Tips & tricks for car upholstery cleaning.
It is useless if the car shines from the outside and its interior is not clean. Especially when selling the car, the interior should appear neat and clean, but you should also clean the car upholstery and not only the dashboard and the floor. Particularly stubborn dirt residues can come from for example chocolate or footprints from the feet of the beloved four-legged friend. You can refer to our guide on the subject of upholstery cleaning to learn how to get rid of major stains and clean automotive upholstery. Before you start, you should first remove all personal belongings from the complete interior. On one hand, this helps you to have better access to the car’s upholstery, on the other hand, you are removing all objects that could be transformed into dangerous projectiles in an accident.
Step by step car upholstery cleaning
In order to clean the upholstery, you can either use a spray extraction machine (wet vacuum cleaner) or you can easily and inexpensively clean by hand. With the right method even this form is very effective. Although vast amounts of cleaning products for car upholstery can be found in stores, in principle water, sensitive detergent, several towels and a little vinegar are all that is needed:
- Vacuuming the car upholstery
Before you extensively start cleaning the upholstery, first remove any crumbs and dust. Use a standard vacuum cleaner with a narrow nozzle to get into any gaps. Vacuum the seats thoroughly and make sure that there are no dust particles or the like on the upholstery.
- Preparing to clean the car upholstery
First fill hot water into a 10-liter bucket. Cold water does not clean upholstery well this is why the water should be at least 50 degrees Celsius. Add about 20 grams of detergent to the bucket. This does not only clean, but also ensures a pleasant scent.
- Evenly rub the car upholstery
Now use one of the terrycloth towels and immerse it in the bucket to uniformly apply the detergent mixture to the seats. To clean the car upholstery, circular movements should be used. Use as much water as possible as the seats should be completely wet. However, pay attention to any electronic devices in close proximity. Let the cleaning liquid act for about 10 minutes, so that it can very effective.
- Cleaning car upholstery & drying
After the treatment use a clean towel and rub out the dirt from the car upholstery. This helps to remove some of the water, you should always make sure that the seats can completely dry. Opening windows help to let out the moisture. It is best to clean the upholstery on a sunny day.
- Fresh & shine for the cleaned car upholstery
Once the dirt is removed and the seats are dried, after cleaning you should fill a new bucket with water and a dash of vinegar. Rub the seats with the vinegar – this achieves fresh colour and colour intensity.
Cleaning the upholstery with car care products
Many vehicle owners use special foam based care products for upholstery cleaning. These are usually applied after the dirt removal from the seats and after an application time removed with the vacuum cleaner. Note, always follow the manufacturer instructors. Frequently used products include the A1 padded foam cleaner from Dr. Wack, the Xtreme Upholstery & Alcantara cleaner from Sonax or the active interior cleaner Caramba. It is possible to have a cost effective clean car upholstery by doing it yourself. This is just as effective and also more economical.