5 Car Care Tips on Removing Dirt Stains from Car Seats
Car seat stains are very common. Coffee spills, food stains, oil, and salad dressings can cling onto the fabric and look unpleasant. Sometimes carsick passengers might even leave an unwanted gift behind that you’ll need to clean up. So what should you do when such irritating dirt stains occur? How long should you wait before you clean them up? Should you wait at all? We’ve compiled the most useful car care tips below, so you can finally get rid of those stains once and for all.
Dab Stain with a Cloth Soaked In Cold Water
If the stain is brand new and isn’t oil-based, then grab a clean cloth or a towel and soak it in cold water as soon as you can. Never use hot water on stains, or you might just make it worse. Next, dab the stain (don’t scrub) with the wet cloth carefully, making sure not to spread the stain elsewhere. This should help you lessen the severity of the stain. Now, if your car has had a stain for a while and the stain has dried up, it might be best to vacuum the upholstery before you try to clean off the stain. Then, you might want to try to scrub the stain with a dry towel first, just to see if any part of it has dried off and can be removed without the use of water or cleaning products.
Use a Mild Laundry Detergent or Soap
After you dab the stain with the wet cloth, you can use either a mild laundry detergent or soap to clean away whatever remains of the stain. Simply take the wet cloth and apply a small amount of laundry detergent or soap to one particular area and use that area to dab the stain once more. Dab with caution, and never use too much soap on the stain (a little goes a long way and is easier to clean off with water after). After you’ve dabbed the stain a couple times and it is no longer visible, use a different corner of the wet cloth where there is no soap or laundry detergent and dab at the stain area until the soap is just about gone. Not too difficult, right? All you have to do in this car care tip is dab.
Apply Baking Soda on Stain
If the stain remains even after you’ve cleaned it off with water and soap or laundry detergent, then you could try applying a dash of baking soda to it. Leave the baking soda on the stain for a few minutes and then clean it off by dabbing the area with the wet cloth again. The stain should be completely removed at this point.
Put Salt on Oil Stains
If you have an oil stain, make sure to deal with it immediately. Don’t wait until the stain dries. You should always try to clean off any type of stain as soon as possible, but this car care instruction is especially critical with oil stains. The difference between oil stains and other stains is the fact that oil stains cannot be absorbed by water and soap. They tend to smudge anything that comes in contact with them. Therefore, the first step to take to get rid of oil stains is to put salt on them, enough to cover the area completely. Leave the salt on for a while, perhaps ten minutes, and it’ll soak all the oil from the fabric. Then, you’ll have an easier time removing the remainder of the stain with water and soap.
Use Leather Cleaner and Conditioner for Leather Seats
Leather seats are different from regular fabric and need different cleaning techniques. In order to remove stains from the leather, purchase a leather cleaner and conditioner. Never use water on leather seats, as doing so can cause them to crack. Instead, follow the directions of the leather cleaner, and that should be enough to remove any stains. The leather conditioner will help maintain the leather seats.
Of course, we recommend visiting a professional carwash and detailing center to remove all upholstery stains. These tips are intended to help you minimize the stains until you are able to bring in your car.
