Interior car detailing is a top-to-bottom clean of everything inside your vehicle: carpets and fabric seats vacuumed and shampooed, plastic and vinyl trim cleaned and dressed, plus the headliner, door jambs, vents, dashboard and windows. A vacuum and a wipe-down get the loose dirt. A detail goes after what is ground into the fabric, stuck in the seams and smeared on the glass.
Here’s what’s included in interior car detailing when we do it, what isn’t, how it compares to a regular clean, and when it’s worth booking.
What’s Included in Interior Car Detailing, Step by Step
These are the steps in our Interior Only Package.
1. Vacuum and shampoo
Carpets and fabric seats get a full vacuum first. Then they’re shampooed to lift the dirt a vacuum can’t reach. For a closer look at upholstery cleaning, our guide to cleaning car seats with a steam cleaner walks through it. Leather seats are cleaned too.
2. Stains, road salt and pet hair
Unset stains, the white salt lines that winter boots leave on carpet, and pet hair woven into the fabric all come out as part of the package. It comes up often in our reviews. After a detail on her Honda Civic, Nicole J. from Fenwick wrote:
He expertly removed all traces of pet hair, making it look like I don’t have pets.
3. Plastic and vinyl trim
The dashboard, centre console, door panels and every plastic and vinyl surface get cleaned, including the air vents, where dust builds up out of sight. Once clean, the trim gets a dressing.
4. Headliner and windows
The fabric ceiling picks up hand marks and the odd drink splash, and inside glass collects a haze that shows most when the sun is low. Both get cleaned.
5. Doors, jambs and sills
Open any door after a Niagara winter and the jambs and sills tell the story. We clean them so the grime doesn’t end up on your pant leg every time you get in.
What’s Not Included
Knowing the limits up front saves a surprise in the driveway.
- Leather conditioning. Leather is cleaned, but conditioning isn’t part of the Interior Only Package.
- Guaranteed removal of deep-set stains. Ink, dyes, coffee and wine can resist even a careful treatment. We do our best, but some may not come out fully, and very stubborn pet hair can depend on the amount and the material.
- Truck beds. They aren’t part of our standard packages, so ask if yours needs work.
- The outside of the vehicle. If you want the exterior done too, a full detail covers both.
Interior Detailing vs a Regular Interior Clean
A regular interior car cleaning, whether you do it yourself at a coin vacuum or get one with a wash, takes care of what’s loose. A detail covers the same ground and keeps going.
| What gets done | Regular clean | Interior detail |
|---|---|---|
| Vacuum | Yes | Yes |
| Shampoo carpets and fabric seats | Usually not | Yes |
| Dashboard | Quick wipe | Cleaned, with vents and all plastic and vinyl |
| Dressing on trim | Usually not | Yes |
| Stains, road salt and pet hair | Usually not | Yes |
| Headliner | Usually not | Yes |
| Doors, jambs and sills | Usually not | Yes |
| Windows | Sometimes | Yes |
The difference also shows up in how the car smells afterward. Removing dirt, grime and spills helps reduce most odours. For smells that run deeper, see our odour removal service.
Is Interior Detailing Worth It?
Think about how much time you spend in there. According to Statistics Canada, people who drive to work averaged 22.8 minutes getting there in 2021. There and back, that’s about 45 minutes a day in your car before you add errands, school runs or a drive to the lake. The cabin is the part of the vehicle you actually live in.
It’s most worth booking at a few points in the year:
- After winter, when salt has worked into the carpets and mats.
- If you drive with pets, and the hair has started to win.
- Before you sell, so the vehicle shows the way you’d want to see it as a buyer.
- As regular upkeep. We recommend an interior detail every 3 to 6 months, depending on how you drive and how dirty the car gets.
For what a detail costs in this part of the province, our breakdown of the cost of car detailing in Ontario shows typical ranges.
We Come to You
Our interior detailing is mobile. We come to your home or workplace anywhere in the Greater Niagara region, from 9:00am to 7:30pm, seven days a week, with no travel charges. Our home base is Welland; see our mobile car detailing in Welland page for the area we cover. Before we arrive, clear out personal belongings so we can get at every surface.
Common Questions
What does a full interior detail include?
Our Interior Only Package includes vacuuming and shampooing, cleaning the plastic and vinyl trim, air vents and dashboard, cleaning the headliner, dressing the trim, removing unset stains, road salt and pet hair, cleaning doors, jambs and sills, and cleaning the windows.
Is interior detailing worth it?
If you spend a lot of time in your car, yes. It removes the dirt, salt and spills a regular clean leaves behind, which also helps with most odours. It’s most worth it after winter, if you have pets, and before you sell.
Do you clean leather seats?
Yes. Leather seats are cleaned as part of the Interior Only Package. Leather conditioning isn’t included in this package.
How often should I detail my interior?
We recommend every 3 to 6 months, depending on your driving habits and how dirty your car gets.
Book Interior Car Detailing
See what’s in the package and book on our interior car detailing in Welland page, or tell us what you drive and request a quote.
Ready for a cleaner interior?
Book interior car detailing in Welland and across Niagara. We come to your driveway, with no travel charge.
