We aren’t car detailers around here but we do know the magic that Tide®, hot water, and a horsehair brush can do. Let me help you clean your car with the tools in your #cleaningarmy tool kit.
Tidy up.
Start by clearing out your car. Life on the go (and especially if you have kids) usually results in a cluttered car. Toss all the garbage and take things into the house that don’t belong like toys, books and papers.
Please note that some of these products are affiliate links. Consider these brands our friends with benefits. When you buy from these links, we make a small commission at no extra cost to you. We use this commission to pay our staff, produce content, and of course, buy our cleaning supplies. Pretty neat, huh?
Vacuum with Horse Hair Attachment.
As always, vacuum first (Canada) (USA) with your horse-hair brush (Canada) (USA). Work your way around your car from left to right, top to bottom. Be sure to get your seats, floors, cup holders, consoles, mats, dash and doors! Take out your car seats and vacuum out the 894755 cheerios, french fries and crumbs inside and under them. Vacuuming all of the dust/crumbs, and dirt will make the rest of the job much easier by avoiding making mud. Vacuum the dust out of your vents to prevent it from blowing around once your car is clean.

Pro tip: use a dry scrub brush or pumice stone to get dog hair and dirt out of the carpet if your vacuum isn’t catching all of it.
Water and Tide.
Safety pit stop: Read your labels! Make sure your car seats and seatbelts can be cleaned with water without removing the fire retardant.
Fill a bucket with 1 gallon of water and 1 teaspoon of powdered Tide® (Canada) (USA). Do not use bleach in your car to avoid wrecking interior fabric. Use a microfiber cloth to wipe down all hard surfaces and a scrub brush to work on anything that won’t come off with your cloth. Be sure to clean in and around your E-brake, seat belts and seatbelt clips. If your seats aren’t fabric you can wipe them down as well Look into the washing instructions of your car seats. The manual will be able to tell you if you can machine wash any fabric parts.
Again, use caution around wetting car seat belts, you do not want to remove any fire retardant.

Next, remove floor mats and any removable cup holder inserts. Use a scrub brush with hot water and Tide to clean and rinse. If you’d like to clean your gas pedal, brake and clutch, hot water and Tide with a scrub brush work there too.

Pro tip: Cars tend to have lots of little hard-to-clean crevasses. Use a q-tip or toothbrush to reach them.
Kill the germs.
Now that everything is clean, it’s time to disinfect. Use Microban disinfectant (Canada) (USA) on a cloth to kill germs without the risk of discoloring your interior. Think high-touch areas such as your door handles, steering wheel, mirror, visor, buttons, etc. This step is crucial because of the spread of germs when you are on the go visiting busy stores, running errands, and pumping gas.
Fabric and Carpet Floors.
A portable carpet & upholstery cleaner is your best friend for your vehicle’s carpet and fabric seats. We love the Bissell Little Green Machine (Canada) (USA). Fill your machine with a manufacturer recommended cleaner, pull the trigger and get cleaning any stains, or muddy/salty areas. If your car is smelly from years of stains, it may be best to clean all of the fabric for best results.
If you do not have a carpet cleaner, that’s okay! Use hot water, Tide and a cloth to wipe salt and food stains. Since there isn’t anything to absorb the liquid, do this when you can give your seats time to dry! No one wants to get their pants wet on the way to work;)
Condition.
Conditioning your leather seats and dashboards increase their lifetime by remoisturizing and bringing back their original texture. This step is the cherry on top for making your car look brand new. I recommend ArmorAll Leather Care Gel (Canada) (USA), this stuff is super easy to use. Wet your cloth with a generous amount of conditioner and apply evenly over all leather.

Windex®.
You may notice that display screens or plastic covers are streaky after cleaning with Tide. Use Windex® and a microfiber cloth to make them look good as new. For your windows, mirrors and windshield it is best to use Windex and paper towel until the paper towel stays clean. Windows are typically coated in dirt and salt and cannot be properly polished while dirty. The carbon cloth from Ocean Sales (Canada) (USA) works great to create a flawless, streak free finish, and trust me you won’t regret it the next time you’re driving directly into the sun!
Re-Fresh.
This is a great opportunity to spray any smelly food or pet stains with Odoban (Canada) (USA). Now that your car is sparkling it should also smell amazing, Try out a new air freshener!
Not only will you start your day with a clear mind getting in your clean car, but you are also retaining the value of your vehicle. You can absolutely make your car look good as new with the cleaning supplies that are already in your home without spending $$$ on detailing services or equipment.
– Katie S @GoCleanCo
We're big on Instagram.
Follow @GoCleanCo for seriously satisfying videos and top-secret tips. Don’t be shy, come say hi.
gocleanco
Feb 1
Dishwasher Filter 101 🤮 Whose ready for spring cleaning?! I’m gonna start psyching y’all up so you are READY FOR COMBAT. #springcleaning
gocleanco
Jan 19
How often to you mop your floors? Be honest cause I’ll come over and check if you are lying. #cleaningmotivation
gocleanco
Jan 18
Fancy New product Alert: Downy Rinse & Refresh is @downy ‘s biggest innovation in the last 30 years. Now, listen up because this isn’t like regular Downy, it is actually not a fabric softener, even though it goes in the fabric softener drawer! Rinse & Refresh helps with mega stubborn STINKY laundry by removing residue that traps in odour. It’s the perfect compliment to everyday smelly laundry like gym clothes, hockey clothes or that load of towels you left sitting in the washer overnight and actually removes odour three times better than laundry detergent alone. Come watch my stories today — I rounded up my teenage nephews hockey gear 😷and we will put it through the ringer. (Pun intended). What is your stinkiest laundry problem? Let me know in the comments and we can get researching 👩🏼🔬 #DownyPartner
gocleanco
Jan 12
Bleach, Pray, Love (and a little elbow grease) 💕 #cleaningmotivation
gocleanco
Dec 31
Wishing you a Tide-ey New Year. Fun fact about me: I live for Mondays. A fresh new week laid before me gives me motivation to get shit done. And January is the BIGGEST Monday of them all. Many people like to reflect on the last year but I like to look ahead and set some realistic and serious goals for myself. Take a deep breath and wake up from your Christmas haze and write down 5 things you want to get done in 2023…(or make a lock screen saver vision board like I do every year!) You don’t always have to join a gym you know. Maybe you want to clean your attic. Or take more naps. Be more present for your kids. Make your bed each morning. These goals can be small but impactful and have a domino effect throughout your life. Start small. The big stuff will follow. Thank you for sticking with me on this wild ride. We have so much in store for the #cleaningarmy in 2023 so buckle up! P.S. Lets pretend this photo was taken today cause I’m currently in my house coat cleaning everyone’s AirPods. 📸 cred @substanceyyc 💕
gocleanco
Dec 29
Are you team Boxing Day Christmas decor tear down or Team January tear down? I took mine down before we left and I’m currently feeling like it was hands down, my most genius idea of 2022. Now to tackle the worlds largest pile of laundry and prep my life for 2023 🎉 #christmascleanup
gocleanco
Dec 28
Have the itch to purge after the holidays? Me TOO! The team at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? can help you have a fresh start for 2023 by getting rid of any unwanted items - even Christmas trees (as long as they fit in the truck)! They are fast, efficient, and reliable making it SO worth it in my books. I would recommend 1-800-GOT-JUNK? to anyone who is feeling overwhelmed with too much stuff in their lives. They handle all the heavy lifting by removing your items right from where they are located, and they recycle and donate! There's no better way to ring in the new year than with a decluttered space! @1800gotjunk #sponsored
gocleanco
Dec 24
Wax removal incase your drunk uncle knocks over a candle tonight. #merrychristmaseve
gocleanco
Dec 17
Christmas Gift Ideas that don’t cost any money: 1. Clean the kitchen after Christmas dinner and tell the Chef to go sit down. They will refuse but you have to firmly tell them to GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN and you can figure out where the pots and pans go without their help. 2. Offer to watch your friends kids this week if you are one of those lucky people who did all their shopping in July are ready for 🎅🏻 . (No one will say no to this.) 3. Go clean someone who is having a tough times house. They will probably decline because they are overwhelmed or embarrassed. They should not be. Tell them it’s an Act of Service and you love them and want to help. Or just show up and kick them out. That always works. 😈 The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is vacuuming loud for all to hear. 🎅🏻🤶🏻🎄 You folks have any other ideas? I love a good act of service, let me know in the comments!
gocleanco
Dec 14
I always keep @swiffer on hand for a quick tidy up before company comes during the holidays (every person who comes over here white gloves my baseboards now—including my mother) or when I don’t want to drag out the vacuum. They are great for the daily tidy, they can get into nearly every tight spot! What many people don’t know is that @swiffer also picks up and removes 95% of allergens. My fave is the Swiffer Dusters Super Extender Handle Starter Kit which extends up to six feet so you can get those hard to reach up high (or down low) tricky spots! #swifferpartner #sponsored
gocleanco
Dec 10
@cfcanada is offering gift wrapping by donation at the following malls this holiday season. My 6 year old niece has #cysticfibrosis and @cfcalgary is near and dear to my ❤️ so please pop in and let someone else do your wrapping this year. One less thing on your plate. 🎁 Locations: Calgary: South Centre Mall and Northlands Mall Edmonton: Londonderry Mall Winnipeg: Kildonan Place
gocleanco
Dec 9
It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of @clorox_canada around here @gocleanco and we’ve been using it since the beginning. Clorox® Bleach is derived from sodium chloride - common table salt, and during household use this product breaks down to mostly salt and water. My mind was blown to learn that you could use Clorox® Disinfecting Concentrated Bleach to prolong the life of a fresh cut Christmas tree, so naturally I had to try it. You’ll need: 1.9 L hot water, 1/2 Tbsp Clorox® Disinfecting Concentrated Bleach, 1 cup corn syrup, ⅛ cup powdered chelated iron (check your local nursery). Make sure to protect your floor and work area before you start. Cut at least ½ inch off the bottom of your tree, especially if it’s been a few hours since it was cut down. Add ⅛ cup chelated iron and 1 cup of corn syrup to a large container (think juice jug), and then add 1.9 L of hot water. Finally, add 1/2 Tbsp Clorox® Disinfecting Concentrated Bleach and stir to mix. Once your tree is in its stand and you know it isn’t going anywhere, add the solution to the tree stand. Never let your tree dry out and mix up a fresh batch of solution when needed. #yeahbleachdoesthat, #ad
gocleanco
Dec 9
Polished up real ✨ nice ✨
gocleanco
Dec 6
The season has officially landed and we are here to help you through it! Reminder that we have tons of tips on the blog to get your home ready for guests and the holidays. But also: Real friends don’t care if your baseboards are dirty. 🤭
gocleanco
Nov 30
After the Fall Cleaning Challenge my team and I had a lot of stuff to purge! So we called 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and the fellas got to work. Did you know that they are a full service Junk Removal company that actually comes into your basement, garage, attic and you can just stand there and point out what needs to go and they’ll remove it right from where it’s located? ? They price based on volume so you only pay for how much room your items take up in the truck. Plus they then take the items to their warehouse and sort through what can be donated, reused and recycled! You can save money and space before the Holidays with my code: SARAH47 for $47 off your next Junk Removal. Create some space to breathe for yourself before the big guy comes! 🎅🏻 #sponsored @1800gotjunk Cannot be combined with other offers. Offer ends Dec 2, 2022. Offer not valid on standard item pricing or minimum loads.
gocleanco
Nov 23
Is your refrigerator running? 😆 Probably not very well if this is how the vents look! Reminder that your fridge has air vents that can get clogged up with pet hair and dust, when they are clogged, it hinders its efficiency. Before you load it up with food this weekend, pull it out (watch your floors!) and take a peek 👀
gocleanco
Nov 15
#sponsored @bissellclean has hooked the #cleaningarmy up with a bundle deal and you are gonna love it! The bundle includes The CleanView® Swivel Rewind Pet Reach, (one of my fav carpet vacs you see me using all the time), MyAir® Personal Air Purifier (a fav of the #cleaningarmy’s) and their new Pet Stain Eraser™ PowerBrush all bundled together for a cool 20% off. Check out my stories where I put some of my fav BISSELL® products to the test.
gocleanco
Oct 24
Cleaning is such a scary job I don’t even bother asking him to help anymore. #happyhalloween
gocleanco
Oct 21
Not me using Catch Up Week to answer emails and clean my suckers out. 😵💫 Reminder that if you have fallen behind that’s OKAY and you are only human and can only do so many things in a day. What did you use Catch Up Week for? Lemme know ⤵️
gocleanco
Oct 18
The 2023 Cleaning Army Calendar is here! This is a limited print run so get it while it’s 🔥. Who snagged one this morning? #cleaningarmy