Firez34

iTrader: (5)

Hi guy's right I have a problem that seems to be quite rare with the cars seats, all of them front and back and head rest's. Apparently after quite a lot of googling I found the cause but no cure. Here's the symptoms. Last year I puchased a nice newage set of seats for my classic wagon from a breakers yard. All was well once I had cleaned them up for a couple of weeks then like a white water stain in patches in different areas of the seats started to appear and if left it crystalizes into what look like grains of white salt. If you tap the bolsters it even falls off like grains of salt. Hoovering cleans most of it off and them a wipe with ulpolstery fabric cleaner removes the stains but only for a few days before the stains come back and a few days after that the white crystals are back.
This is forming due to the flame retardent in the seat apparently from what I've read and is Boron or Zinc Borate. Has anyone else had this and been able to stop it from happening. Read many articles but found no cures only temp fixes. Read that even a deep clean valet or steam treatment doesn't work.

Hol

iTrader: (1)

Buy a cheap VAX machine and hoover them with the correct cleaning liquid.

Then wash them again with just clean water.

Firez34

iTrader: (5)

Hi Hol, Last summer we cleaned the seats with our vax and some astonish fabric shampoo and it didn't cure this problem. Is there any liquid you could recommend me to try.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

I use the Quantum stuff as recommended by VW. You may have used too much Astonish, and this is causing the seat foam rubber to break down, its cheap for a reason.

Rescue Dude

iTrader: (11)

It'll keep leeching out when the seats get damp/wet.

I'd just dry vac them and do that until hopefully the Boron stops leeching out.

DON'T wipe them with a damp cloth or you're making it worse.

Firez34

iTrader: (5)

That's exactly what's been happening to me and everyone else who has this problem mate. I'll just dry vac it and quit wiping it until I can find a cure. No matter how much I wet clean and dry them or products I use within a week it's back. Luckily the boron residue isn't toxic or harmful in any way from what information I've found on it. Ok Scrap that last line as I've just been reading that Zinc Borate can be harmful.

Firez34

iTrader: (5)

Thanks mate going to have a reed about that product now. I've tried Megs and Autoglym products as well to no avail.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

The damage may be done. New seats may solve the problem and WRX seats are ten a penny.