What is the best way to clean car upholstery?
The upholstery is one of the elements of the car that cost more to clean. This is influenced by several things, such as the fact that they can not be easily removed to wash them separately or the porosity of this type of fabric, which causes stains and we can not clean dirt to penetrate inside the material.
However, despite this, there are quite effective ways to leave the car’s upholstery like the first day. If you want to know what is the best way to clean car upholstery, keep reading, and we’ll tell you.
What is the best way to clean car upholstery?
The first thing you should keep in mind to clean the car’s upholstery is that you will need a vacuum cleaner. This tool is necessary to eliminate not only the superficial dirt but also the one that remains hidden inside the fabric and the foam of the seats.
Next, we will have to clean the upholstery itself with soap and water. For this, the most advisable is to use a specific detergent for upholstery or, in the absence of this, a neutral detergent. Above all, it is essential that it is a soap that is not aggressive with the fabric, as it could discolor it or leave white fences once it dries. To clean the upholstery with soap and water, we have to wet the scrub or cloth and rub each of its parts.
Finally, we must remove with a dry cloth the remains of foam from the soap that may remain and, when the upholstery is completely dry, pass the aspirates again. This will help us to eliminate any remaining dry solvent that may remain.
Specific cleaning of car upholstery
On the other hand, beyond the general cleaning of the car’s upholstery, there are also particular cases in which we want to clean specific stains. In these cases, the most crucial thing will be to use the right product for each type of stain. In general, you can use a stain remover that you usually sell at gas stations.
Some of the most common stains can be cleaned with the following products:
- Mud or sand: the most effective way to eliminate this type of stains is to use a thick brush for the most important and visible part and, for the rest, use a damp cloth only with water.
- Coffee, tea, or other beverages: the simplest way to eliminate this type of stains merely is using water. If you still resist, you can always choose to use a standard glass cleaner product, as it also usually gives good results.
- Chewing gum: it is one of the most delicate spots to eliminate. The best way to get rid of them is to harden it first with an ice and, when the chewing gum is tough, remove it slowly and patiently with a spatula.
- Chocolate: despite its appearance, chocolate stains are usually some of the easiest to remove. They are typically removed without problems using only water and neutral soap.
- Oil or grease: these are, without doubt, the most difficult stains to remove from the car’s upholstery. To eliminate them, or at least remove most of the stain, it is advisable to use water and a degreasing product. It is essential to make sure that the product in question is suitable for use in upholstery fabrics, since, otherwise, it could further damage the appearance and texture of the material.
Other considerations to care for car upholstery
One of the aspects that we must take into account when we try to clean the car upholstery is that the longer we take to clean a stain, the harder it will be to eliminate it. For this reason, it is advisable to bring some necessary products in the boot itself to be able to act quickly in case the upholstery becomes stained.
It is not necessary to carry a specific product for each type of stain, but it is highly recommended to have at least a rag, a bottle of water and a neutral soap that we can use to eliminate more general stains quickly.