Vehicle seats are used on a daily basis and should be kept clean always. Dirt, stains and other particles may fall on the car seats and hide in the seat crevices. To avoid your seats looking bad or depreciating faster, cleaning them should be done regularly. There are different types of seats that may need to be cleaned differently. These include leather seats, fabric seats and vinyl seats. Each seat fabric requires special treatment and therefore, it’s important to check out the car’s manual and see what the manufacturer recommends. Also, cleaning shampoos and detergents vary on the market and it’s crucial to choose one that is best suited for your type of car seat. Here are some of the tips for appropriately cleaning your vehicle seats.
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Things that you will need for proper cleaning of the car seats
Before you start cleaning the vehicle, you should ensure that you have all the tools for the proper detailing of your car seats. The things that you need are two tablespoons of dish soap, two tablespoons of washing soda, hot water, a vacuum cleaner, two buckets, a cleaning brush, and a cleaning towel.
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Vacuum the car or get rid of trash and dirt
For easy and quick washing of the seats, you will have to vacuum them or get rid of the dirt on the seats using a brush. This will prevent you from tracking any debris or dirt on the seats as you clean.
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Test the cleaning product on a small section of your car seat
Then, apply just a small portion of the cleaning detergent or product on the seat fabric. This will help you know if the product can damage your seats or not.
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Clean the car seats in a circular motion
After mixing the solutions in the two separate buckets, you can then start cleaning your car. Start by using the hot water together with the detergent to get rid of any dirt on the car seats. After that, you can use the cold water to get rid of any additional or stubborn dirt remaining on the vehicle seats. Clean in a circular motion so that you can lift all the dirt out.
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Remove ink, grease, and oily stains from the fabric
If you have tough stains on your fabric, remember to use the right substances to get rid of them. For instance, an ink stain can be removed by using hairspray or alternatively by rubbing alcohol that is combined with water. A grease or oil stain can be cleaned by using a watered-down paint thinner formula and smooth cotton cloth.
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Get rid of coffee, blood and vomit stains
Other stains like coffee can be removed by diluting the coffee stain with cold water, then, you place a glass cleaner on the stain and allow it to stay that way for around 5 minutes before wiping it with a towel. When it comes to blood stains, this can be wiped off the fabric by the use of cold water. Since this strain is tough, you should stain a cloth in cold water and blot it on the blood. But in the situation where an animal or a person vomits in the car, you should get rid of the stains by use of cold water. Afterward, apply mild soap and wipe with warm water.
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Wipe the car seat with a towel
After you have excellently cleaned the car and got rid of all the stains, you can now wipe the car seats with a towel and leave them to dry.
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Open the car windows and doors for easy drying of the seats
Don’t stress yourself in trying to dry the car on your own. Select to clean things like car upholstery on a sunny day so that it can dry easily by opening car windows and doors for fresh air and quick drying.