How to Clean Car Seats

If you prefer to handle a lot of your vehicle’s service tasks at home in the Mainline area or you need to save money on service, cleaning your car seats at home is easier than you may think. The team at the Land Rover Willow Grove service center team has a step-by-step guide on how to clean car seats. We also show you how to clean leather car seats! Feel free to contact our service team if you have any questions.

How to Clean Leather Car Seats

What you’ll need:

1. Leather cleaner, saddle soap, mild leather soap, or one-part white vinegar/two parts linseed oil solution
2. Microfiber towels
3. Interior brush (soft-bristled, NOT a stiff carpet brush)

Instructions:

1. Refer to your owner’s manual for specific instructions for your vehicle and possible products NOT to use.
2. Vacuum the seats to remove all particles, and be careful that you don’t scratch the leather. Use the smaller attachments or an air compressor to clean between the cracks.
3. Spray your leather cleaner on the microfiber towel and wipe the seats to remove surface dirt and oils.
4. Spray cleaner onto the seats (if the leather seats are perforated, spray onto the brush), and gently scrub the surface with the brush.
5. Wipe the seats with a clean and dry microfiber towel.

Conditioning Leather Car Seats

Using leather conditioner regularly helps prevent cracks and dryness while preserving the softness of the leather. Follow the steps below to condition your leather seats:

1. Make sure that the leather conditioner contains only natural ingredients – it’s essential to avoid ingredients like petroleum distillates, waxes, and silicones.
2. Apply a small amount of conditioner on a clean and dry microfiber cloth.
3. Work the conditioner gently into the leather in circles.
4. Allow the conditioner to soak into the leather for about an hour before touching the upholstery.
5. Also, try to keep the seats out of the sunlight during this stage, so the material can thoroughly soak up the conditioner before drying too soon.
6. Once the seats have fully absorbed the conditioner, gently buff them with a new microfiber cloth.

Additional Leather Care Tips

1. Keep microfiber cloths and cleaning solution in your car. They’ll come in handy to clean your seats of dust, spills, and debris. This prevents long-term damage to your vehicle’s interior.
2. Do you have a garage? It’s best to store your vehicle there to protect your vehicle from extreme temperatures that can affect the life of the leather.
3. When driving around the Fort Washington area, park your car in the shade because it reduces sun bleaching or damage to the seats.

How to Clean Fabric Car Seats

Things you’ll need:

1. Cleaning solution spray designed for fabric (NOT an all-purpose cleaner)
2. Interior brush (soft or medium-stiff bristles, NOT a stiff carpet brush)
3. Microfiber towels
4. Enough time for the seats to dry before driving the car anywhere

Instructions:

1. Vacuum the seats to remove all particles of dust, dirt, and hair. Smaller attachments allow you to get into the cracks and seams of each seat with ease.
2. If you have a lot of pet hair in your car, you may need to also wipe down the seat with a lint roller to remove it.
3. With the doors or windows open for ventilation, lightly spray the cleaning solution onto an area you want to clean. Do not saturate the fabric, as it can cause mildew issues.
4. Use the interior brush to massage the cleaning solution into the fabric.
5. When suds start to appear, wipe them out of the fabric with the microfiber towel. If the fabric dries beforehand, the dirt will just get pulled back into the fibers.
6. Continue this process until the area is clean, then move on to the next section until you are happy with how your seats look.
7. Vacuuming the seats will accelerate the drying process.
8. Let the seats finish drying before using the car.

Alternatives to Fabric Cleaner

1. Laundry Detergent: Mix detergent with hot water and apply the solution with a spray bottle or sponge. Use cold water on a microfiber cloth to scrub and wipe the dirt away.
2. Vinegar: Mix one cup of vinegar, a few drops of dish soap, and a gallon of hot water, and dab it onto the seats and then scrub it with a brush. Use clean water and a microfiber towel to remove the dirt and suds.
3. Baking Soda: Mix ¼ cup of baking soda and one cup of warm water to scrub out the stains with a toothbrush. Let sit for 30 minutes before using a clean cloth or towel to blot away the stain.
4. Club Soda: Use a spray bottle to apply a light layer of club soda to the fabric, and use a soft-bristle brush to scrub out the stains. Make sure that you wipe away the dirt as it comes to the surface.

Get More Car Care Tips at Land Rover Willow Grove

Now that you know how to clean car seats, you can still trust the team at Land Rover Willow Grove near Fort Washington to help if you get stuck. Contact us for additional car care tips like how to sanitize your car, how to clean floor mats, oil change frequency, what are the best off-road tires for a Range Rover, or to schedule a service appointment.