Hi Guys,

Im new to the forum and have just purchased a 55 plate STI and the seats need some heavy duty cleaning so I was wondering what the best way to clean them is and also whats the best products to use.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Hi mate, welcome to the forum! You have to be quite careful when cleaning modern interior fabrics, because if you overwet them you can quickly develop problems with staining and/or mildew (if you don't dry them out well enough). My advice would be to use a professional valete if the seats are really dirty, as a valeter will have the right equipment to shampoo them safely and then extract most of the moisture straight away. However, if they are not too bad and you fancy giving the task a shot yourself, get some Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner, a Meguiars All Surface Interior Brush and a large pack of microfibre work towels. Start with the All Purpose Cleaner diluted 10:1 (water: product) and spray on so the surface becomes very dam; then agitate the fabric very gently using the brush, be careful not too scrub the pile too much. This will cause a foam to be produced, that will discolour as grime is lifted from the material. After a minute of so of careful brushing, mop up the foam with the towels and repeat if necessary. Try to soak up as much moisture as possible and then leave the material to dry with the car outside on a warm day with the windows open a bit to let the moisture out. This method is ideal for most fabrics, but not suitable for alcantara/suede - these surfaces should not be wetted unless you know what you are doing and have proper equipment to hand.

 

Many Thanks for your Advice Richard, the seats are just really dusty and have the odd stain so I will give it a try myself.

 

Try a wet/dry Vax and as Rich says do not over wet the Alcantara. Best to clean the seats in the warmer weather so they dry quicker. I also treated the side bolsters with Scotch Guard to prevent water spot staining when you open the doors in the rain etc..