Learn how to clean your car’s upholstery correctly with these valuable tips depending on whether it is made of leather, Alcantara, or fabric. It will be like new!
Car upholstery and carpets wear out over time. Without proper care, it is in these elements where the aging of the car’s interior materials is most appreciated. Extending the useful life of your car is as simple as following some basic recommendations, including keeping the interior of your vehicle clean and well-kept. ¿ How to clean upholstery? What cleaning tips to follow, whether it is made of fabric or leather? What should you do to keep the seats looking new?
It is not the first time that we have focused our attention on recommendations on how to clean the car so that both the interior and exterior of the vehicle are in perfect condition. Cleaning upholstery and seats are tricky: common sense, care, and sometimes some “grandma’s advice” for tough stains.
Basic upholstery cleaning tips
The care of our upholstery varies depending on the material with which it is made: fabric or leather. The main recommendation for cleaning fabric upholstery is to use water sparingly. The fabric absorbs excess liquid, making drying practically impossible and generating too much foam when combined with soap. The best recommendation for basic cleaning of fabric upholstery is to use a vacuum cleaner. If the dirt is heavier, a damp cloth with a mild detergent is recommended.
If the upholstery is made of leather, it is important to wipe it with a damp cloth with mild soap to remove the dirt. Then blot up the excess water or soap with a dry cloth. It is advisable to carry out a nourishing and brightening of the leather twice a year with a specific product to avoid deterioration of the leather and keep it in perfect condition for a longer time.
Three steps to cleaning the interior of the vehicle
Following three basic steps will help you to perform a good cleaning of the interior of the vehicle and the upholstery of the car. These are common-sense tips, but we also incorporate some homemade tricks to remove difficult stains, although when in doubt, always go to a professional:
Thoroughly clean the interior of the vehicle before focusing on upholstery. Remove all dirt, dust, and dried dirt or mud from carpets, trunks, and the interior. Eliminate the remains of bags, food, packaging, and all that we accumulate inside the car to clear the area and thoroughly vacuum seats, upholstery, dashboard, and instrument panel.
Choose cleaning products according to material and needs.
There are numerous cleaning products and foams on the market to deal with specific stains or for upholstery care. Find the one that best suits your needs, the stain and the care of the material. But whether it’s simple soap and water or a stain remover, remember to expand the product after removing surface dirt. Depending on the stain or the surface material, you can use a cloth, sponge, or brush.
The finish makes the difference.
Go over the surface to be cleaned and remove the foam or excess liquid with a cloth or a vacuum cleaner if it is small solid residues to offer a perfect finish.
Common mistakes when cleaning car upholstery
When faced with cleaning car upholstery, several common mistakes are often made.
Take time to clean stains.
The first of them is not to act as quickly as the stain requires. Don’t let the stain dry. Why? If the upholstery has been stained with grease, food scraps, gum … and you don’t clean it quickly, marks could remain. According to the experts, the most advisable thing is to quickly remove any stain that falls on the upholstery and do a thorough cleaning every one or two months.
Not all stains are the same.
Don’t treat all stains the same. Not all stains are the same and each of them must be faced differently. Popular wisdom and grandmother’s advice recommend that to remove a mud stain, it is necessary first to apply a thick brush to remove the main dirt and then with the wet brush to remove the remains.
- If the stain is from tea or coffee, remove it as soon as possible with blotting paper, then rub it in with ice. For chocolate, use dry soap and rub hard.
- Grease or oil stains are the most difficult. You can use diluted glycerin for removal.
If you are going to use a cleaning product, carry out a small test beforehand to avoid damage to the fabric, check the product’s effectiveness, and follow the instructions for use at all times.
How to clean the upholstery according to the type of material
There is no one-size-fits-all remedy for removing all stains from all types of surfaces; For this reason, it is important to follow some tips to clean the car upholstery depending on whether our vehicle has fabric, leather or Alcantara upholstery.
Fabric upholstery
To clean a stain from fabric upholstery, start by removing surface dirt. The best way to do this is utilizing a very powerful vacuum cleaner, so if we don’t have one at home, it is better to go to a gas station or car wash that offers this service. It is important to do it from the inside out of the seat to drag the dirt easily. And put interest in the folds of the seats since it is where more debris can accumulate.
After vacuuming up the solid remains, it is time to clean the stain. To do this, we will get a sponge and wet it with water and neutral soap to clean the seat. As in the previous case, it is important to do it from the inside out. It is usual that, once we have passed the sponge, the stain has not disappeared. In that case, we can get a special dry foam for cars that we can find in any store dedicated to the vehicle or on any surface.
It is applied on top of the stain, allowed to act while it dries and, after the time indicated by the manufacturer, is removed with a dry cloth. The effects are usually magnificent, and we will only have to wait for the car to dry and to ventilate. The faster it does it, the better, so we can use a vacuum cleaner or, if not, try to leave it somewhere where it is safe for it to remain with the windows down or the doors open so that the odors disappear as soon as possible.
Leather upholstery
When it comes to cleaning a stain on leather upholstery, the process is similar, although with some nuances. As in the previous case, the first thing is to make us use a vacuum cleaner to remove any solid remains on the surface or between the folds of the seats. Then you have to use a soft brush to remove any dust on the seats, but be very careful not to damage the leather.
Next, you must apply a specific cleaning product for leather upholstery found in supermarkets, gas stations, or specialized automotive stores. You have to use it by making circles with the same soft brush that we mentioned earlier. We must remove the excess remains of the product with a damp cloth or, if possible, with a microfiber cloth to take care of the skin.
Finally, we dry the stain and apply a nourishing cream to the leather. It is a process that is recommended to be done at least twice a year in all cars with leather upholstery to keep the leather in perfect condition. To apply it, it must also be done in circles, using, in this case, a dry microfiber cloth. The result will be perfect.
Alcantara leather upholstery
More and more cars have the so-called Alcantara fabric upholstery. This synthetic fabric has become very popular among manufacturers due to its great qualities: it is very resistant and, at the same time, allows to offer an infinity of colors to the customer.
For people whose car already has this type of upholstery, their thing is to follow the same steps as in leather upholstery. However, they should replace the specific cream for leather with another cream recommended for Alcantara upholstery. The results will be excellent and it will be like new.
Cleaning the car upholstery is as simple as following a few simple steps:
- Remove superficial dirt with a good vacuum.
- Act quickly on the upholstery.
- Prevent the stain from drying for a better result and choose which cleaning product to use on the seats since the material from which they are made.
- Be it leather, fabric, or synthetic.
- Imply extra care.
At Dial Cleaning Services, we are experts in upholstery cleaning in Quebec, Canada. So you can contact us to have a clean space and create a more pleasant climate in your company.
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