How can I clean my car seats effectively?

Over time and with repeated use, car seats can become dirty and even stained. As a result, this part of the vehicle requires special attention.

In a car, you can’t use just any cleaning product at the risk of damaging the seat surface. So you need to be particularly careful with the techniques and products you use.

To help you achieve a clean, healthy car, this article describes some of the most effective and appropriate cleaning tips.

Clean your car effectively with the right products!

Caring for your car’s seats isn’t very complicated, provided you have the right products. There are a number of natural products in this field which will ensure that your car is spotless at the end of the cleaning process, with no unhealthy substances emanating (which is not the case with industrial chemical products). You’re probably familiar with these products:

White vinegar
Carbonated water
Ammonia
Baking soda
Soda crystals

Before moving on to cleaning the seats with these products, a thorough dusting is essential. A vacuum cleaner is essential for this, removing all surface dirt and dust residues from the seats.

How to clean your car seats effectively?

Use these products to thoroughly clean your car seats.

1 – White vinegar

White vinegar is a natural product that’s widely used to clean the whole house. Thanks to its many properties, it stains, degreases, disinfects, sanitizes and deodorizes textiles, including car seats.

To use, prepare a mixture of 50cl vinegar, 20cl water and 2 tablespoons washing-up liquid. Simply use a soft sponge and dampen it with this mixture to start scrubbing and cleaning the seats.

Then use a clean damp sponge to rinse the seats. Once the seats have been left to dry at least with the windows open, they will be perfectly clean.

2 – Ammonia

Ammonia is a commonly used cleaning product. However, it’s a powerful product that needs to be used with gloves and a protective mask.

Ammonia is applied by soaking a cloth and rubbing the entire surface of the car seat. Rinsing is just as simple, using another clean, damp cloth.

Once again, leave the seats to dry thoroughly before closing the car. If you’re short of time, a simple trick is to use a hair dryer to speed up the drying process.

After such a cleaning, your car’s fabric seats will be as good as new.

3 – Baking soda and spirit vinegar paste

Baking soda is another multi-purpose product that can be used to sanitize and deodorize car seat fabrics.

To use it, create a cleaning paste from baking soda and vinegar. This then cleans the seats thoroughly, effectively removing stains.

4 – Soda crystals

Soda crystals are also widely used to clean all kinds of surfaces, including automotive textiles. To use them to clean your car seats, you’ll need to dilute the crystals in water. The usual ratio is 1 cup of crystals to 1 liter of water.

The resulting solution then restores the seats to their original appearance, cleaning them thoroughly. It is applied with a clean cloth, and rinsed off in the same way with another cloth dampened with water.

5 – Lye

Oil stains are particularly difficult to remove. If you’ve inadvertently stained your car’s seats with a greasy substance, all is not lost. In fact, with the help of a detergent, you can get your seats completely clean in no time at all.

All you need to do is follow these simple steps:

Dilute two capfuls of detergent with one liter of water.
Use this product to soak a sponge and scrub stained seats.
If possible, vacuum up excess water using a special vacuum cleaner.
Repeat the operation until the stain has completely disappeared.

Specific treatments for your car

Some car stains require special tricks to be removed effectively. Knowing the right products to remove them will help you get perfectly clean seats. Here’s an overview:

Sparkling water (such as Perrier): removes vomit stains.
Nail polish remover: removes ink stains.
Cornstarch: to remove blood stains.
Soapy water: removes mud from seats.
Pure baking soda: to deodorize smelly seats.

How to wash stained leather seats effectively?

Leather is a hard-wearing material, but it can become stained and faded over time. To maintain and revive leather, there’s a simple but highly effective trick. The trick is to use cleansing milk.

To use this trick, simply apply make-up remover to a soft sponge. Then rub the entire surface of the seat. The second step is to wipe the entire surface with a clean, slightly damp cloth.

The third and final step is to use ox foot oil to protect the leather and give it a beautiful appearance.