How To Reduce Dust In Car Interior? (THE GUIDE)

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How many times have you thoroughly cleaned the car interior, and only a few days later, it’s full of dust again? Well, this problem bothers a lot of people, and I decided to show you how to reduce dust in the car interior. I’ll thoroughly guide you through all the things you should do in order to prevent dust from getting into your car as much as possible.

To reduce dust in the car interior, you should regularly change the cabin filter (on each service), thoroughly vacuum and clean car ventilation, apply a high-quality anti-static interior dressing to plastic parts, and of course, regularly maintain your vehicle.

Of course, you can’t completely prevent the dust from getting into your car, but there are fantastic ways that’ll at least reduce the amount of dust your car interior attracts. The funny thing is that most of these things are very simple, yet people neglect them.

It’s spring in my country now (Croatia), pollen and dust are literally everywhere, and I have to do everything I can to reduce the amount of dust that gets in my car, but also reduce the car interior’s “sticky” properties, which always attract even more dust.

Replace The Cabin Filter More Often

The main thing that’ll prevent dust from entering your car’s interior is the cabin filter. Its purpose is to filter the air that comes into the vehicle through AC and heating systems.

Depending on where you live and how much you use AC, heating, and ventilation in your car, you should replace cabin filters regularly. Many people neglect it and change them every 2-3 years.

In my opinion, you should replace the cabin filter whenever you’re doing a car service, which should be at least once a year. Personally, I replace my cabin filter every 10,000km, which is every 8-10 months, when I usually do the oil change and other basic car service things.

Cabin filters are extremely cheap, and not only they’re important to prevent the dust from the car interior, but they’re also extremely important for your health inside the car. So, add up $20 to the basic car service and always replace the cabin filter.

Keep Car Windows Closed On Windy Days

It’s a great thing to leave car windows slightly open during hot summer days. It’s also beneficial if you want to ventilate your car during the day. However, there’s one big disadvantage of leaving your car windows open, especially during windy days.

The wind carries dirt particles, dust, and all other contaminants, and if car windows are opened, they all will end up in the car interior.

Just as you close car windows before the rain, you should do the same thing when it becomes windy out there. That way, you can prevent all the dust from entering your vehicle.

Personally, I like to keep my windows slightly open as much as possible on sunny days, but as soon as the wind is starting, I roll them up. Of course, you can never know exactly when will the wind start, but if there’s an indication that the day will be windy (weather forecast), don’t leave them open.

Clean Air Vents Thoroughly

There’s no purpose in cleaning a car interior if you won’t clean air vents. Air vents are usually full of dust, and if you don’t clean them when maintaining your vehicle, as soon as you turn the ventilation on, they’ll push all the dust inside your car.

Many people have problems cleaning air vents, and that’s why I wrote you a thorough guide on cleaning air vents in cars (check here). All the steps in the article are extremely straightforward and easy to follow. Once you learn the technique, you’ll clean air vents like a pro.

At least, you could use an air compressor to blow out the dust from ventilation ports. That’s an alternative to thoroughly cleaning them.

Regularly Clean Your Vehicle

It’s much easier to keep a clean car cleaner than it’s to clean a dirty car every time. It takes less than 5 minutes to vacuum a car if it’s not too dirty. For that, I like to use handheld car vacuums (check my recommendations). If it gets too dirty, it may even take 30 minutes to do the same thing.

Just as with air vents, the dust sits everywhere in your vehicle, and if you don’t regularly clean it, it’ll enter all the cracks and crevices, which may be harder to clean later on. If you’re wondering how to clean them, check my guide on cleaning cracks and crevices in your car.

I like to quickly vacuum my car weekly. It only takes a few minutes, but it helps me to keep my car clean all the time. Once a month, I do a thorough car interior cleaning, and then I pay attention to the smallest details which helps me to keep the dust away as much as possible.

RELATED: Best Car Detailing Vacuums Under $100 in 2022 – Buyer’s Guide Included

Apply Anti-Static Interior Dressings Only

There are thousands of different interior dressings out there, and while many of them look great, they’ll just attract more dirt and dust to surfaces. High-quality interior dressings will always be anti-static, which means that they’ll prevent the dust from sticking to areas where these dressings are applied.

One of the best anti-static car interior dressings out there is 303 Automotive Protectant (check the price on Amazon now), which I highly recommend to all of you guys. It doesn’t leave the unnatural shiny finish as some other products do, which is fantastic. After application, the car interior trim will look like a new one.

Cheap dressings usually attract dust, and they’re extremely sticky. The type of products you should generally avoid is those cheap “cockpit spray” cans that promise you a nice smell and high gloss. They’re usually very low-quality and all the dust will stick to them.

Turn On Recirculation Through Dirty Areas

Another thing that’s extremely important for all of you that live by dirt roads is to turn on the recirculation button on your air conditioning system. Some older cars didn’t have that option, but nowadays, all cars have it.

The main purpose of the recirculation button is to prevent bad smells from the environment to enter your vehicle. Luckily, it helps to prevent the dust from coming into your car too. So, if you’re passing through some dusty area, turn the recirculation option on.

Even though the cabin filter should block all the dust, if you don’t use the recirculation option when passing through dusty areas, the cabin filter will get saturated, and may even pass some dust inside the vehicle.

However, make sure not to use it all the time. It has a purpose, and should only be used when it’s needed. In the end, you need fresh air to come into your car, not the one you breathe all the time.

I have already written an article about keeping a car interior clean on a dirty road, so make sure to check it out.

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