[ian loughlin]

Ive been asked by my dad to clean his car seats, i have only had training on carpets nothing on upholstery.

I know they are both similar but i need some important pointers of what TO do and what to AVOID.

Can i, as with a carpet, pre srpay with carpet and upholstery cleaner and hot water extract?

The car seats have only very small stains probably food and beverage.

BASICALLY HOW DO I CLEAN CAR SEATS PLEASE???

[markpowell]

what do you use as a pre-spray on carpets.
Mark

[John Kelly]

Car seat are extremely robust. It would be very hard to damage them. I have seen what some valeters use on them. Spray, agitate with a soft brush and rinse off with your machine.

[Len Gribble]

Lend him you machine explain as above, pick a nice day doors open or dehumidifier, if none available plastic covers.

Len

[lands]

Hi Ian

Do you have a hand tool?

Pete

[carpet guy]

Easiest and quickest drying would be to use a  crystallising foam, this is best carried out with the little hand "glove " version of bonnet mops.

[ian loughlin]

I know everone willl bite my head off but could i use that crystalising stuff from jml... the stuff you can get from woolworths... no wet wonder foam?

[lands]

Ian

People who will bite your head off should be ignored, I don't know the answer to your question other than just try it. As upholstery goes you could compare car seats to that of low profile synthetic carpets. They will take alot (as John quite rightly says) but like low profiles they will be likley candidates for slight wick back so a surface/cosmetic cleaner as Rob has mentioned maybe your best choice. Give it a go mate, It's not likey to hurt them and it's a little something more you have learned.

Good luck

[ian loughlin]

I have been backed into a corner with this one... dad is selling his motor, and has people comming to view on sunday. i can see it now . all good intentions and car seats covered in water marks.

I will target the small stains with a light mist of diluted stain pro, ..  failing that a full spray with fiber and fabric, with hwe with water.

[lands]

Ian

You got any fabric restorer?

[ian loughlin]

No ......... no fabric restorer, i could pick some up in the morning. you think that will do the job. Fiber & fabric rinse no good then??

[Deep Clean Newcastle Gateshead]

Im not a great fan of microsplitter, but try it as a prespray and then mist over with some in your machine, and buff off with a terry towel

[richie]

Wick back on upholstery?  i have never heard of that.  I test cleaned my passenger car seat the other day.  Sprayed it with One Step Zip It then simply wiped it over with a white Terry Towel.  OMG  the dirt transfere was unbelievable.  No sticky residue when dry (drying took about 20 mins.  I will sometime next week get round to HWE all the upholstery,  will be pre-spraying with One Step Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner.  

To answer the question regarding how to clean upholstery it is really quite simply.  As with any textile you should pre-test.  Apply your choosen chemical (i would use either One Step or Prochem Pure Clean or if the upholstery is either VERY DIRTY or has grease or lots of hair oil on it try using Prochem Fabric Restorer).  Aggitate with soft brush or terry towel.  Allow required dwell time then extract using hot water extraction method clean the upholstery & wipe over with clean white towel.  This will show if any soil remains (if so re-apply pre-spray & extract) and will also help to dry the fabric.  If using Fabric Restorer i woul suggest you either extract with acid rinse or apply acidic rinse via trigger sprayer.

Richie.

[ian loughlin]

What about treating any spots or stains???

[richie]

Hi Ian,
Most if not all spots & stains shoild come out with the above however,  if not the use of something like One Step Zip It or Zap it should do the trick.

Richie.

[Susan Dean (1stclean)]

No ......... no fabric restorer, i could pick some up in the morning. you think that will do the job. Fiber & fabric rinse no good then??

haveing won many deating and car shows guess i better comment here

i would devo pre vac  seats and carpets , use fab. restorer as a pre spay , and use hwe also a good sort bruch will be fine for rubbing in and cit gel is ok too use for bad marks  , now if useing a porty i would run the pump at about 60psi , due to the spray from the hand tool not unless your useing a dri master or cfr

be aware of water markes , so do plenty of dry passes , and make sure you go careful with over spray around amps, cd players and the like also over spray is a pain to get off the glass and if your not careful over spay marks in the sun on dashes can take months to remove

so stead away and you will save yourself extra work ,  beware on some cars that the ecu s can be under the seats so cheack befour giveing it lager on seats with water

[carpet guy]

I was definitely NOT suggesting the " wonder foam " although it might work fine............for speed and simplicity, plus quick drying times, I would and have frequently used a crystalising foam from Chemblend in Yorkshire, about £6 for 5 litres, you should get it from any Janitorial supplier............most chemical suppliers have a similar product, eg, Cimex encap, but 3 times the price.

Any of the above suggestions will work...

enjoy

rob

[Les]

Hi Ian,

I wouldn't get yourself in too much of a panic about cleaning the seats  .

I've cleaned them in a whols range of makes and never had a problem to date.

You can get special products just for car interiors as the fabric is different to that of furniture, however you can use Fabric Pre-spray at the normal mix rate and then clean using Fab Clean.

Pre spray any awkward marks with suitable Stain Remover and agitate the Pre-spray in the  usual way.

I do place towels over the centre console prior to cleaning and have some window cleaner available for post cleaning.

Pop a Dryer on afterwards, towel dry and don't overwet the fabric.

The results are usually amazing and you can show your dad just how dirty his car was.

Good Luck

Les  

[turneylogan]

I have cleaned my car seats years ago with carpet prespray (traffic clean or multi pro) and rinsed with extraction pro but misting (not wetting) with the hand tool. Good results and no problems, but I can tell you this...

Autoglym's upholstery shampoo is brilliant. Spray on and wipe off with terry towel. Leave car doors open to dry quickly. Not cheap though.

[ian loughlin]

Cheers guys,

cleaned dads car this morning with great results.