A common mistake many car owners make when cleaning their vehicle is simply vacuuming debris from the seats and carpet while neglecting the interior ceiling or headliner. The surface of car headliners is porous and therefore absorbs odors and smoke. Without regular cleaning, it can retain an unpleasant smell for days or weeks. Learning how to clean the ceiling or headliner of a car, along with other basic maintenance tasks, will keep your vehicle looking and smelling fresh.
Even if you know how to clean car upholstery and carpet, the headliner is quite delicate in comparison. You must be extremely cautious and use different cleaning products and techniques to ensure it isn’t damaged when you attempt to remove stains or odors. This comprehensive guide will teach you different methods for cleaning a car’s interior roof, from removing minor stains to a full surface cleaning, including deep cleaning and eliminating unwanted odors.
Understanding Your Car’s Headliner
The material covering your car’s ceiling is called the headliner. Before moving on to the actual cleaning method, you need to be aware of something to perform proper cleaning later.
The headliner consists of more than just fabric (otherwise it would fall from its mounting points on the ceiling). It is composed of a hardened backing, usually made of fiberglass or another custom-molded fibrous board, and glued to this backing is a thin layer of foam. Finally, the exposed material of the headliner is evenly glued to the foam. When cleaning, care must be taken not to overly wet the headliner to avoid compromising the adhesive.
Note: The headliner, made up of these three pieces, is manufactured as a single unit. Therefore, if the exposed surface of the headliner is stained, damaged, or sagging, it must be replaced as one piece. Extra caution is thus needed, but don’t worry, learning how to clean a car’s ceiling is quite simple if you strictly follow our methods below.
How to Clean a Car Ceiling: What You Need
For headliner cleaning, you will need:
- Microfiber cloth
- Soft-bristled brush
- Car interior roof cleaner: An upholstery cleaner or an all-purpose cleaner will work on your headliner. If you buy an upholstery cleaner, it’s better to get an aerosol one as it is more effective than the pump type.
- Or you can make your own cleaner: simply mix 1⁄4 cup of white vinegar and 1⁄2 tablespoon of liquid soap with 1 cup of warm water in a spray bottle. Shake well to mix the solution. This cleaning solution is also useful as a general cleaner for soft fabrics and is effective for cleaning upholstery and removing stains from the inside of your car.
- For stubborn stains or deep cleaning: a steam cleaner or a deep cleaning system.
How to Clean a Car Ceiling: Cleaning Minor Stains
Minor stains can include dirt, food or drink spills, or water stains caused by leaving your sunroof open when it rains. To remove dirt or minor stains from your headliner:
- Open your car window and preferably work in a well-ventilated area so the headliner dries as quickly as possible.
- First, always try to gently remove any loose particles without rubbing them deeper into the fabric. Gently wipe the dirty stain with a microfiber cloth or use a soft-bristled brush to remove any loose dirt stuck to the headliner.
- If the dirty stain is no longer visible at this point, you’re done. If it’s still visible, you will need to apply the cleaner, either a commercial solution or your homemade one. Spray a small amount of cleaner onto a corner of the microfiber cloth, leaving the rest dry for later use.
* Important Note: Never spray the headliner directly as it will become too wet and could lead to mold later.
- Applying very gentle pressure, dab and wipe the stain on the headliner with the damp corner of your cloth. You only want to apply the cleaner to the surface of the headliner without wetting the adhesive and foam layer underneath.
- Use the clean, dry part of the microfiber cloth to remove excess moisture from the area.
- Wait for the upholstery cleaner to dry completely, then check if the stain has been completely removed.
- If the stain is still visible, try a thorough surface cleaning or, as a last resort, a deep clean.
How to Clean a Car Ceiling: Thorough Surface Cleaning
For more stubborn and larger stains, follow the steps below:
- Evenly spray the entire surface of the headliner with a cleaner. Pay close attention to the edges and crevices around the lights.
* Pro Tip: An aerosol upholstery cleaner has a foaming action that helps break up dirt trapped just beneath the surface, making it more effective than a pump liquid cleaner.
- Let the cleaner sit on the upholstery for the duration specified on the container.
- Then, use a small soft-bristled brush to lightly agitate the entire surface of the headliner. Remember to brush every part of the headliner surface so that once the cleaner dries, the surface is even.
- Let the headliner dry completely, which should take an hour or two depending on how much cleaning solution you applied.
- If your headliner is more stained, you may need to perform a second cleaning. If stains are still visible, you will need to perform a deep clean.
How to Clean a Car Ceiling: Deep Cleaning
As mentioned above, your headliner is more delicate than the rest of the upholstery. Therefore, when it comes to cleaning your car’s headliner, deep cleaning should really be the last resort.
This is because deep cleaning requires steaming, and the heat and moisture from the steaming process wet the adhesive that holds the three layers together. This could cause permanent damage or cause the headliner fabric to detach from the foam and sag or droop, which is absolutely a nightmare.
For steam deep cleaning, you will need a steamer or a deep cleaning system and some hot water in addition to a cleaning solution. Remember to work in a well-ventilated area while steam cleaning your headliner.
- Fill the deep cleaning machine with hot water and a bit of cleaning solution. Follow the instructions provided with the machine to mix the correct water/cleaner ratio.
* Important Note: If your steamer specifies a particular brand and type of cleaning solution, it is safer to consistently use the specified product. Using a different cleaning solution could cause the machine to produce excess foam or leave residues in the fabric that could further stain your headliner.
- Turn on the steam cleaner. If it needs to preheat, wait until it’s ready.
- Attach the narrow upholstery cleaning adapter to the hose. Then place the tip of the upholstery cleaning tool on the headliner.
- Starting from a corner of the headliner, press the trigger to spray the cleaner onto the fabric surface and move along the headliner at a steady pace. For your information, moving at a speed of 3 to 4 inches per second will prevent oversaturating the headliner too deeply and damaging the adhesive and foam underneath. If the headliner seems too soaked, adjust your pace.
- Move across the headliner making long strokes in the same directions to achieve an even, uniform surface when the cleaner dries. Remember to release the trigger between strokes so the soapy water doesn’t spray everywhere inside your car. Also, overlap the next stroke with the previous one by half an inch.
*Important Note: Ensure you maintain the same pace and technique as indicated above for the sake of appearance.
- Leave your car in a well-ventilated area and lower your window if you park your car in a secure environment, of course. It may take a full day for the headliner to dry completely, or faster if you use fans to circulate air inside your car.
- You’re not done yet. A crucial step you must not skip when steam cleaning your headliner is once the headliner is completely dry, run the palm of your hand over the entire surface in the direction of the fabric grain. This will remove any dried lines left by the deep cleaner and give your headliner a smooth, like-new appearance.
How to Remove Bad Odors from Your Car’s Headliner
In addition to learning how to clean car ceilings, knowing how to eliminate unpleasant odors will keep your beloved vehicle looking and smelling fresh.
Due to its fabric coating, the headliner can absorb certain unpleasant odors that won’t go away, such as accumulated cigarette smell from years. To refresh your car’s headliner, you only need a simple homemade deodorizer made from ingredients found in your kitchen.
What you’ll need for a homemade deodorizer:
- 1 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of baking soda
- Add 3 to 5 drops of essential oil if you can’t stand the smell of vinegar. This can be used as an essential oil-based deodorizing spray that you can keep for regular vehicle maintenance or use in your home.
Mix the solution and shake well in a spray bottle. Spray the deodorizer onto a microfiber cloth and gently dab the solution onto the headliner, being careful not to oversaturate it or spray it directly onto the fabric surface.
Work on one small section at a time. Once the deodorizer is dry, use a vacuum with an upholstery attachment to vacuum the entire surface of the headliner to remove any remaining baking soda residue.