How Do You Steam Clean Car Seats

If you want to adopt an eco-friendly method of cleaning your car seats, steam cleaning could be your best bet. It doesn’t require a lot of harsh chemicals and can be done on your own. A technique that doesn’t need professional aid can be given a thumbs-up for cost-effectiveness. What say?

Steam Clean Car Seats

Steam Cleaning Car Seats

Supplies

  • Steam cleaner
  • Good upholstery cleaner/shampoo (that specifically suits the material)
  • Pair of snugly fitting heat resistant safety gloves (to protect hands from getting scalded)
  • Soil emulsifier or pre-conditioner (optional )
  • Fan/ blow dryer (optional)

Steps

  1. Open the doors of your car to allow free flowing air inside since the trapping of steam during the procedure is uncomfortable and unhealthy.
  2. For extremely dirty car seats, follow the directions on the label of the pre-conditioner to apply it on the surface.
  3. Shampoo the seats and wash them nicely.
  4. Wear the safety gloves.
  5. Remove water and dirt by properly using the upholstery attachment of the steam cleaner.
[N.B. To aid drying, remove as much water as possible with the steam cleaner itself. You should move it along the entire surface of the seats paying attention to the crevices and corners that are hard to access. For details on correctly handling a steam cleaner on your upholstery, in general, check out our article, How to Steam Clean a Couch]
  1. If your upholstery permits, use the dry brush now in different directions. This is more suited to fabric (cloth) seats than leather.
[N.B. You should not do this for long. Just a quick, gentle brush on each area and they should look new and smooth.]
  1. Let the car seats air dry fully. If you are short on time, you may take the help of a fan or blow dryer for the purpose.

Only after the drying process is over can you close the doors of your car.

Steam Cleaning Car Seats

Tips

  • In the case of material like suede and leather, it is best to use the steam cleaner on a small inconspicuous area for testing purposes before going the whole hog.
  • For leather car seats, do not go overboard with the steam. You should avoid excessive heat and pressure. Apply a good leather conditioner post cleaning.
  • You can clean baby car seats with steam as well.
  • If you want to go without a steam cleaner, the below articles might be helpful.
  1. How to Clean Leather Car Seats
  2. How to Clean Fabric (Cloth) Car Seats

The steps being pretty simple, we are sure you won’t face many challenges during the DIY. Your friends and family would be delighted at the squeaky clean look of the seats the next time they board your car!