Detailer wants to dry clean seats - effectiveness?

[pezzy84]

So a very reputable detailer I was considering taking my E-Golf to for a thorough cleaning says they dry clean the seats and it works just as well as regular water based cleaning.

I'm kind of turned off on the dry cleaning because the light gray panels on the seats really need some water flowing through to get the dirt and dust out. 5 years in they spot up horribly if any moisture gets on them - my rear passenger seat looks like a leopard after opening the door quickly during a blowing rain downpour. Spilled some water on the front passenger seat and now have a nice hand sized "stain" - not so much a stain but the liquids bringing the dirt/dust/etc. to the surface. See photo (stock) below of the mixed material seats and said gray panels - the black portions still look great as usual, just the gray is starting to look like trash. Actually I just noticed the review photo below it appears something was spilled in the drivers seat (see drivers seat to the left of the parking brake switch - there is a slightly darker portion of gray by the black bolster) - this is exactly what the stains in my car look like but quite a bit worse.

Anyone had "dry" cleaning done on cloth seats and was it acceptable? I feel like they need some water flowing through them to get the dirt out.

 

[gregk24]

Dry cleaning does use liquids, just not water. Though I believe a thorough steam cleaning would do the job well.

 

[A_User55555]

Sounds like a gimmick. I've never heard of "dry" cleaning seats before.

I doubt it'll be better than buying a good cleaner and doing it yourself.

 

[SZR48207]

Can he do a hot water extraction instead? I assume the dry clean method is suggested so that you can drive home without sitting on a wet spot, but I agree that sometimes a proper shampooing is needed.

 

[The Critic]

This video explains the concept:

 

[silversport]

many years back I had a vehicle Ziebart'd...the installers got some of the black oily substance on new tan colored cloth seats and used a liquid that smelled just like dry cleaning solution (naphtha???) and afterward gave me a small bottle of the liquid in case I had any more spots...it cleaned up the spots very well...

Bill

 

[WylieCoyote]

Many moons ago, when I bought a car, I would shampoo all fabric and carpet, let it dry, and apply Scotchgard. This kept the water from actually soaking into the fabric, which will help to prevent the spots you're seeing. I used so much of it on my Calais, my floormats actually beaded water when I jumped in with snowy boots. I don't think it matters if you have them dry cleaned, or wet cleaned. He's using a fluid to flush out dirt either way.

 

[pezzy84]

I might have to swing through their shop and see if they can show me what kinda method they use - that buffer method seems pretty effective for improving appearance. I'm old school in my thought that water is necessary for complete cleaning - even the buffing method seems like it might leave some dirt/debris deeper down in the fabric.

I would love to just do the work myself but couple issues with that - #1) I don't have a mini steam cleaner like a bissell little green. #2) I would not have any use for it outside of cleaning the car seats. #3) I really don't have space to store a cleaner for the 99% of the time it is not in use. The $160+ price tag for a Bissell Little Green is nearly half the price of the full on detail with the pro shop and would require grunt work from me without the exterior being addressed.

 

[The Critic]

I might have to swing through their shop and see if they can show me what kinda method they use - that buffer method seems pretty effective for improving appearance. I'm old school in my thought that water is necessary for complete cleaning - even the buffing method seems like it might leave some dirt/debris deeper down in the fabric.

Improving appearance is the "goal" for a lot of customers and detailers. Steaming the upholstery accomplishes the same thing - it isn't a deep clean by any means.

Deep cleaning upholstery can become a real can of worms because of the moisture. Unless you are able to remove 100% of the dirt, getting the upholstery wet can cause the leftover dirt to wick to the surface and result in strange spots.

 

[Donald]

I would not want to sit in a car after the seats had been cleaned with Perc.

PERC, also known as tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene ("perc" or "PERC"), is a colorless liquid typically used as a cleaning solution by dry cleaners. While it's a great cleaning agent, its numerous health side effects make PERC a horrible choice for use in dry cleaning.

 

[Rand]

there are actually many types of dry cleaning
actual dry cleaning
cleaning with some sort of chemical..
there were 3-4 options some worse than others.
petroleum based and non.

I'd ask for a more in depth explanation if that is your only hangup.

I used to do IT work on the side for a dry cleaner.