Interior Detail
How We Actually Do It
Blowout first, pre-spray the carpet before you touch it, first vacuum pass, agitate everything, extract, glass, finish. That's the sequence — and the order matters.
The Duo Interior Process
Two detailers, split front and back. The division lets us run agitation and extraction simultaneously instead of waiting for each zone to finish before moving to the next.
Air Blowout
Before the vacuum comes out, compressed air or a leaf blower goes into every vent, seat rail, seat seam, floor crack, center console gap, and door pocket. Everything that's been sitting in those crevices gets pushed out onto the floor or seats where you can actually get to it. Skipping this means you vacuum the surface and leave all the trapped debris behind.
Front: blast out the dash vents, center console, cup holders, steering column, and floor wells on both sides.
Rear: rear vents, rear seat rails and seams, cargo area, trunk, and any rear pockets or storage.
Pre-Spray Carpets & Mats — Before the Vacuum Touches Them
Mist all carpets, floor mats, and fabric seat surfaces with P&S Carpet Bomber immediately after the blowout. Don't vacuum yet. Let it dwell for 2–3 minutes while you start on something else. The surfactants break the bond between the soil and the fibers so you're pulling dirt out on the vacuum pass instead of just pushing it around.
First Vacuum Pass
Now the shop vac comes out. This pass is just for the loose stuff — don't slow down trying to get every fiber. You pre-sprayed the carpet, so the dwell time has been working. Pull up what's loose. You'll be back for a second pass after agitation.
Front seats, driver and passenger footwells, center console floor, under the front seats.
Rear seats, rear footwells, cargo area, trunk. Mats pulled out and vacuumed separately.
Agitation — Every Surface
This is where the actual cleaning happens. Scrub Ninjas on every interior surface — not just carpet. Door panels, plastic trim, the dashboard, center console, even the headliner if it needs it. Steam cleaner on stubborn spots, grease, and anything that's baked into plastic. Drill brush through every vent slat and the steering wheel — gets into every crease in seconds.
Dash, center console, door panels and switches (front), steering wheel, A-pillars.
Rear door panels, rear seats, carpets and mats with scrub pads and carpet cleaner, cargo/trunk.
Extraction + Second Vacuum Pass
Attach the extraction head to the shop vac and pull the lifted carpet cleaner and debris out of the fibers. This is how you get the carpet actually dry and clean instead of just damp. Follow with a final vacuum pass over everything — post-agitation there's a second layer of loosened debris that wasn't there on the first pass.
Glass
Glass cleaner on all inside windows. Do this in shade or after the sun has moved off the glass — it dries too fast in direct sun and streaks before you can buff it. Two-pass method: one horizontal pass, one vertical pass. If there's still a streak you can tell which side it's on by the direction.
Finishing
Final wipe-down of any surface that got missed, touch up any spots from the agitation phase, hit the plastics and trim with whatever's needed. Deodorizer goes in last — not to mask odors, but as the final step after everything organic has already been removed. Walk the interior before packing up.
Solo Interior Process
Same 7 steps, same order, same products. One person doing everything zone by zone. The timeline difference is real — the duo splits agitation and extraction simultaneously, solo runs them sequentially.
What's the Same
All 7 steps run in the same order. The pre-spray technique, two vacuum passes, agitation on every surface, and extraction don't change. You just do it one zone at a time instead of splitting front and back with a second person.
Where the Time Goes
Agitation is where solo takes significantly longer. In a duo, both detailers are scrubbing simultaneously — front and rear zones at the same time. Solo you work front → rear → back in sequence. On a heavily soiled interior, that alone can be 45–60 minutes of the total time.
What Gets Added On Top
These aren't standard in every interior detail — they're separate add-ons when the job calls for it.
Pet Hair Removal
Pet hair embedded in fabric seats and carpet requires rubber brushes, compressed air, and usually multiple passes before the vacuum can get it. It adds significant time and is priced separately depending on how bad it is.
Seat Shampoo
Full fabric seat extraction — scrub pads + carpet cleaner agitation, then extraction head to pull it all out. Seats need to be fully dried before the vehicle is back in use.
Stain Treatment
Organic stains (food, pet accidents, spills) get P&S Terminator enzyme cleaner — not APC. The enzyme breaks down the organic compound causing the odor. 5–10 minute dwell, then extraction. APC just removes the stain visually.
Odor Elimination
Deodorizer handles fresh smells. Smoke, mold, or deep organic odors require an ozone treatment or enzyme-based treatment on the source material. We'll tell you which one the car actually needs.