Do your car seats start to look dirty and smell foul? If it’s been a long time since you shampoo car seats yourself, then now is the right time to clean.

Shampooing car seats is very important if you want to maintain a healthy indoor environment and enjoyable ride for you and your family. No matter how busy you are, you should spend time shampooing your car seats. Before, this would mean removing the junk things like wrappers and food containers, grime, dust, and dirt on the floor.

In this post, I will teach you practical ways to shampoo your car seats. This will bring back the freshness of the smell and sparkle of your car seats.

Shampooing Cloth Car Seats

Instead of taking your car into a cleaning service, there are several ways that you can shampoo car seats yourself.

1. Use club soda. 

Lightly spray the club soda on the stained area and use a brush to scrub away the stain. After, wipe it away with a clean towel.

2. Use a baking soda solution. 

Mix ¼ cup of baking soda in a cup of warm water to form a solution. Then, apply a thin layer of the solution and a toothbrush to scrub away the stain.  If it’s a heavy stain, let the solution sit for around 30 minutes.

3. Use a vinegar mixture. 

Mix a few drops of dish soap, a cup of vinegar, and about a gallon of hot water in a bucket.  Then dab the mixture into the stain and use a brush to scrub it out of the seat. Last is to use clean water to rinse the seat off.

4. Use laundry detergent.

If you don’t have a specific upholstery detergent/cleaner, you can mix some laundry detergent with hot water and dampen the stains with it.  Use a towel with cold water to rinse the detergent off the seat and scrub the stain away.

Cleaning Leather Car Seats

Leather car seats need extra care compared to cloth car seats because of the premium quality of the material.  To clean messes and stains off of leather, try one of these do-it-yourself ways:

1. Use nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol. 

Blotting the stain with a cotton ball that dipped in the alcohol will slowly lift the mess from the leather.  And once the stain is lifted, clean the alcohol off the seat with warm water and dish soap.

2. Use a non-gel toothpaste.

A more unique technique is to dab a bit of toothpaste on the stain, Then, use a clean toothbrush to scrub away the stain gently.

3. Use lemon juice and cream of tartar paste.

Create a paste by mixing an equal portion of lemon juice and cream of tartar and apply it to the stain.  Let it sit for about 30 minutes and wipe it away with a damp sponge.  The paste has a bleaching effect, so it should only be used on light-colored seats.

4. Use a vinegar mixture.

The vinegar mixture works on leather seats. Give it also a try.