Carpet and Seat Cleaning

[The Critic]

My 96 Saturn SL2 has a light tan cloth interior that has never received any type of interior cleaning. My parents had this car when my sister grew up, so you know how nasty the interior can get.

What's the easiest (and cheapest) way to do a decent job of cleaning the cloth seats and carpet? I have a spray can of Turtle Wax Carpet Cleaner in the garage.

Thanks.

 

[njcruiser]

seat covers and replace the carpet. You could do it for 100 bucks yourself. Its not as hard as you think, but I guess it would depend on the car/truck too.
Even if the cleaners intitially gets the seats clean, the dirt will come back quickly from my exp.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

If you have sticky stuff (candy, gum, etc.) take an ice pack to freeze it then crack it and vacuum.

Cloth seats will need a hard bristled scrub brush if they can be salvaged.

 

[JHZR2]

woolite oxy deep for the stains. A good shop vac and a lot of patience.

Scotchguard everything when done.

JMH

 

[huffmuds9320]

Usually I start with vacuuming to get all the loose dirt off first. Then use carpet and upholstery cleaner like Blue Coral. Spray it and use some elbow grease. You may need to spray and scrub again for stubborn stains. Just need patience and elbow grease. I would suggest after cleaning the carpet, get some floormats to help keep the carpet clean.

 

[The Critic]

Is carpet cleaner the same thing as upholstery cleaner?

 

[huffmuds9320]

No its not the same. The thing with carpet cleaners is that you need to let it soak in for a few minutes. Seats have foam cushion in them. For example the Febreeze for auto bottle says not recommended for padded roof over 10 years old. Using carpet cleaner for your seat may damage the foam inside the seat. Its like using regular Windex to clean your car windows, it probably does no harm but I wouldn't use something not meant for it. Just get the Blue Coral upholstery cleaner, works good.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: lpcmidst128
No its not the same. The thing with carpet cleaners is that you need to let it soak in for a few minutes. Seats have foam cushion in them. For example the Febreeze for auto bottle says not recommended for padded roof over 10 years old. Using carpet cleaner for your seat may damage the foam inside the seat. Its like using regular Windex to clean your car windows, it probably does no harm but I wouldn't use something not meant for it. Just get the Blue Coral upholstery cleaner, works good.

How's simple green for this task?

 

[huffmuds9320]

Simple Green is a general all purpose cleaner. Its seems to work best for washing and rinsing. I've used it to clean/degrease my garage floor and it takes a while for it to dry. You could probably use it to clean your carpet though, doesn't say anything about upholstery. Nice thing about Simple Green is that is biodegradeable and nontoxic so doesn't have a lot of harsh chemicals. You don't want skin irritation from some carpet cleaners on your seat. I prefer to do interior cleaning on a nice sunny day so the chemicals dry faster.

 

[GMBoy]

You are probably better off using a carpet cleaning machine so you can extract the deep dirt. Use the small attachment, obviously! This would be best. Using a spray can cleaner may actually do more harm if the seats are really dirty by rubbing the dirt deeper in. If you must use a spray can, I really like Tuff Stuff - it works great and can be used on seats, carpet, and trim.

 

[JHZR2]

oooh... I didnt read into the OP like the others. How badly stained are the seats???

JMH

 

[XPR]

Vacuum up all the loose stuff, then use a good cleaner, either a product like a carpet and upholstery cleaner or Meguiar's APC. Then scrub as needed. Then repeat

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
oooh... I didnt read into the OP like the others. How badly stained are the seats???

JMH

They still look fairly clean to me. No major staining at all. Just a few minor stains on the back from people putting their shoes onto the seat.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

Once a year I'll do a clean, usually after winter salt and sand are gone. What I've found most effective is a good wet clean with Pet & Odor carpet detergent. Clean the seats front & back, the carpets, and anything else that has carpet on it (door sides). This is also that I do for a first clean of a newly purchased vehicle or a wildly neglected one (wife or daughter's car).

I use a small pump sprayer for a copious application. Scrub with a brush. Suck it out with my BIG shop-vac. Apply LOTS of rinse water. Repeat with the shop-vac. Leave it out in the sun with the windows down for the rest of the day until everything is dry.

Clean as a whistle and smells good afterwards. I used to be timid with the clean and rinse water, but now I don't hesitate to use a lot. The key is to have a serious shop-vac and don't get in a hurry.

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: lpcmidst128
want skin irritation from some carpet cleaners on your seat.


Wear pants while driving!

 

[dwcopple]

pay $50 at a local detail shop for a steam cleaning...that's the easy way...APC diluted in water and tons of scrubbing and vacuuming is the FUN way.

 

[tackleberry625]

I like the Blue Coral Dry clean in the blue can with the brush on the head. For spot cleaning, Lifter 1 has worked best for me.