Professional Interior Sand and Salt Removal Techniques

Park the vehicle in a shaded, well-ventilated area. In Australian summer conditions, working in direct sunlight causes cleaning chemicals to flash (evaporate) too quickly, leading to staining. Ensure all doors can be fully opened. If using a compressor, ensure it is drained of moisture to prevent spraying oily water onto the fabric.

Remove all personal items, child seats, and floor mats. Inspect the underside of the floor mats for 'salt crusting'. If the mats are original equipment (carpet), they will require the same multi-stage cleaning as the interior floor.

Identify 'trap zones' where sand accumulates: seat rails, the gap between the centre console and seats, and the rear parcel shelf. Use a bright LED torch to inspect the carpet pile. If the sand is wet, you MUST allow it to dry completely before beginning the extraction process, as wet sand clumps and sticks to fibres.

Prepare your Salt Neutraliser and APC. For heavy salt crusting, mix a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and warm water (40°C). For plastic trims, dilute your APC to 10:1 in a dedicated spray bottle. Always use distilled water if your local tap water is 'hard' (high mineral content) to avoid secondary spotting.

Perform a 'bulk' vacuum using a wide crevice tool. Do not push the tool into the carpet yet; hover just above the surface to remove loose top-layer sand. This prevents you from grinding the sand deeper into the backing material during subsequent steps. Spend approximately 10 minutes covering the entire cabin.

Use a cordless drill with a medium-stiff nylon brush. Run the brush over the carpet in a cross-hatch pattern (vertical then horizontal) at medium speed. The vibration will cause buried sand grains to 'jump' to the surface. Have your vacuum running in your other hand, catching the sand as it emerges.

Using a blow gun or Tornador tool at 90-110 PSI, blast air into seat rails, under the pedals, and into the 'dead pedal' area. Work from the top of the vehicle down to the floor. This dislodges fine dust and sand from areas a vacuum cannot reach. Wear eye protection as particles will become airborne.

For thick-pile carpets, use a flat-handed slapping motion on the carpet while holding the vacuum nozzle 1cm away. The impact shockwaves loosen the deepest grains. This is an old-school professional detailer trick that is remarkably effective for stubborn beach sand.

Mist the salt-affected areas with your neutralising solution. Do not saturate; the goal is to dampen the fibres. Let it dwell for 3-5 minutes. The acetic acid in vinegar or the specialised chelating agents in commercial salt removers will dissolve the crystalline bond between the salt and the carpet fibre.

Spray APC onto a soft boar's hair brush, not directly onto the dash. Work the lather into textured plastics where sand and dust have settled. Wipe away with a damp microfibre towel. Pay special attention to the door sills and kick plates, which often harbor the highest concentration of salt spray.

Slide the seats fully forward to access the rear bolts, then fully back for the front. Use a thin crevice tool and a detailing brush simultaneously to 'flick' sand out of the grease in the seat tracks. Be careful not to remove all the factory lithium grease, but ensure no grit remains to grind the mechanism.

If seats are fabric, use the drill brush lightly to agitate sand out of the weave. For leather, use a dedicated leather cleaner and a soft brush. Sand acts as an abrasive on leather topcoats, so ensure every grain is vacuumed from the seams before wiping with a cloth.

If you have a carpet extractor, perform a final pass with plain warm water to remove any chemical residue. If not, use a damp microfibre block to 'wipe' the carpet in one direction, which helps 'set' the pile and pick up the final microscopic dust particles.

In the Australian summer, drying is fast, but trapped moisture can lead to mould. Run the car's air conditioning on 'recirculate' with the heat turned up for 15 minutes, or use a dedicated carpet blower. Ensure the carpets are bone-dry before re-installing the floor mats.