Have you paid attention to car seat maintenance? Is the way to clean car seats that you have been doing is right? The car seat is a part of the car cabin that plays a very important role.
The main function of a car seat is to provide comfort for both the passenger and the driver. Maintenance is an activity that needs to be considered on the seat, not just when washing the car.
How to Clean Car Seats Easily in General
Caring for car seats is actually the easiest thing, but it requires a regular schedule that must be done by car owners in a disciplined manner. You can clean the upholstery once a week or every two weeks depending on the level of use.
The more often the car is used, especially with a lot of passengers, it must be cleaned more often. So don’t wait while washing your car before cleaning the seats. How to clean a car seat yourself is quite simple, namely as follows:
1. Preparing cleaning tools to clean car seat
You should provide cleaning tools such as a vacuum cleaner and microfiber cleaning cloths. In addition to tools, also prepare cleaning materials in the form of liquid or polishing materials.
2. Clean car seat dirt and dust
The first is to use a vacuum machine to remove all the dust and dry dirt from the top of the seat. In addition to the seats, you can also use a vacuum to vacuum other areas of the cabin.
3. Cleaning with cleaning fluid
The last step is to clean the upholstery using a cleaning fluid with a microfiber cloth. You can wipe all parts of the seat until clean.
These three methods are a series of general steps that can be taken when the seats are clean or not stained.
Tips and Tricks to Clean Car Seat
How to clean the car seat must be done with the right steps. So that the car seat is clean and doesn’t take the wrong step, there are the following practical tips and tricks that you can do.
1. Know the types of upholstery materials
You need to know before cleaning what type of material is used. Because each material requires a different cleaning fluid. Especially when the seats have stains.
There are several types of car seat upholstery, namely the type of leather which is expensive and how to clean it more attention. Leather seats should not be cleaned with eucalyptus oil and liquids that have discolouration properties. While the type of seat with a vinyl coating is the easiest to clean, as long as it’s not rough. This material should be treated gently.
Lastly is the type of fabric material, namely velvet or woven fabric. Upholstery treatment made of velvet or woven material must be cleaned separately, not in an installed state.
2. Clean ink stains
Car seats can get dirty due to ink stains at any time. These stains can only be cleaned on cloth or vinyl types, while leather seats cannot be cleaned. Tips for cleaning it is with liquid containing alcohol.
Simply rub the liquid carefully on the stain until it disappears. If you don’t have this liquid, you can also replace it with hand sanitizer.
3. Clean car seat from oil stains
Apart from ink stains, the upholstery is also sometimes exposed to oil and the color of the upholstery will look different. If left too long, oil stains will become a source of unpleasant odors.
The trick is using acetone. This liquid can be rubbed on the oil stain and then rub it gently with a microfiber cloth.
After scrubbing, you can sprinkle salt on it to absorb the acetone content in the fabric. Leave the salt overnight and then clean with a vacuum the next day.
For those of you who have car seats made of leather, you need to be careful using them. Because some stains can’t be removed easily.
How to Clean Car Seats from Fabric
As explained above, there are two types of cloth seats. How to clean a woven cloth car seat needs to be done carefully. Because woven fabric is a type of fabric that is easily damaged if treated roughly.
How to clean it does not need to be removed because you can use dishwashing soap. Here are the steps that can be followed:
- Mix dish soap and water in a spray bottle.
- Spray the liquid that has been made to the seat area with a distance of 20 cm. Then scrub with a soft brush.
- Clean the soap marks on the seat cloth using a microfiber cloth that has been soaked in warm water.
It’s different if you use a cloth made of velvet, because the cloth needs to be removed first. Then soak the microfiber cloth in the soapy liquid with warm water. Rinse the upholstery and dry before reassembling.
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How to Clean Car Seats from Vinyl Materials
Upholstery using vinyl cloth is the easiest to clean because the surface is slippery like plastic. It’s just that you need to use a soft brush when cleaning it.
How to clean it can directly use soap mixed with water. Then wipe the soap solution with a sponge all over the seat area. If so, you can use a clean microfiber cloth or towel to remove the soapy water.
Make sure all upholstery is dry and free of soapy water before use. So you can use the towel repeatedly until it is completely clean.
How to Clean Car Seats from Leather
Leather material needs extra attention from the owner to be clean and free of stains. There are special detergents which are used to clean the skin. This step is not much different when you clean a leather jacket or leather bag.
First, clean with a vacuum machine. Then wipe a special detergent all over the car seat area. Dry it with a soft microfiber cloth on the surface to remove the cleaning liquid.
Finally, use leather polish to make the car seat look shiny. Besides having a new appearance, polishing materials also make the surface slippery. So that dust and dirt do not easily stick to the car seat.
How to Overcome Mold that Appears on Car Seats
In addition to oil or ink stains, upholstery that is left dirty for a long time will easily grow mold. The shape can be white or black spots just like mushrooms on wood. Some also have fine hairs on the surface.
How to get rid of mold on car seats? You will need to use a special mildew cleaner made from dish soap and bleach. Make a liquid in a 1:1 ratio.
The first way to clean moldy car seats is using a vacuum machine. Then pour the mildew cleaner onto the upholstery with a sponge and scrub until the mildew is gone.
Finally, if the mold is gone, clean the upholstery with a microfiber cloth or dry towel. That way the fungus will disappear and don’t forget to leave the car open so that the air makes the seats drier.
You can do this method of cleaning the car seat yourself at home without the need to go to a car salon. Make sure you follow the right steps according to the type of upholstery that is safe to use on car seats.
