How to Clean Car Fabric Upholstery
Cleaning your automotive fabric upholstery is imperative to keeping your automotive fabric upholstery in top shape and extending the lifespan of the automotive material. To clean your automotive fabric upholstery, here are eight tips you can use.
1. Use a Homemade All-purpose Upholstery Cleaner
You do not need to spend lots of money on commercial cleaners in order to clean your upholstery. Instead, make your own cleaner with natural ingredients: mix water with a bit of dishwashing liquid in a bucket or jug; mix together and put into a spray bottle.
- Spray the mixture onto the upholstery, holding the bottle approximately 6-8 inches away.
- Rub the upholstery gently with a soft-bristled brush. Rinse the area with warm water by using a clean rag. Rinse out the rag frequently.
- Work on one seat or area at a time. Rinse each area thoroughly before moving onto the next area.
- Use a microfiber cloth to dry the area.
2. Use a Mixture of Soap, Borax and Hot Water as Cleaner
To make another natural, non-caustic cleaner, grate a bar of soap (such as Ivory) until you have 6 tablespoons worth. Add this soap and 2 tablespoons of borax to a bucket. Slowly add 2 cups of boiling water. You can also add 10 drops of lavender essential oil for fragrance if you want. Allow this to cool and then whip it with a whisk until it is foamy.
- Brush the foam onto your upholstery with a soft-bristled brush. Rinse the area with warm water by using a clean rag. Rinse out the rag frequently.
- Work on one seat or area at a time. Rinse each area thoroughly before moving onto the next area.
3. Use a Commercial Upholstery Cleaner
These cleaners are readily available at home supply stores and are not very expensive. They do, however, tend to use harsh chemicals. Follow the instructions on the product’s label for proper usage. Apply the cleaner to your upholstery and use a brush to work it into the material. Rinse with water thoroughly.
4. Rent a Steam Cleaner
Steam cleaners are available to rent at many grocery stores. These will deep clean upholstery and carpet by running hot water over the area that you are cleaning and then sucking it back up immediately. This will extract the water from the upholstery along with dirt. Steam cleaners can cost $35-$40 for a 24-hour rental period.
- Follow the instructions to operate the steam cleaner correctly.
- You can purchase a commercial carpet/upholstery cleaner to use with this machine, or you can make a natural solution of 1 part white vinegar and 1 part water, with a few drops of lavender essential oil included.
- Change the water in the steam cleaner often to avoid using dirty water to clean the upholstery.
5. Use a Toothbrush to Clean Seams
On the seat upholstery, there are seams where the upholstery has been sewn together. Dirt and debris can easily gather here and it is often hard to lift this dirt with a vacuum or cloth. Use a toothbrush to get to these areas, scrubbing gently with your cleaner.
6. Clean the Floor Mats
Remove the floor mats from the car and clean them using the same cleaner that you have used on the rest of the upholstery. Rinse them thoroughly and dry them with a microfiber cloth.
For rubber or vinyl mats, apply liquid wax shoe polish after cleaning them. This will help improve their shine and will make it easier to rinse them off and keep them clean.
7. Use a Lint Roller
A lint roller uses sticky paper to grab onto little pieces of fuzz, crumbs and hair. Remove hard-to-reach crumbs and hair from fabric upholstery by rolling a lint roller over the seats. Change the lint roller paper periodically to make sure that it is sticky enough to pick up lint, fuzz, hair and dirt.
8. Use a Microfiber Cloth to Reduce Lint Transfer
When you are blotting stains or wiping fabric upholstery, use a microfiber cloth that will not leave extra lint on the fabric.
