Cleaning Auto Upholstery

If there is one way for a car owner to get new life out of their vehicle, then it is to clean the interior a bit. Properly cleaning auto upholstery can help any car owner get a new found appreciation of their vehicle, while at the same time presenting a nicer face for those others that may end up taking a ride in it. While the unfortunate truth of the matter is that cleaning auto upholstery is a task that will have to be done repeatedly, it is a task that can be done relatively quickly and easily.

1. Vacuum first. A vacuum cleaner can be a huge help in cleaning auto upholstery. The reason for this is that the vacuum will pick up and remove quite a bit of the loose dirt, dust, and grime that can collect in your car. Use the vacuum to go over as much of the car as you can reach. If you want, you can also actually remove the front seats of the car itself to help reach the upholstery that is under it. All you need to do (if you decide to do this) is loosen the bolts that anchor the seats to the car. However, this is only necessary when you are doing some deep cleaning.
2. Apply a lint roller. Even the use of a vacuum will not remove every little thing that could be stuck on your upholstery. A very helpful tool in getting the final bits of hairs, threads, or lint that may still be stuck on the seats is a lint roller. All you really need to do is roll the linter roller over the upholstery, and it will remove the remaining bit of debris that the vacuum missed.
3. Line the floor. Get some old newspapers and lay them out on the floor of the car. Once you have this done, you can begin wiping out any remaining dirt, dust, or grime. Often these can be found in the nooks and crannies of the seats, but it is best to use a damp cloth to help brush this stuff up. Not only will the cloth help to pick up a majority of the missed items, but the newspapers will catch whatever is missed by the cloth.
4. Wipe it all down. If your upholstery is leather, then you will need to also do a little bit of "scrubbing." In this case though, the scrubbing is more of a wiping. Get some gentle leather cleaner from your local auto parts store, or from the local car wash. Follow the directions on the cleaner, and begin wiping down the leather interior of your car.
5. Tackle the stains. If you happen to have any particularly difficult stains, you will need to use some stronger methods to remove them. Grease stains can be removed from leather seats by simply applying a layer of mineral oil, and then rubbing some salt into it. For cloth seats, you should use a degreasing dish soap to help remove the stain. Repeat the applications, scrubbing, and wiping away until you have actually removed the stain. For most unknown stains you can simply use a bit of club soda to get it out. Be sure that you wipe the dampened cloth in a circular pattern though, starting in the middle of the stain and working your way outwards.