How to Remove Stains From Car Upholstery

Member

By Crabcakes
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating: (4 Ratings)

Car upholstery

Keep your car happy by cleaning spills and stains in the upholstery! Everyone enjoys a clean car!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Elbow grease
Clean rags and/or paper towels
Cleaning products
Soft nail brush

Step 1

Vacuum your seats regularly to remove dirt buildup.

For Stains:

--> Blot spills in your car immediately with a rag or paper towels. Press the cloth down into the spill, turning the rag to blot with dry areas, until no more liquid is absorbed.

--> Spills and stains require different types of cleaners, depending on the content of the spill and the type of upholstery you have. Blotting is the secret- blot, blot, blot with clean rags. Too much moisture in the car can allow mold and mildew to form.
Step 2

Spot Shot

--> For spills of large amounts, blot well, and use a the upholstery attachment of an electric carpet cleaner. This can draw out most all of the fluid. Apply cleaner of choice and aspirate with the carpet cleaner until no more liquid is present. This may take some time. Lightly press down with the attachment head to aspirate as much as possible. You will be surprised how much liquid is drawn out! If all the liquid is not removed, when dry, the stain will reappear.

There are numerous good upholstery cleaners available, such as Spot Shot. Following are ways to clean with products often found at home.
Step 3

Coffee in car, by smiles-of-carly, Flickr

A) Drinks and coffee: Believe it or not, window spray cleaner is a fabulous cleaner for coffee and soda spills, leaving no ring or residue. After blotting the stain, spray on window cleaner and let site for a few minutes, Blot up with a clean rag or paper towels. For tough stains, you may need to brush gently with a toothbrush. Always test the cleaner on an inconspicuous area first- to check for colorfast ness.

B) Ink: Do not rub this type of stain. Spray with alcohol or hairspray. Blot immediately with a clean rag or paper towel. NO SCRUBBING.

C) Lipstick: Try a white type of toothpaste, and rub gently with a rag. Do not use gel toothpaste, or toothpastes with bleaching agents. Plain old white toothpaste will do the trick. You may have to repeat several times.

D) Gasoline: mix a teaspoon each of vinegar and a mild dish washing detergent into a large bowl of water. Dampen a clean rag in the vinegar/detergent solution and blot at the stain. Let dry and brush with a clean toothbrush. This may take several tries to get it really clean with no ring left behind.

E) Crayon: Rub in a small amount of WD-40 (!! yes !!!) . Blot with paper towels and repeat. Finish with a spray of Windex and blot, blot, blot. You may need to repeat this as often as necessary. Use a clean rag each time. Blotting up any wetness is key.
Step 4

F) Vomit: Scrape off any residue before you attack the stain. Make a solution of club soda and baking soda, and wipe on. Blot off solution, and repeat.

G) Urine: There are several ways to tackle this problem. First, BLOT up all you can with clean rags or paper towels. Removing the liquid will make cleaning easier, leave behind little to become odoriferous! Blot until no more liquid is absorbed into the towels. One trick to use Wintergreen scented alcohol. Pour some on and blot. Repeat several times. The alcohol will dry quickly, so work quickly and blot after each application of alcohol. Solutions of water and vinegar can also be tried. After, spray with urine smell remover products found in most large departments stores. I have successfully used Pet Odor remover products.

H) Blood: Never use HOT water on a blood stain. Again, blot up as much as possible. Test an inconspicuous spot with hydrogen peroxide. If it does not cause fabric discoloration, dampen the blood stain with the peroxide and blot up. You may scrub and rub this stain. Repeat as necessary with a clean rag.

I) Chewing gum: Try holding an ice cube on the gum for several minutes, and scrape off as much as possible. For remaining residue, wipe with carbon tetrachloride (Found in hardware and auto parts stores).
Step 5

Car seat, Photo by spic-n-span.co.uk

Leather and vinyl upholstery require special care products, found in the automotive section. Knowing if your leather is treated or untreated helps in determining the best product. Untreated leather calls for specially made leather cleaners. Gently vacuum the seats, and apply the product. Rub the cleaner in gently with a soft rag. Use a soft nail brush to reach seams and crevices. After removing the cleaner, apply leather conditioner, following the directions on the product.

Comments

moooom00 said

Flag This Comment

on 8/19/2009 those brown spots are from dirty and grease collection you can try dawn and water in a spray bottle bc dawn is made from grease it cuts grease....ive used it on clothing before where ive gotten grease stains and washed it by hand and it works fine....i have the same problem though and after my seats dry i use a seat cover because my stain like yours kept coming back....i have not tried this because i have seat covers on all my seats since i have my dogs in the car all the time but after it dries and it looks clean try to starch your seats good luck

Summersile said

on 8/15/2009 Great Tips! I've used Spot Shot and can verify that it works great.

kanrym said

on 7/14/2009 My question is about marks after cleaning. I was cleaned my car fabric interiors with a cleaning product and a damp rag. First it looked beautiful, but it lasted until it dried. Now it looks like a light brown water mark line that reminds me of dry urine. I rubbed it again with plain water and it didn't work. By any chance, do you know how to remove that mark? Thank you so much, Myrna

NaimaManal said

on 3/9/2009 These are great tips on how to maintain your car's interior...and it's good to do this periodically, so that it doesn't get overwhelming. Thanks!