So, you’ve washed the car, gave the inside a nice little vacuum and wipe down. You take a minute to admire your work only to look up and realise … what in the world happened to my roof lining?
Fingerprints, exploding coffee, makeup, hair, oils, you name it, are all the more common culprits to a stained and aged looking car roof lining.
Believe it or not, but unpleasant smells tend to get absorbed into your roof lining and while everyone is focused on cleaning the seats, carpet and mats, the smell still persists.
Saggy Roof Syndrome?
And let us remind you that there is NOTHING more unappealing than the look of a saggy roof caving in your car. The saggy roof is often the case when the glue has been deteriorated to the point that it loses the adhesiveness.
To avoid a saggy roof, special care and caution must be applied when cleaning the roof lining. Let us show you how you can clean your interior roof upholstery without damaging it.
Here Are 5 Steps To A Clean Roof Lining
What You Will Need
Cleaning Agent
Light Bristle Brush
Microfibre Towels
Steam Cleaner
Cleaning Agent
An All Purpose Cleaner or Upholstery Shampoo is ideal for this. This can be sourced from your local automotive store.
Light Bristle Brush
Light Bristle Brush can be sourced from any cleaning store or even online. Key note here is soft bristle as to avoid any potential damage.
Microfibre Towels
Clean microfibre towels for the perfect amount absorption, the higher the GSM the better it is at absorbing liquid. Don’t be too worried if you are unable to source a high GSM as most will be sufficient, you just may need to have multiple towels to make up for the loss in thickness and absorption.
Steam Cleaner
Ideal, but not a must, similar to a shampoo extraction machine both of which can be sourced at your local cleaning store or even Bunnings. Typically cleaning the roof lining by hand, is the rather safer method as the steam can be quite hot and pressurised. Hot Tip: Fold your microfibre towel in half 2 times to create multiple clean sides and simply switch to a new side accordingly.
Steps To Cleaning Your Car Roof Lining
1) Spray dilute APC or Upholstery Shampoo on to a Fine Low-Bristle Brush (important: Stiff bristles can fluff up the roof lining and ruin its texture). Make sure to read the product instructions in terms of dilution ratios with water. Agitation by hand or a brush should be sufficient, allow the APC to sit on the stains for a few seconds to allow for penetration into the stains and lift up the dirt.
2) Gently agitate the stains on the roof by brushing in light circular motions. This may cause some foaming to appear at the site. Apply light pressure as to avoid from deteriorating the glue. Failing to do so may cause a saggy roof appearance.
3) Gently blot dry the stained area with a clean, dry microfibre towel. Soak up as much excess as possible.
4) If stains persists, you can repeat steps 1 – 3 again or alternatively use a steam cleaner to apply hot pressurised steam on to the stain instead of using All Purpose Cleaner or Upholstery Cleaner. For safety, cover the head nozzle with a microfibre towel to reduce direct steam pressure. The key here is to add some hydration, but mainly heat to melt the stains.
5) The key here is to take your time and to apply little pressure with each brushing motion. Try not to overdo this process and do this across multiple attempts on different days, you don’t want to over-saturate the roof in chemicals and heavy pressure.
Well, there you have it! If you don’t want to risk damaging your roof lining or just don’t have the time to clean it yourself, you can always add ‘roof-lining’ as an extra to any Schmicko Mobile Car Detailing Package and our Professional Detailers will clean it up for you, spot & stain treatment.
If you are one of many who have realised that their car roof lining is beyond repair, then we would like to recommend our roof liner replacement service, which entails our technician to come remove your old fabric and replace it with a new clean one. Not only will it make your car look super neat, but will offer other benefits such as filtering outside noise and better temperature regulation. Sometimes it is better to have it entirely replaced and renewed as opposed to re-cleaning it, at least this way you have the peace of mind in knowing that your roof is clean and free of harmful germs over the years of deteoriation with an old liner.
If you’re thinking a bit further ahead and would rather not worry about your roof lining getting dirty in the first place, then perhaps you should ask one of our representatives about our ceramic coating. A form of paint protection that can also be applied on your interior upholstery furnishings. Long story short, it delivers a hydrophobic barrier meaning that stains and liquids don’t get absorbed in to your fabric; one of the best ceramic coating Sydney providers available. Think of it as a durable invisible film that layers on top of your interior fabrics.
Clean Your Headliner
Replace Your Headliner
Chester Hill
Automotive Service Writer
Car Care Advice For The Everyday Driver & Enthusiast
As a seasoned author on our team, Chester also known as ‘Gadget’, for his love for all things mechanical, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table, particularly when it comes to automotive topics.