Van and Minivan Detailing — Stow-and-Go Wells, Sliding Doors and Cargo Floors

Vans come in two kinds and we detail both. The family minivan, a Sienna, Odyssey, Pacifica, Carnival or Grand Caravan, is the most interior-heavy vehicle on the road: seven or eight seats, seat wells under the floor, sliding door tracks, cup holders in every row and carpet that runs the full length. The cargo van, a Transit, ProMaster, Sprinter or Savana, is the opposite: bare floors, shelving, a bulkhead and a cab that gets used as a lunchroom.

Auto Royale comes to your driveway, your condo garage or your shop anywhere in the GTA with the extractors, steamers and reach tools these vehicles need, and we plan the time honestly, because a minivan is not a quick job.

Minivans: the seat wells and the sliding door tracks

Stow-and-go and fold-flat seats drop into wells under the floor, and those wells collect everything that falls through the seat gaps: cereal, raisins, sand, the melted end of a lollipop. We fold the seats down, vacuum and steam the wells and the hinge mechanisms, then raise the seats and clean the floor under them. Removable second-row seats come out entirely if you prefer, which gives us the floor the way the factory saw it.

Sliding door tracks are the other problem spot. The lower track fills with grit that grinds in the rollers, and the step well below the door is where boots land in winter. We brush and vacuum the track, steam the step, and wipe the rubber seals so the doors close quietly again.

Eight seats, a dozen cup holders and a lot of carpet

Every cup holder, seatback pocket, console bin and door pocket gets emptied, brushed and wiped. Cloth seats are shampooed and extracted row by row; leather is cleaned and conditioned. The carpet is vacuumed with crevice tools along every seat rail, then hot-water extracted where it is stained, which in a minivan is usually the second row under the car seats and the area at the sliding doors.

• All rows folded, raised and cleaned underneath
• Seat wells and hinges steamed and vacuumed
• Sliding door tracks and step wells cleared of grit
• Rear climate vents and ceiling controls wiped
• Rear entertainment screens cleaned with a screen-safe cleaner

Cargo vans: plywood floors, shelving and the cab

A work van does not need shampooing; it needs the dust and debris out and the cab made decent. We blow out the cargo area with compressed air, vacuum the floor and the shelving, and scrub rubber or plywood floors with a degreaser. Spilled paint, adhesive and construction dust are handled on their own terms. The bulkhead and cargo door interiors are wiped.

The cab gets the full interior treatment: vinyl or cloth seats cleaned, the dash and the clipboard shelf degreased, the steering wheel and shifter cleaned of hand grime, and the floor extracted. A clean cab is good for the person driving it ten hours a day and for every customer who sees the van pull up.

Exterior: big flat panels and a high roof

Vans have the flattest, tallest sides of anything we wash, and flat panels show water spots, salt streaks and swirls plainly. The exterior is foamed, hand washed with the two-bucket method and sealed like any other vehicle, but a high-roof cargo van needs a platform ladder and extension tools for the roof, which we bring. Sliding door tracks on the outside and the step wells are flushed; wheel wells on cargo vans tend to pack with mud and get scrubbed.

Before we arrive

Clear what you can from the van: car seats if you are comfortable removing them, strollers, sports gear, tools and stock. Every item we have to move is time we are not cleaning. Tell us when you book whether we are doing a minivan or a cargo van and whether it is a high roof, and send a couple of photos. That lets us plan the right amount of time and bring the right equipment.

Best for

• Families running a minivan as the main car
• Tradespeople and delivery drivers with a cargo van
• Minivans heading to sale or lease return
• Camper van conversions needing a reset

Typical time: A full detail on a minivan runs about 4–6 hours; a cargo van interior and cab is typically 2–3 hours, plus exterior time.