Different types of stains are a pain to car owners, especially when they have small kids. A small blotch on the car seat can be ignored easily; however, stains accumulated over time can ruin your car seats and cost you much to replace.
But what if you need more time to visit the nearest local cleaning service in town? Can you do it at home? Yes! As a matter of fact, here are ways on how to clean car seats with baking soda.
Table of Contents
What to Prepare to Clean Car Upholstery
Removing stains from car seats requires you to do a general cleaning. However, before you can successfully follow this DIY guide to get stains out of car seats using baking soda, you should prepare the following:
- Gloves
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Liquid soap
- Laundry detergent
- Small bowl, measuring cup, and a spoon
- Spray container
- Brush
- Microfiber cloth
- Vacuum/small broom
Step 1: Clear the car interior first
As you can clean your car seat without removing them, you should prepare trash bags and clear the car interior first.
Check for any trash in the car, small things such as candy or chocolate wrappers that your children have eaten, plastics, paper, and empty soda cans whose residue may spill into the car seat.
After putting away the trash, proceed to take out other items like infant car seats, toys, or duffel bags from the car that could be in the way in the succeeding steps.
Step 2: Vacuum your car seats
Now that your car is empty, you could proceed to vacuum your seats to draw out small dirt and dust.
This procedure is essential because unwanted dirt, hair fall, and dust could still be sticking around the corners of your car, especially on the narrow folds or crevices of the interior that you have missed.
While you are at it, use the vacuum to pull dirt away from the car’s console and car roof, if you want.
Without vacuum, you can use a broom to sweep away the dust as an alternative.
Step 3: Prepare the Baking Soda Mixture
As baking soda has multiple purposes when cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, and living room, surprisingly, it also works wonders on car seats made of different materials.
In this step, you will create the baking soda mixture. There are a lot of ways to formulate this solution but here is one way to do it:
- Prepare the baking soda, measuring cups, and bowl.
- Fill the bowl with at least ⅓ of baking soda. Pour warm water into the bowl and mix it gently with baking soda.
- After doing so, add vinegar. Baking soda and vinegar can be used as cleaning ingredients separately, but together they can remove harsh stains.
- Then, put the baking soda solution in a spray bottle to easily clean stains out of car seats.
Step 4: Cleaning Time!
Put your gloves on, bring the necessary tools, and go to your car to start cleaning. Here are steps to achieve a brand new-looking car seat:
- Apply a small amount of baking soda mixture on a hidden part of the car seat first to ensure it is safe and does not ruin the car seat’s material.
- If there are no chemical reactions, you may now spray the agent onto car seat stains and use a brush to scrub them gently.
- Next, take your microfiber cloth and wipe off the excess solution. If the stain is still evident, repeat cleaning.
Tip: For stubborn stains, spray or directly pour the mixture onto the car seat at least two to three times. You can also add laundry detergent or liquid soap to the mix to clean.
Step 5: Finishing Touches
Now that you are done, and your car is spotless, make sure it is also odorless. You can place baking soda in the car to remove odor.
Baking soda takes away car moisture and unwanted smell inside the car. You can place a small bowl in the car filled with baking soda mixture for the smell to vanish.
For leather seats, sprinkle some baking soda on car seats
to draw out oils and moisture. Then wipe away with a clean cloth.
You can also spray an air freshener or a car scent tree to add a pleasing smell.
Related:
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put baking soda on cloth or car seats?
Yes, it is safe to apply baking soda to clean fabric car seats since its solution is non-toxic and eco-friendly.
What is the best way to clean cloth car seats?
The best way to clean cloth car seats is baking soda with a little amount of vinegar added to the mixture. Top it off with laundry detergent, and your cloth car seat stains will be removed completely.
How to clean mesh car seats?
A vinegar mixture is always the best method to clean mesh car seats. As a rule of thumb, you can add hot water, dish soap, and vinegar to create an effective cleaning agent.
Make sure you vacuum the seats beforehand.
Conclusion
Now that you have found a solution to clean car seats, you can quickly remove the stains left on the fabric without bringing the car to a cleaning service.
With simple steps on how to Clean Car Seats with Baking Soda, you can make it a habit to regularly check your car seats from time to time.
Feel free to share if this tutorial was helpful to you.
