Cleaning cloth upholestry

Swirly Whirly

Hello there folks,

Whats the cheapest way of cleaning manky cloth seats. They have seen better days and are letting the car down a bit. Trying to do this on a budget so a valet really isn't the best option.

Thanks

dahamsta

There's tons of products for it, go visit your local motor factors. The best I ever came across was an aerosol by Simoniz, still have a can but it's years old now, dunno if they still do it.

If you really want to save money, just use whatever you use at home.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Get all purpose cleaner in lidl. Like Flash but cheaper. Dilute it 10:1 in a sprayer bottle. Spray on the seats and scrub with a nail brush. Lots of elbow grease, but thats free. Get the seats pretty wet and well scrubbed. Now use a wet vac if you have one to dry the seats or a big towel to dry them and then turn the heating on in the car full blast and close the windows and doors. Hairdryer works well either. Total cost about 2 euro.

MugMugs

As with any product, use on an out of view part of material first.

dr.fuzzenstein

I got me one of those in LIDL, it's a carpet cleaner, has a smaller attachment for upholstery, works great for the car.



Wasn't even that expensive, it's a good investment.

richardsheil

Rent a Rug doctor from Woodies for about 20 euro. Use normal washing powder instead of the expensive product they sell with it.

Shampoo the seats with the rug doctor using HOT water.

Let dry.

Twenty quid and about one hour's work.

vectra

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

I got me one of those in LIDL, it's a carpet cleaner, has a smaller attachment for upholstery, works great for the car.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415lEToaBFL._SS500_.jpg

Wasn't even that expensive, it's a good investment.

Is that the same as the yellow Wet/Dry hoovers they sell? Thinking of getting one next time round

dr.fuzzenstein

vectra wrote: »

Is that the same as the yellow Wet/Dry hoovers they sell? Thinking of getting one next time round

Actually, they're totally different.
The blue Vax carpet cleaner has a reservoir inside that you fill up with warm water and detergent, it then sprays the detergent onto the fabric from a separate nozzle close to the vacuum attachment, so your lathering and rinsing at the same time, so to speak.
The yellow wet and dry is just a vacuum cleaner.
With that one you could apply the detergent to the seat separately and hoover it up, not sure if the result would be the same.

I've been through my entire car with mine today (I have dogs, you won't BELIEVE the mess they make) and the waste water I poured out was just fcuking black with bits floating in it.
Once you've been over a carpet with a rug cleaner, you will never forget the amount of sh*te that comes off it, no matter how clean you have kept it and how often you have hoovered it.
You can also hire these from tool hire shops and do the house at the same time.

vectra

^^ Cool
Basically a carpet shampooer then?
Wash and extract?
Had a few of those pro machines back in the 80's when I was doing valeting for a living.
How much was it?

dr.fuzzenstein

vectra wrote: »

^^ Cool
Basically a carpet shampooer then?
Wash and extract?
Had a few of those pro machines back in the 80's when I was doing valeting for a living.
How much was it?

Yeah, pretty much, very handy for the car.
No idea how much it was, was under E50 AFAIK, bought it a good while ago in LIDL or Aldi.
Bit weedy for doing the carpets in the house with the big main attachment, always end up doing the whole house with the small upholstery attachment.

mik_da_man

vectra wrote: »

Is that the same as the yellow Wet/Dry hoovers they sell? Thinking of getting one next time round

They have some of the yellow ones in ballincollig still for €50- may pick up one myself too, but the carpet cleaner seems like a good idea too

omb0wyn5ehpij9

I find Autoglym interior shampoo to be very good.

trixyben

BDJW wrote: »

I find Autoglym interior shampoo to be very good.

I'll second this ^^^

My seats were filthy was nearly considering replacing the seats but give them a go with the autoglym shampoo and came up like new...the difference was amazing if only i had of taken photos of them before and after

Ardennes1944

is there any other cheapish wet vacs that people have bought they recommend?

Victor Meldrew

This might sound like an annoying question,

but how good are these products at restoring several coffee / juice / general kids and other half slovenlyness off the seats?

Will they be returned to an un-stained condition, or are you merely making them "not slimey?

Will the seats still look a bit "Shroud of Turin" as it were. Watermarks everywhere?

dr.fuzzenstein

Victor Meldrew wrote: »

This might sound like an annoying question,

but how good are these products at restoring several coffee / juice / general kids and other half slovenlyness off the seats?

Will they be returned to an un-stained condition, or are you merely making them "not slimey?

Will the seats still look a bit "Shroud of Turin" as it were. Watermarks everywhere?

Just did mine, had tea, coffee, juice, jam, grease from donuts and chips, ice cream, dog slobber, etc on them.
Look like new again.
All the above come out easily enough and the synthetic fabric doesn't stain that badly, or can be cleaned easily enough.
Don't know how it would fare on any bad oily stains, be that diesel, engine oil, sun tan lotion, etc... that might be harder to shift.
I'm using Vax carpet shampoo that I bought on sale somewhere and it's decent enough stuff.

Victor Meldrew

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Just did mine, had tea, coffee, juice, jam, grease from donuts and chips, ice cream, dog slobber, etc on them.

Sounds like the wife's car seats... Light Grey does not help either... I'll give that a go.

I've black cloth which is a bit Bobbly and shiny with wear, but generally fairly clean. Might have to cross that bridge soon though..

antiskeptic

Swirly Whirly wrote: »

Hello there folks,

Whats the cheapest way of cleaning manky cloth seats. They have seen better days and are letting the car down a bit. Trying to do this on a budget so a valet really isn't the best option.

Thanks

I'd place my bets on Vanish carpet cleaning foam. I've trodden on a light coloured woolen carpet in oily boots at home ... and it's managed to do the trick.

It did a fine job on my car's dirty seats too. Doesn't involve much in the way of water - you rub in a foam into the material with a damp sponge and that's about that. You can use the car quickly (perhaps sitting on a towel-covered seat for a day or so)

Jimdagym

BDJW wrote: »

I find Autoglym interior shampoo to be very good.

trixyben wrote: »

I'll second this ^^^

My seats were filthy was nearly considering replacing the seats but give them a go with the autoglym shampoo and came up like new...the difference was amazing if only i had of taken photos of them before and after

How do you clean cloth seats with it? Spray it in and nail brush?

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Jimdagym wrote: »

How do you clean cloth seats with it? Spray it in and nail brush?

When i've used it, i've sprayed it on the seats/mats and used a damp cloth. Just keep rinsing the cloth. You will be amazed by the amount of dirt that comes out!

Jimdagym

BDJW wrote: »

When i've used it, i've sprayed it on the seats/mats and used a damp cloth. Just keep rinsing the cloth. You will be amazed by the amount of dirt that comes out!

Cheers, the focus has some serious kid damage done. I'll give this a whirl.

MarkR

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vax-Multivax-Vacuum-Carpet-Washer/dp/B0041MI3W0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331568422&sr=8-1

I got one of these. Used it on the carpets in the house yesterday, did a great job. Comes with an upholstery attachment.

maidhc

Simple answer:

Hire this from your local tool hire place:
http://www.cleanforless.co.uk/karcher-puzzi-100-carpet-cleaner-240v-14-p.asp



It will bring pretty much any carpet up like new for about €20. (and it has a small tool for cars)

projectgtr

Simples

Get yourself some wool-lite and rent a rugdoctor from woodies or a wet vac from the likes of ace hire

heres a full walkthrough its very simple just take your time and use your hands as much as possible, you can see the difference here on these yellow :eek: seats

http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=1850276

Cessna_Pilot

Picked up a can of upholstery cleaner in Lidl today, tried it out on one of the cars in the driveway whose interior hasn't been cleaned in at least ten years. Worked a treat and only cost €1.29!

dr.fuzzenstein

Cessna_Pilot wrote: »

Picked up a can of upholstery cleaner in Lidl today, tried it out on one of the cars in the driveway whose interior hasn't been cleaned in at least ten years. Worked a treat and only cost €1.29!

That foam upholstery cleaner works a treat on hard plastic surfaces, but always thought it was pretty rubbish for upholstery.

Mycroft H

Cessna_Pilot wrote: »

Picked up a can of upholstery cleaner in Lidl today, tried it out on one of the cars in the driveway whose interior hasn't been cleaned in at least ten years. Worked a treat and only cost €1.29!

Must try that tomorrow so. For 1.29 you really cannot go wrong

Cessna_Pilot

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

That foam upholstery cleaner works a treat on hard plastic surfaces, but always thought it was pretty rubbish for upholstery.

I used it on the whole lot, cloth seats and all. Let it soak for a minute then wiped off, scrubbed a little in places to get the bad marks out, but overall a good job for the money.

fryup

would this steam cleaner in Lidl be any good for upholestry seats ?