10 Best Carpet Cleaners for Cars in 2024: Tips to Pick the Right One

The interior of your car needs to be kept clean and tidy. It’s not just about looking after the exterior, you need to take care of all areas inside as well.

Many people don’t realize how dirty their carpets are until they take them to a professional cleaner. It’s not uncommon for auto owners to have stains on the carpet from spilled coffee, dirt, and even bodily fluids. If you’re looking for one of the best ways to clean your vehicle’s carpet, consider these  10 best carpet cleaners for cars  that will help keep the interior smelling fresh and look new again.

Top 10 Best Car Carpet Cleaners to Buy

1. Best Overall: Chemical Guys Foaming Carpet & Upholstery Fabric Cleaning Kit

This kit includes everything you need to transform your car’s interior into looking as good as new. All it takes is a drill, and the cleaning solution will do all of the work for you! The citrus-scented solution can be diluted in this heavy-duty spray bottle before being used on all parts of your vehicle, including grimy carpets or upholstery.

Now, the Fabric Clean shampoo will start working its magic. It breaks down contaminants and dirt within fabrics, so you can rest assured that your automotive floor mat is as good as new!

While this would normally require a lot of scrubbing with harsh chemicals in contact with our hands to get those stains out, Chemical Guys have come up with an easier way for us all. The included circular brush, which has rotating bristles on the surface with a sturdy screw connector, was specially designed to attach to drill machines to make cleaning simple without any strain or wear-and-tear on our joints.

If you value your time, we know that this unique feature will save you a lot of it.

2. Best Budget Pick: FOLEX Instant Carpet Spot Remover

Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover is an advanced, multi-purpose carpet spot remover that works on a variety of stains. You can use it to clean pet messes, grease, oil, newspaper ink, blood, red wine spills, coffee, and even blood. Folex also removes food spills and cosmetics from carpets. This bottle can be used on upholstery as well as tile and grout to remove dirt and grime.

As long as it’s used as instructed, FOLEX is safe for pets and children since it is non-flammable and does not contain harsh chemicals. To use Folex: Spray it onto the stain or spill area; Gently rub it in with a white towel or cloth; Wait and see cleaning magic happening right in front of your eyes.

3. Best Stain Remover: Black Diamond Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner

Our favorite carpet and upholstery stain remover is currently the Black Diamond Carpet Spot Remover. It is extremely easy to use and works well on car carpets and microfiber seats, getting rid of spots quickly without leaving a dirt sinkhole that we notice later like other products tend to do.

When it comes to pet stains, spilled soda, or various other messes, this cleaner has worked superbly for us so far; you should get some if you want your car interior looking nice again.

4. Best All-Purpose Cleaner: Car Guys Super Cleaner

The Car Guys Super Cleaner is a newly formulated, all-purpose cleaner for cars. Nanotechnology is used to lift away dirt and grime on a molecule level. Designed to clean leather seats, vinyl, carpets, upholstery, dashboard, rubber and plastic parts, and more, this multi-surface cleaner is incredibly versatile. Just spray on, wipe off and you are done. Safely removes bird poop from your windshield too!

5. Best for Dust and Debris: VARSK 4-in-1 Car Vacuum Cleaner

The VARSK Car Vacuum has tremendous suction power for its size and can even be used with the car’s own power, making it convenient on the road. It reaches everywhere in and around your vehicle, including into its trunk! With all the other cordless car vacuums overheating within minutes of use, this one never did. The package comes with a fuse and a small brush to clean out the filter.

And you may be asking, what are the other three features besides being a vacuum for your vehicle? First, it can inflate your tires. Yes, you are not reading wrong. Second, there is an LCD display for showing the tire pressure. Third, the LED light is also a helpful addition when operating the vac in the dark. The only other vacuum that comes with an LED light and features like this one costs much more than this model, so it’s really great value for money.

6. Best Odor Eliminator: Turtle Wax T-244R1 Power Out!

Turtle Wax’s high-performance carpet and floor mat cleaner contains Odor-X technology to eliminate pet odors, cigarette smoke, food odors, and mildew odors for up to thirty days. A deep cleaning and deodorizing formula leaves a soil-repellent silicone shield.

Featuring a micro scrub brush attachment that reaches deep into carpet fibers and mat crevices, this product is excellent for removing tough stains. The removable brush cap provides easy access to all those hard-to-reach areas in between seats, under-cup holders, and other car interior nooks that are often neglected when cleaning up.

7. Best Eco-Friendly Carpet Cleaner: Adam’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner

The best way to clean your car’s interior the eco-friendly way. If you want to clean your car’s carpet, seats, and other fabric surfaces without getting an allergic reaction, this is the product for you.

Adam’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner uses natural cleaning agents that are safe for the environment and non-toxic. It also contains no perfumes or dyes, so it won’t stain fabrics or leave behind any odor. This is a powerful cleaner that will attack dirt and stains without leaving behind residue or causing damage to materials. Simply spray onto a cloth and wipe away dirt and grime from your upholstery, seats, carpets, and mats and your car’s interior looks like new again.

8. Best for Pet Messes: Rejuvenate Stain & Odor Eliminator

The Rejuvenate Pet Stains Remover is bio-enzymatic, meaning that it contains enzymes that break down the chemical compounds of the stain and bacteria that eat away at protein-based stains, thus eliminating the odors. It can be used for all types of stains, from pet urine to vomit, poop, and anything else your pet might have done on your carpet inside your car.

This product has been made specifically for stains and works wonders. It is also PH-balanced, meaning that it won’t hurt your expensive carpet or upholstery. It is very easy to use; all you need is to aim and spray it directly onto the stain and scrubbed with a clean microfiber towel. The stains should disappear after one try.

9. Best Steam Cleaner for Car: Dupray Neat Steam Cleaner

Dupray’s Neat Steam Cleaner is a multipurpose steam cleaner for floors, cars, and the home. It is quick to heat up and can produce steam in just 7 minutes from using ordinary tap water. The steam cleaner works on all surfaces, and the large capacity tank holds 54 oz of water for up to 50 minutes of cleaning time.

The lightweight and portable design make it a breeze to move around while cleaning. With a low-moisture superheated steam temperature of 275°F, this machine can clean anything from your floors to your car seats without any fuss or worry about the moisture level remaining in the air after you’ve finished using it.

It also has a steam lock function for continuous steam cleaning, a built-in funnel to help prevent messes and spills, and a retractable handle. The power cord measures 16’/ 5 m while the steam hose is a generous 6’6″/2 m long. Other features include smooth-rolling wheels, and it is ETL listed in both the USA and Canada.

10. Best for Tough Stains: Hoover Onepwr Spotless Go Cordless Carpet and Upholstery Spot Cleaner

Hoover Onepwr Spotless Go is the perfect car cleaner if you don’t have a garage. The portable, compact, lightweight design makes it easy to clean your car seats without having to lug around a heavy vacuum. The dual tanks separate dirty water from the solution, so you can easily rinse, fill, and empty.

Best use with Hoover’s Paws & Claws Pre-Mixed Carpet Cleaning Formula. The ready-made solution means you can just pour straightaway into the tank without adding water. This cordless spot cleaner’s multipurpose tool scrubs and lifts away spills and tough pet messes with ease!

What Should I Consider When Choosing the Best Car Carpet Cleaner?

Product Types

1. Spray Carpet Cleaner

Spray car carpet cleaners come in small bottles that are convenient to carry around, easy to use, and can target stains. They typically are used to clean the entire carpet surface but work best for spot treatment.

2. Vacuum

For car carpets full of dirt, dust, and other loose particles, it is best to start with vacuuming the car’s interior. Look for a portable vacuum cleaner with long and narrow attachments that can reach the smaller cracks between seats and the floor. Vacuuming is the first step in cleaning car carpets. After that, a liquid carpet cleaner can be used to clean it even more thoroughly.

3. Steam Cleaner

There are many benefits to using a steam cleaner in your car. It can be used on fabric, leather, carpeting, and plastics instead of harsh chemicals that may damage these materials as the cleaning ingredient is just water. The spray process makes it possible to reach places you would not normally clean with other products.

4. Carpet Cleaning Machine

A carpet cleaning machine uses a mixture of solution, powerful scrubbing brushes, and vacuum suction. The device injects the pre-mixed solution deep into your carpets, where it loosens dirt or stains. Then the strong brush agitates to scrub away any debris while an incredibly effective vacuuming action sucks everything up for good measure! Best for tougher stains and pet messes.

5. Deodorizer

We all know that carpet deodorizers are great at eliminating odors and can even help you clean away some dirt. Many of them leave behind a fresh smell too!

Cleaning and Disinfection Effectiveness

If you have a car that’s seen many years of use, it probably has dirt and stains building upon its surfaces. Suppose there are light stains or spills marring your vehicle’s interior appearance. In that case, an all-purpose cleaner will be what you want to get rid of the discoloration without stripping away any color from fabric seats. However, if some tough spots require special treatment (e.g., pet accidents), try out a carpet cleaning machine designed for spot treatments rather than overall washing since they can penetrate fabrics more easily than other cleaners.

Ingredients

Carpet cleaners can be dangerous to use if they contain harsh chemical ingredients or disinfectants which could cause irritation and sickness when inhaled. Make sure to safely clean your car’s carpet outside of the house in a well-ventilated space with a mask on as recommended by professionals.

These days, car carpet cleaners use less harsh chemicals in their formulations. They usually have a water-based base plus natural enzymes and surfactants for safer alternatives that are not as harmful to you and your carpets’ fibers.

Dry Time

Carpets are easier to maintain when they dry quickly after being cleaned. Professional car carpet cleaners have quick-drying formulas that make surfaces soft and clean shortly after application, decreasing the likelihood of mold or mildew growth.

Versatility

Even though you use a car carpet cleaner to freshen up your vehicle’s carpet, this product often can also be used on other surfaces besides the inside of your car, like car seats, upholstery, seat belts, and more. Many people find that it is an investment worth making because they can get multiple uses from their purchase, and depending on how often or not they clean these carpets, one bottle could last for several months!

FAQs About Carpet Cleaners for Cars

What Is the Best Way to Clean Carpet in a Car?

For the most thorough cleaning, you should use a combination of car cleaner types: vacuum, carpet shampoo, steam cleaner, and deodorizer.

Here’s a step-by-step guide for cleaning car interior:

1. Begin by removing all items from your car, including the floor mats which makes cleaning up an easy job as well as keeping away unwanted particles such as soil inside of it.
2. Vacuum the carpets, using specific techniques to ensure that you get all of the dirt and debris.
3. Before scrubbing, spray your car carpet cleaner and wait for at least 5 minutes. It is important you read your cleaner’s instructions as they will state how long before cleaning begins.
4. Gently brush the damp carpet with a soft-bristled brush to loosen particles.
5. Reapply the product until you get desired results.
6. Make sure to rinse out the cleaning solution once you’re done. To do this, simply dampen a soft towel and wipe it across your carpeting until all of the product has been removed from its fibers.
7. Air out your car by rolling down the windows as this would speed up the drying process.
8. If you want to add a fresh sceunt, spray the air with your favorite deodorizer. This is an optional step and not necessary for everyone.
9. Now that you’ve got a clean car, enjoy it!

How Effective Is Steam Cleaning on Cars?

Steam cleaners provide a deep cleanse that gets down between the carpet fibers like a barber shampooing your hair and scalp. The high temperature of the sanitization process kills bacteria, leaving your surfaces clean. It is generally safe when used according to the instructions in the product manual.

What Is the Best Carpet Cleaner for Cars?

When it comes to car cleaning, there isn’t one product that works for every person and vehicle. That’s why we categorized these products so you can find the right ones without having to go through trial and error or do any research yourself. This saves you time and money because now all your questions are answered in a straightforward way!

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