Detailing your Cloth Seats and Interior Carpeting:
Do you have kids? Pets? Kids with Pets? In my experience any combination of this equation to be very results in stains of one shape, or form. Normally once every 3 months I do a deep cleaning of our cars, pull out the booster seat, and the floor mats and time and again, I am mystified by what I find. Stains, melted foodstuff, spilled juice, and much much more. I called around to some local car detailing shops, as well as those Groupon.com companies that will come out to your and clean your car. Needless to say I am way too frugal (insert: cheap) to pay someone else over $200 to clean my car for me.
I have tried using a steam cleaner on them before and it took about 3% of the stains away but left me with water spots everywhere, which of course just sets my O.C.D on edge even more. So after tons of personal online research, speaking to a few people I know in the car detailing business, and much trial and error. I found the a very economical solution, to my what appears to be a very common problem.
Project Difficulty: Novice
Time to Complete: 20-90 mins
[Note: This does depend quite a bit on the amount and severity of your stains, but if you clean it once a quarter like I do, it takes about 20-25 minutes.]
What You’ll Need for this Project:
- Club Soda (hydrogen peroxide can be substituted for overly heavy stains.)
- Dawn Dish Soap (The Blue stuff works the best.)
- Vinegar (rubbing alcohol can be substituted if the smell bothers you.)
- Scrub Brush
- Heavy Duty Spray Bottle
- Wet/Dry Shop Vac or Steam Cleaner
Step 1.) Take your heavy duty spray bottle and add 1 cup equal parts of club soda, Dawn, and vinegar. Make sure to shake very well to ensure a proper mixing. Spray the stains and let the mixture sit for a several minutes. Trail and error has taught me to wait at minimum 90 seconds.
Step 2.) Use your scrub brush and a steady bit of elbow grease and scrub in circular motion over the stains, for 5-15 seconds each.
Step 3.) Use your wet/dry shop vac or steam cleaner (with ONLY water in it to “rinse” the treated areas).
Note: If you’re only using a shop vac, I recommend spraying pure water onto the treated area, then vacuum up the mixture, repeat after 15 minutes for heavy, or set in stains.
Step 4.) Let your vehicle dry (preferably in the sun) and get ready to be amazed.
Note: If you plan on using Vinegar be advised that your vehicle will smell of vinegar or about 2-3 days.
You could potentially use some essential oil to help with smells, but I don’t use those. Febreeze helps a bit, with automotive smells. Spray unto your cloth floorboards and allow it to dry
Detailing your vents:
Of course for the majority of the work, you can use your shop vac, but to make things work in your favor even better. Use an old paint brush to dust out the air vents while you use that shop vacuum to get them even cleaner.
Get Rid Of Stains on the Garage Floor/Driveway
Stains in a driveway look terrible, but they’re so hard to clean. To pull out an old, embedded stain this product called Pour-N-Restore is your best bet. It is a poultice and draws out the dried in oil stains. The product pours on as a liquid that you spread over the stain. As it dries it becomes a powder that holds onto the oily stain so you can sweep it away instead of rinsing it into your lawn.
Be sure to pin to Pinterest or share to Facebook for future use and to let all your friends know as well!
Survival of the Most Prepared 