7 Best Steering Wheel Cleaner [ Picked By Car Owners ]

People usually try to clean their steering wheels with a normal cleaning solution. However, it can damage the steering wheel and may not remove all the dirt, oil, or grime.

Since, the steering wheel is a part of the car that remains in contact with the hand, almost all the time. It becomes necessary to clean the steering wheel at least once a week.

But, choosing the best steering wheel cleaner that can be easy to apply, clean the surface effectively & doesn’t damage the body of the steering wheel is a bit difficult task.

Hence, we bring this buying good to let you choose the best steering wheel cleaner in the market.

How to choose the best steering wheel cleaner?

No doubt, the most important work of any steering wheel cleaner is to clean the steering wheel as good as possible. However, there are a few more things that you should always take care of while purchasing the best steering wheel cleaner.

A steering wheel should have these features:

Effective Cleaning:

No matter which steering wheel cleaner you use, it should be effective in cleaning the entire body of the steering wheel. It should be able to effectively remove dirt, oil, mud, grime, and stains.

It is not possible to know the effectiveness of the cleaner. However, there are certain points that can tell if the cleaner is effective or not.

Start by looking at the chemicals used in the steering wheel cleaner. Don’t forget to check the Ph level. The best steering wheel cleaner won’t have a high or low Ph level. It would most probably be neutral with a small concentration of acid and base.

The acidic nature(not too acidic) of the steering wheel cleaner helps to remove the stains from the steering wheel while the alkaline nature of the steering wheel cleaner helps to remove the grime and dirt from the steering wheel cleaner.

Non-Toxic & Eco-friendly:

The steering wheel cleaner that you want to buy should be non-toxic and eco-friendly. It should not create any itching in your hands. It should also be good for smelling.

You can easily know of the cleaner is toxic or not by smelling it’s odor. A highly toxic steering wheel cleaner would have a very strong unpleasant odor. It would also create itching on your hand or skin.

However, most of the steering wheel cleaners have an unpleasant odor, but it doesn’t mean they are toxic. In this case, check the reviews of the product on the manufacturer’s website or an e-commerce site like amazon.com or homedepot.com.

Non-Slip:

Oftentimes, people buy cleaning solutions for the steering wheel which makes their hand slip from the steering wheel. And, it leads to uncomfortable driving.

So, make sure before purchasing any steering wheel cleaner that it is not too slippy. Otherwise, it would make you uncomfortable while driving.

A non-slip steering wheel cleaner would remove the dirt and grime effectively. To confirm, you can check the reviews on the manufacturer’s website or an e-commerce site.

Material of the steering wheel :

Before you buy any steering wheel cleaner, check the material used in your steering wheel. For example, steering wheel cleaners which are formulated for leather won’t be effective on plastic built steering wheels. Hence, go for the specific type of steering wheel cleaner.

So, if your steering wheel has leather material on it, go for leather based steering wheel cleaner. Similarly, if you have plastic made steering wheel, buy a plastic steering wheel cleaner.

These were the few important points that you should always keep in mind before purchasing any steering wheel.

Best Steering Wheel Cleaner: Detailed Review

Before we move to the list of best steering wheel solutions, I want to inform you all that the numbering hasn’t been done from best to worst. They have been numbered randomly. However, every steering cleaner is best on its own. The list has been considered after thorough research and after checking the customer reviews.

#1 Car Guys Super Cleaner

Car Guys is one of the best brands when it comes to car cleaning equipment. They’ve been satisfying their customers for a long time. This car guy’s super cleaner comes in the form of a spray solution, which makes the cleaning process very easy. Moving ahead, this super cleaner for the steering wheel is non-toxic. That basically means it won’t destroy the material of the steering and hence is absolutely safe.

Car Guys Super Cleaner is not just built for the steering wheel but for every part of your car that you want to clean. It’ll clean almost every piece of equipment in your car – steering wheels, wheels, gear handles, seats, and interior. It’s an all-purpose cleaner. It can even be used to clean the exterior, interior, vinyl, cup holders, and every plastic material.

Now, let’s talk about a few bad sides of this steering wheel cleaner. When we analyzed this product closely, we found that it’s not suitable for glasses and screens. It can make your screen a little foggy which makes it difficult to drive the car instantly.

We have also found a few customers who were talking about the bad smell of this cleaner but, this is the case with almost every steering wheel cleaner.

#2 Chemical Guys SPI22016 Total Interior Cleaner

There was one drawback with the cars guy super cleaner – it was not suitable for glass or screen. But, this chemical guys steering wheel cleaner is all-purpose. It can clean the whole interior of your car – leather, vinyl, plastic, carpet, glass, and wood. It can even work the exterior and interior of your car. Another best thing about this chemicals guy’s super cleaner is its non-toxicity. This steering wheel cleaner is absolutely safe and won’t destroy the material of the body.

The major reason why recommend this best steering wheel cleaner is because it’s an all-purpose interior cleaning solution. It can work on almost every type of surface – leather, wood, plastic, and glass. Also, it doesn’t contain any harmful or toxic chemicals, hence, will keep you safe while using it.

No doubt, we have seen a positive response from many car owners but, on closer analysis, we found few customers complaining about the unpleasant smell. Once, you spray this solution on the steering wheel, it gives an unpleasant smell and remains for an hour or two.

#3 Adam’s Leather Kit

If you own a car with a leather interior, this Adam’s leather kit could be the best fit for you. A normal cleaner may not be suitable to clean leather fabric and may destroy the beauty. But, the chemicals used in this cleaner are suitable for leather and help you to preserve the natural beauty and design of the steering wheel.

Also, it comes with a neutral PH, which means – neither alkaline nor acidic. A neutral Ph cleaner won’t destroy the material while a too acidic or basic cleaner can. For example, too acidic can corrode the metallic steering wheel while basic cleaner can damage the plastic built steering wheel.

Along with a super cleaning feature, it also protects dash and door panels from UV rays. UV rays can have several impacts on the door panels and dash. For example, it can cause the door panels and dash to fade. Hence, this steering wheel cleaner would save your interior from the negative effect of UV rays.

One downside, we found as with the previous steering wheel cleaner too is the smell. Just like the previous cleaner, it also smells bad and could last for an hour or so. Since this problem has bee found with most of the cleaners, we can neglect this.

#4 Carfidant Ultimate Leather Cleaner

If you are not okay with the reviews of Adam’s leather kit, you can go with this Carfidant ultimate leather cleaner. Carfidaant leather cleaner is also the best steering wheel cleaner for those who own a car with a leather interior.

Just like adam’s leather kit, this one is also built to clean the leather interiors of the car and would help you preserve the natural beauty of the leather. Adam’s leather kit was mainly suitable for leather material. However, this Carfidant ultimate leather cleaner is suitable for both – leather and vinyl.

You can use Carfidant ultimate cleaner to clean your steering wheel, seats, door panels, bottle holder, etc.

One additional benefit it has over other steering wheel cleaner is “fragrance-free”. Yes, this Carfident Ulitmate cleaner doesn’t leave any smell or fragrance and hence, it wouldn’t smell hard.

No doubt, this steering wheel cleaner is the best one but, it also comes with certain drawbacks. There were a few customers informed that this steering wheel cleaner is not best for plastic or wood-built material. It can also not work with cranked leather.

#5 Sonax (206141) Upholstery and Alcantara Cleaner

Sonax is a well-known brand in the car care industry. They are basically known for car care products and they offer a wide range of car cleaning items. “Sonax (206141) Upholstery and Alcantara Cleaner” is one of them.

Sonax (206141) Upholstery and Alcantara Cleaner is specifically formulated for vehicles with Alcantara microfiber seats, steering wheels, and interior. It basically comes in a spray bottle. One important thing to note here is that this is not liquid based cleaner, it’s a “foam” cleaner.

The chemicals used in this sonax alcantra cleaner helps you to restore the actual color of the material and maintain its natural beauty. Though, this cleaner is not specifically built for cleaning the steering wheel, but it works well with every interior part of the car (including steering wheel).

One additional benefit it comes with is the pleasant smell. Every steering wheel cleaner that we reviewed so far had a certain unpleasant smell, but this car cleaner comes with a pleasant fragrance.

One drawback is it’s mainly built for Alcantra and not for other types of materials like – leather, metal, and plastic. Hence, it couldn’t be used with other types of steering wheels. Another issue is that it is a bit costlier than any other car interior or steering wheel cleaner.

#6 TriNova Leatherette, Vinyl, and Faux Leather Cleaner

TriNova, is a car caring product manufacturing brand that makes various cleaning products for cleaning purposes. Trinova products have been found safe and effective for a wide range of car materials including – wheels, steering wheels, car doors, seats and interior body.

As the name “TriNova Leatherette, Vinyl, and Faux Leather Cleaner” suggest, it’s a multi-purpose cleaner that can be used on leather, vinyl, and faux leather.

This Trinova faux leather cleaner is another best cleaning solution for steering wheels. It can work with almost every material like – steering wheels, couches, chairs, interiors, jackets, etc. The chemicals or compounds in this Trinova cleaning solution effectively clean the tough stains and dirt.

#7 Leather Milk Conditioner and Cleaner for Furniture, Cars steering wheel

This cleaner provided by chamberlains is another cleaning solution that you can use to clean the steering wheels. The only problem with this steering wheel cleaner is it’s not a spray, it’s a liquid form. The best part is, it really works with most of the material and have good fragrance. It is chemical free, hence, wouldn’t affect your hand or the material.

How to clean steering wheels?

Now, we know the best steering wheel cleaner, it’s time to know few steering wheel cleaning tips. Before we start cleaning your steering wheel, do not forget to go through the manufacture guidelines. The owner’s manual would provide the best recommendation to clean the steering wheel.

Another important thing to understand is the types of the steering wheels. Because, for different types of steering wheels, you’ve to use different cleaning method. The method that works with plastic material may not necessarily work with the leather steering wheel.

There’re basically 5 types of steering wheel:

• Leather steering wheel
• Faux leather steering wheel
• Plastic steering wheel
• Synthetic Resin steering wheel
• Metal steering wheel

So, without wasting any further moment, let’s straigh away jump on how to clean steering wheels.

How to clean leather steering wheel?

Leather steering wheels are comparatively costlier and durable than other types of steering wheels material. Hence, it’s important to clean leather steering wheels properly without damaging the material, otherwise, it would cost you a lot to change the material.

Here’s how to clean leather steering wheels:

1. Take a leather cleaner like – chemicals guys leather cleaner
2. Take a leather cleaning brush or a cloth
3. Scrub the steering wheel gently without applying any pressure
4. Apply a leather protector or UV rays protector to protect the leather for give a shiny look.

How to clean faux leather steering wheel?

Just like leather steering wheel, faux leather steering wheels are also costlier and comes with premium cars only. Hence, do not use any harsh chemicals that may damage your steering wheel.

Here’s how to clean the faux leather steering wheel:

• Take a leather cleaning solution
• Spray the solution all over the steering wheel
• Clean the steering wheel using a dry cloth

How to clean pastic steering wheel?

Plastic steering wheels are very easy to clean and doesn’t require much safety precautions. You can clean plastic steering wheels using wash and detergent by applying brush.

Here’s how to clean plastic steering wheel:

• Take brush and detergent
• Apply detergent on steering wheel
• Wash the steering wheel using water

How to clean synthetic resin steering wheel?

Synthetic resin is not actually a plastic but rather it’s a type of plastic. Just like plastic steering wheel, it is also very easy to clean or wash without taking much precautions.

Here’s how to clean synthetic resin steering wheel:

• Take a cleaning spray
• Spray the steering wheel cleaner all over the area
• Use soft fry cloth to wipe of the cleaner

How to clean metal steering wheel?

As metals are hard and stronger than any other material, you can clean it without worrying much. It just take little efforts and you can clean the steering wheel.

Here’s how to clean the metal steering wheel:

• Take any steering wheel cleaner
• Spray all over the steering wheel
• Take dry cloth and wipe the surface

Conclusion

I would end this discussion here only. So, in this particular post we mainly discussed about the best steering wheel cleaner available in the market. We try our best to provide the best product available in the market.

We also discussed the features of a good steering wheel cleaner and the various precaution that one should take before cleaning the steering wheel.

We finally, end up with this content on how to clean steering wheels. I hope, you liked the content.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)