Best car upholstery cleaners 2026
Which products come up trumps when you have to deal with in-car spills?
No matter how careful you are, spills will happen and your car’s fabrics are going to suffer. A wet vac or steam clean is the best solution, but it’s not always practical. Instead, many people will reach for an upholstery cleaner.
To find the best, we divided up a grubby carpet floor mat and a section of an old car seat that were individually marked with lipstick, chocolate and coffee. The cleaners were applied according to the instructions, using any supplied brush or cloth, or a fresh microfibre for each product. The results were rated, along with a score for ease of use and value.
Gyeon Q2M Fabric Cleaner
- Rating: 5 stars
- Price: around £16
- Size: 1 litre
- Contact: gyeon.co
The Gyeon was the only cleaner here that easily tackled all three of our stains, including the ground-in chocolate, with absolute ease. It made a big difference on the grubby carpet, too. It doesn’t foam like some rivals and leaves no tacky residue once wiped away from the fabric. We also liked the fresh fragrance, which is a bonus if you’re tackling a particularly smelly mess left by a pet.
The instructions suggest you use the company’s own dedicated £6 Leather Brush and ‘Bald Wipe Evo’ cloth, but we got similar results from generic items. At £16 for a full litre bottle, the Gyeon is also great value for money.
Used - available now
2021 Vauxhall
Corsa
57,661 milesManualPetrol1.2L
Cash £7,295
2016 SEAT
Leon
49,771 milesManualDiesel1.6L
Cash £7,695
2019 Dacia
Sandero
66,411 milesManualPetrol0.9L
Cash £3,995
2018 BMW
2 Series Active Tourer
75,700 milesAutomaticPetrol1.5L
Cash £9,250Duel Logic All Purpose Interior Cleaner
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Price: around £8
- Size: 500ml
- Contact: duelautocare.co.uk
The Duel needs diluting before use, but that makes it very economical. We tried it at the 1:10 ‘general cleaning’ ratio, applying with a sprayer, working with a brush and then removing with a cloth. It creates a slight foam and a nice citrus smell, but it left no unwanted residue. Just a hint of the lipstick smear remained.
Liquidtech Interior Cleaner
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Price: around £10
- Size: 500ml
- Contact: liquidtechuk.com
Liquidtech was the only product other than the Gyeon that vanquished all the stains with minimal effort. It can be used on leather, Alcantara and hard plastics, too, making it a versatile cleaner that even claims to have anti-static properties. While it offers reasonable value, the Gyeon and Duel work out cheaper.
Simoniz Upholstery & Carpet Cleaner
- Rating: 4 stars
- Price: around £9
- Size: 400ml
- Contact: amazon.co.uk
The aerosol application and built-in brush make the Simoniz easy to use. The watery foam made light work of the chocolate and coffee stains, but the brush is too stiff for piled carpets and caused some snagging. The lipstick was smeared when using the brush, but faded when using a cloth instead.
Armor All Stain Remover
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Price: around £8
- Size: 400ml
- Contact: armorall.com
Similar in concept to the Simoniz and a little cheaper, the Armor All isn’t as easy to use or as effective. The nozzle squirts the foam in random directions, so blobs form in the brush bristles rather than the fabric you’re cleaning. The thick foam tackled the coffee and chocolate, but couldn’t totally remove the lipstick.
Did you know you can buy a used car with Auto Express? Choose from tens of thousands of cars with trusted dealers around the UK. Click here to buy used with Auto Express now...
