• Cleaning your car interior is as important as cleaning your house.Car interior image by mashe from Fotolia.com
  
  Since the average American spends about 20 hours per week sitting in an automobile, keeping your vehicle clean and healthy should be a priority. The carpets and upholstery can be cleaned in the same manner that household counterparts are cleaned.
  Hot water extraction (steam cleaning) and shampoo cleaning are both deep-cleaning methods that will attack any grease and dirt found in automobile carpeting. Both methods are easily adapted to cleaning cars with a few pieces of specialized equipment.
  
  

Steam Cleaning Machine

• A hot water extractor, more commonly known as a steam machine, is a must-have for car detailing enthusiasts and professionals. The machine delivers hot, soapy water to the carpet for quick and thorough cleaning. Protective car mats can be easily cleaned with a standard floor wand. Simply remove the mats from the car and place in the driveway for cleaning.
  To clean interior installed carpet and upholstery, a hand tool attachment will be needed.
  
  

Steam Cleaning Detail Tool

• Perhaps the easiest way to clean the carpet of a car is with a steam machine hand tool, also known as a detailing tool. These tools are designed to reach into tight spots where the larger floor wand cannot reach. Also good for cleaning upholstery, steam cleaning detailing tools come in a variety of options---from economy wands to high-end models which allow you to control air and water flow.
  This tool looks like a miniature steam cleaning wand, complete with vacuum and solution hose connections. Slide the wand over the carpeted area, releasing a hot, pressurized cleaning solution that is immediately vacuumed away to remove dirt and grime.
  
  

Shampoo Brushes

• Using old-fashioned "elbow grease," or effort, the shampoo method can be used by anyone with a pail and hand brush. If manual scrubbing proves too difficult, however, you can also purchase brushes that attach to a car buffing machine. With the circular shampoo brush attached, the polishing machine can be used on the car's interior to scrub clean even the dirtiest car mats.
  Modern shampoo chemistry uses encapsulation technology, which breaks down soil into microscopic particles that are surrounded by polymers. Once dry, the carpet must be thoroughly vacuumed to remove the encapsulated soil, which is invisible to the naked eye.
  Simply dip the shampoo brush into a pail of shampoo before scrubbing the carpet. Most manufacturers recommend scrubbing with an overlapping, circular motion.