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So, you’ve looked around the house and it appears like there’s nothing you could use to clean your dirty car dashboard?
That’s not true; well, not everyone knows the household products to clean car dashboard; but if you’ve got vinegar, baking soda, Windex, and some other cleaning agents, you’re good to go.
Your car dashboard won’t get dirty as quickly as other parts of the car, but it does get dirty and would require to be cleaned. Just as with other parts of a car, cleaning your car dashboard requires carefulness, and you should use the right tools.
6 Household Products To Clean Car Dashboard
If you can find any of these products/substances in your home, you can use that to create a homemade dashboard cleaner to clean your dirty car dashboard.
However, before you apply any of these dashboard cleaning solutions, you should vacuum the car.
1. Toothpaste (for Spot Cleaning)
Let’s start with the weirdest product for cleaning car dashboards – toothpaste. Well, toothpaste isn’t just good for cleaning your car interior or glasses but they also act as stain removers. You would need to mix the toothpaste with little water, and then apply using a toothbrush.
It is recommendable to use toothbrushes for cleaning crevices and other hard-to-reach angles where rags or clothes cannot penetrate.
The application style is simply, dab a clean microfiber rag into the toothpaste-water mix and scrub it on the dirty dashboard.
However, you should not apply so much pressure while scrubbing the dashboard surface, regardless of how dirty it appears to be. Gentle and slow moves would lift the dirt when you allow the applied toothpaste to sit for a while on the surface.
After a while, use clean, warm water to wipe the dashboard, and then dry with a microfiber towel. In most cases, this is enough to make your dashboard shine again.
Well, toothpaste is recommended when you only need to clean a particular spot on your dashboard. For cleaning the entire dashboard, toothpaste won’t be the best option, you should try other solutions explained below.
2. Windex
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Windex is a popular surface cleaning agent found in most homes. If you’re looking for a product to use in cleaning your car’s dashboard, and you’ve got Windex at home – that’s exactly what you need.
Mostly, Windex cleaner comes in a spray bottle, which makes it easy to apply.
However, it is not advisable to spray any compound or solution directly to your car’s dashboard. You should spray into a rag/towel, and then clean a small area to check if the compound would actually clean the surface or leave yet another unsightly stain.
After taking this cautionary step, you can no go ahead with the actual cleaning.
Spray the Windex cleaner into your cleaning rag and wipe the dashboard. Watch out for delicate components, so you don’t damage them.
After applying Windex to your dashboard, get a bucket of clean water, dip a microfiber towel into the clean water, and wipe the dashboard again to clean the surface.
Quite sadly, some car owners allege that Windex is not a perfect dashboard cleaner because it is unable to remove certain stains completely. Well, this is where a stain remover could come in handy, or you can try other solutions provided below.
3. Baking Soda or Vinegar
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Most often, you’d see vinegar and baking soda listed as homemade solutions for cleaning any part of your car.
Well, you can use both or either of these products to clean your dirty car dashboard. We have listed the two together because they are diluted in the same proportion.
Actually, baking soda acts as a deodorizer, but it also proves to be a great upholstery cleaner. You can mix one cup of baking soda or vinegar to three or four cups of water. To get the best results, you need a spray bottle.
This homemade dashboard cleaner can perfectly clean even strong dirt on the steering wheel. Mixing vinegar and baking soda is a perfect way to clean and disinfect your car dashboard. Use a clean microfiber to apply this method.
- Pour the solution into a spray can
- Spray into a microfiber towel and wipe the dashboard surface
- Allow the solution to sit for some minutes
- Dip another microfiber towel into a bucket of clean water and use it to wipe down the dashboard to remove residue
You need to be careful while applying this solution to your car dashboard; it should not spill and touch other parts of the car; when vinegar or baking soda is allowed to sit for a long time on a painted surface, it could eat off the finish.
4. Essential Oils
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In many homes, you’d find a few bottles of essential oils, while the oils were not actually bought to serve as a cleaning agent, you could use a few drops to clean your entire dashboard. You don’t need to mix essential oils with water or any other substance.
Simply let a few drops touch on a microfiber rag, and then use the rag to clean your dirty dashboard. When it’s time to clean vents, you should be extremely careful to avoid damaging the vents.
Well, when you use essential oils to clean your dashboard, it does not only make your dashboard shiny but also causes your car to scent nice (depends on the scent of the essential oil(s) you used).
More so, there’s no need to attempt using water to wash or clean the dashboard after applying essential oil. Simply use a clean rag and wipe down the surface after using the first rag to apply the oil to the dashboard.
5. Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is used when there are stains on the dashboard. It is a reliable household compound that can remove stains from surfaces, including plastic car dashboards.
That said, if you could see rubbing alcohol in your home, you can use it as a dashboard cleaner to use and clean your car’s dashboard.
But, this compound is liable to change the color of your car dashboard. So, it is advisable to try it on a spot to see how it would react with the material used in designing your car’s dashboard. You should not use this product without diluting it in warm water.
A 50/50 solution of warm water and rubbing alcohol works for most car dashboards. You shouldn’t assume that it would work on yours, ensure to perform the prior check of applying the solution to a very little portion (spot), and watch the reaction.
You can apply this solution using a spray bottle, or simply dip your towel into the bucket/bowl where you mixed the compound. This solution can also be used for cleaning car windows (windscreen and other glasses).
6. Baby Wipes or Dryer Sheets
If your dashboard is only covered with dust, there is no need for creating a homemade solution – if you’ve got baby wipes or dryer sheets at home, use them to clean the surface. Baby wipes or dryer sheets are also good for cleaning a car dashboard.
In fact, it is safer to use either of these, instead of rubbing alcohol, which is liable to change your dashboard’s color. Dust is easily trapped with baby wipes or dryer sheets. Don’t use a damp cloth as an alternative to these products.
Conclusion
Some people may just dip a rag into water and use it to wipe down their car’s dashboard to clean out dust and dirt.
While this action would actually remove dust from your car’s dashboard surface, it is always advisable to carry out car cleaning tasks in recommended ways.
These household products to clean car dashboards are a better option than using just water and rag. Also, most of these products would also remove stains and make your dashboard shine. You could still purchase a car dashboard cleaning if you wish.