Car upholstery cleaning

[scottmk1]

I've bought a pair of recaro seats for the truck, and they are in need of a damn good clean, not only are they dirty but they stink too.

So what's a good product for cleaning them? They are all cloth no leather or vinyl or anything like that.

Is stuff from Halfords any good?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

AutoSmart Bio Brisk.

 

[scottmk1]

Cheers @slim_boy_fat is that available anywhere in particular? Hoping to get my hands on something tomorrow ideally.

 

[BarrieJ]

Lidl's used to do a foaming upholstery cleaner in their W5 range, don't know if they still do, really good.
We had our daughter's old Pug 306 on the drive for ages with a broken window, the passenger seat was in a terrible state, came up really well.

 

[Craig-SM]

The Halfords stuff is very good. Cleaned up the cream carpet in my wife’s car very well and oil from the house carpet I had walked in.

 

[scottmk1]

Thanks guys I'll check those options as well.

 

[Olderisbetter]

When i left my window down years ago and a can jumped in and urinated on my back seat it was really bad but i used an enzyme upholstery cleaner and it did the trick, since then i have cleaned people seats that have a full range of children's mistakes on them using a carpet cleaner with a hose attachment.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Cheers @slim_boy_fat is that available anywhere in particular? Hoping to get my hands on something tomorrow ideally.

MacGregors Ind Supplies in Inverness I get my A/Smart stuff - where exactly are you?

 

[scottmk1]

I'm in Fife, and will be near Halfords tomorrow that's why I was looking to get something there.

 

[Bullet2012]

Get hold of something like this.

https://www.kaercher.com/uk/home-garden/steam-cleaners/sc-1-easyfix-15163340.html

will clean most of the muck out and kill any nasties left in the material from previous owners posterior.

 

[armalites]

Do you know anyone who has a George or something similar? It's scary how much stuff comes out of them.

It's doable if you have a wet vacuum, you can give the seats a good dosing and scrub them then suck water out.

If you look on the detailing supplies site you can buy rotary brushes that fit in a cordlees drill for scrubbing upholstery

 

[scottmk1]

I'll have a look for those brushes, the steam cleaner thing is nearly twice what I paid for the seats so that's a no go, someone I know might have one I can borrow though

 

[Bullet2012]

I'll have a look for those brushes, the steam cleaner thing is nearly twice what I paid for the seats so that's a no go, someone I know might have one I can borrow though

I managed to persuade swimbo that it would be for cleaning the kitchen and bathroom

 

[scottmk1]

You may have a good point there...

 

[armalites]

I'll have a look for those brushes, the steam cleaner thing is nearly twice what I paid for the seats so that's a no go, someone I know might have one I can borrow though

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/light-duty-upholstery-carpet-drill-brush

They do stiffer ones too.

 

[marlinspike]

Wozzah posted about cheap wheel cleaner at Eurocarparts, which led me to spot this on their eBay site too. Not sure if it will be any good, but cheap at a fiver for 2.5 litres:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triple-Q...Dual-Action-Car-Care-/332214413027?nav=SEARCH

 

[scottmk1]

Worth a bash at that price. If it doesn't clean the seats I could always do the dishes with it

 

[m_c]

If they're not fitted, hot power washer is by far the best option, then leave them somewhere warm for a few days to dry out. Or refit them, and let the vehicle sit in the sun with the windows cracked to let the moisture out, using some seat covers if you want to use the vehicle without getting a wet backside.

If they're fitted, then a wet cleaner with upholstery cleaner and a transparent adapter works best. Give them a good soak for 5-10 minutes, suck it back out, then repeat until what you're sucking out isn't dirty. It may take several passes to achieve that, and is why I recommend the transparent adapter so you can see how dirty/clean the seats are, and avoid patchy cleaning.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

@scottmk1 Don't forget to give us a review, whichever product you settle on.

 

[scottmk1]

If they're not fitted, hot power washer is by far the best option, then leave them somewhere warm for a few days to dry out. Or refit them, and let the vehicle sit in the sun with the windows cracked to let the moisture out, using some seat covers if you want to use the vehicle without getting a wet backside.

If they're fitted, then a wet cleaner with upholstery cleaner and a transparent adapter works best. Give them a good soak for 5-10 minutes, suck it back out, then repeat until what you're sucking out isn't dirty. It may take several passes to achieve that, and is why I recommend the transparent adapter so you can see how dirty/clean the seats are, and avoid patchy cleaning.

Thanks but it's winter in Scotland so leaving them somewhere warm is going to be difficult.
I'm going to go for the stuff from Euro Car Parts and I'll see if I can borrow a wet & dry to pull the muck out.

@slim_boy_fat I'll try and get before and after pics and put them up here.