries fall over or kids drop a milkshake, that needs to be tackled right away.”

47. Stay organized

Forté recommends using bins and other containers to keep organized. “Put things like reusable shopping bags in a plastic bin in the back, so they’re neat and not just thrown all over the floor.” She adds, “If you keep everything neat and organized, it’ll look cleaner, and you’ll be able to remove it more easily when it is time to clean it.”

48. Consider a professional ceramic coating

Tran recommends professionally applied, highly durable ceramic coatings, which can last five years or more. “It’s silica mixed in with some carrier resins,” she describes. “It is essentially like adding another layer of clear coat [the shiny, transparent layer of gloss over your paint job] to your car as a sacrificial layer that’s going to take the brunt of the damage from the sun, or swirling from car washes and such,” she says. These coatings can be costly. Her shop charges in the low four figures for such a service, depending on the size and paint of the vehicle, and which parts are going to be coated.

The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Brett Berk is a contributing writer who covers autos. His work appears regularly in Architectural Digest, Business Insider, GQ, The New York Times and Vanity Fair.