Best way to remove smells from car seat fibers?
Discussion
Have an old car the seats do not look dirty but are dusty and smelly. I imagine its just dirt and grime developed over 20 years.
I imagine the best way to clean is remove the seats, take the covers off and washing machine.
However trying o avoid that for now.
Will a steam clean fix it? I doubt since Ive previously steam cleaned a carpet and alkthough it made a significant improvement some still remainedlike 30%
A jet wash by detailers is apparently surface treatment only so that wouldn't fix it.
I don't want to ozone and besides part of the problem is dust which ozone won't remove.
Is car valeting the interior likely to work? As far as Im aware its only a surface treatment however people have told me it goes deep enough to the seat foams, is that correct in which case it may do the job?
Thanks
I imagine the best way to clean is remove the seats, take the covers off and washing machine.
However trying o avoid that for now.
Will a steam clean fix it? I doubt since Ive previously steam cleaned a carpet and alkthough it made a significant improvement some still remainedlike 30%
A jet wash by detailers is apparently surface treatment only so that wouldn't fix it.
I don't want to ozone and besides part of the problem is dust which ozone won't remove.
Is car valeting the interior likely to work? As far as Im aware its only a surface treatment however people have told me it goes deep enough to the seat foams, is that correct in which case it may do the job?
Thanks
I had great results with a couple of rounds of autoglym's car interior shampoo on some grubby seats in the past. I'm sure there are better things out there, but it's a good compromise of cost:effort:results
https://www.autoglym.com/products/interior/cleaner...
https://www.autoglym.com/products/interior/cleaner...
Wet and dry vac I find works well, pick a warm day, dampen the seats with water and carpet or interior shampoo, agitate and then suck the water off with the vac, allow it to dry and optionally douse it in some kind of odour neutraliser, Autoglym do a good one of Febreeze smells nice.
J4CKO said:
Wet and dry vac I find works well, pick a warm day, dampen the seats with water and carpet or interior shampoo, agitate and then suck the water off with the vac, allow it to dry and optionally douse it in some kind of odour neutraliser, Autoglym do a good one of Febreeze smells nice.
Why would this give better results than steam cleaning?Are you saying the initial wet and vaac gives a strong smell? i''m sensitive to smells and chemicals so how long before the smell goes?
Is it a car valeting service I contact for this and do I ask for a wet and vaac?
OP, I think the Shampoo and Agitate parts will make the wet and dry vac work better than the steam cleaning.
The odour neutraliser is optional, I believe, reading the above comment.
I have a car to do over the next few weeks, it's been sitting outside in the damp for a couple of years and is a little mouldy inside, I will probably start with steam cleaning and maybe very hot soapy water on the plastics and then see how it is after that.
The odour neutraliser is optional, I believe, reading the above comment.
I have a car to do over the next few weeks, it's been sitting outside in the damp for a couple of years and is a little mouldy inside, I will probably start with steam cleaning and maybe very hot soapy water on the plastics and then see how it is after that.
Hi mate, you don't need something to mask the smell, you need an enzyme eater which will target the source of the smell.
https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/valet-pro-enzyme-od...
https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/valet-pro-enzyme-od...
A thorough upholstery clean, whether by we extraction or steam cleaning will clean the fabric of the seat covers (and carpets, etc), but will not penetrate the foam inside the seats nor will it affect any fibrous sound proofing beneath the carpets to any extent.
If I were to approach this I would begin by removing the seats, thoroughly treating all areas of carpet and the seats themselves with a proprietary detergent before steam cleaning and then extracting to remove the worst of any moisture.
Once the interior is then dried and seats re-fitted I would use either an Ozone Generator (I understand that you do not wish to use this method) or a Chlorine Dioxide deodoriser (such as this one - https://carpro.uk.com/products/clobberizer?variant... to neutralise the smell.
Ensure the car is fully ventilated before it is used again... Your car will smell like a swimming pool for a couple of weeks!
Hope that helps,
Rich
UKDetailingAcademy.com
If I were to approach this I would begin by removing the seats, thoroughly treating all areas of carpet and the seats themselves with a proprietary detergent before steam cleaning and then extracting to remove the worst of any moisture.
Once the interior is then dried and seats re-fitted I would use either an Ozone Generator (I understand that you do not wish to use this method) or a Chlorine Dioxide deodoriser (such as this one - https://carpro.uk.com/products/clobberizer?variant... to neutralise the smell.
Ensure the car is fully ventilated before it is used again... Your car will smell like a swimming pool for a couple of weeks!
Hope that helps,
Rich
UKDetailingAcademy.com
UK Detailing Academy said:
A thorough upholstery clean, whether by we extraction or steam cleaning will clean the fabric of the seat covers (and carpets, etc), but will not penetrate the foam inside the seats nor will it affect any fibrous sound proofing beneath the carpets to any extent.
If I were to approach this I would begin by removing the seats, thoroughly treating all areas of carpet and the seats themselves with a proprietary detergent before steam cleaning and then extracting to remove the worst of any moisture.
Once the interior is then dried and seats re-fitted I would use either an Ozone Generator (I understand that you do not wish to use this method) or a Chlorine Dioxide deodoriser (such as this one - https://carpro.uk.com/products/clobberizer?variant... to neutralise the smell.
Ensure the car is fully ventilated before it is used again... Your car will smell like a swimming pool for a couple of weeks!
Hope that helps,
Rich
UKDetailingAcademy.com
When you say water extraction is that the same thing as the wash and vaac valeting companies use? If I were to approach this I would begin by removing the seats, thoroughly treating all areas of carpet and the seats themselves with a proprietary detergent before steam cleaning and then extracting to remove the worst of any moisture.
Once the interior is then dried and seats re-fitted I would use either an Ozone Generator (I understand that you do not wish to use this method) or a Chlorine Dioxide deodoriser (such as this one - https://carpro.uk.com/products/clobberizer?variant... to neutralise the smell.
Ensure the car is fully ventilated before it is used again... Your car will smell like a swimming pool for a couple of weeks!
Hope that helps,
Rich
UKDetailingAcademy.com
I was told the wash and vac is a deep clean of the fibers and will go even to the under the fibers, are you saying no treatments can do that?
J4CKO said:
Wet and dry vac I find works well, pick a warm day, dampen the seats with water and carpet or interior shampoo, agitate and then suck the water off with the vac, allow it to dry and optionally douse it in some kind of odour neutraliser, Autoglym do a good one of Febreeze smells nice.
Can someone give me a mobile valeting company that does this shampoo and vac service. im in london e1. Im looking at some valeting companies but not sure if this is what they do or if its just a very basic surface shampoo and vac. I did such a mini valet once it didnt really help with the odours. thanks.Gassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff