Photo: dry cleaning of car interiors (Getty Images) Author: Konstantin Shirokun
While the mechanical part of the car, winding its thousands of kilometers, wears out, its cozy interior does not so much wear out as… gets dirty. There are several ways to restore its freshness and marketable appearance.
Read about how to make your car interior clean and tidy at minimal cost in the RBC-Ukraine article.
“Dry cleaning” is generally a method of cleaning fabrics and other upholstery materials using powerful solvents that do not require the use of water. This technology is used primarily in professional dry cleaners for clothing, but for motorists there are compact aerosol cans on sale.
How to clean upholstery in a car interior
Why can't you put the seats or door panels in order by simply washing them with a sponge and a solution of soap or washing powder? Yes, you can, but only when it's a summer day with sun and high temperatures outside. Which will dry the moisture-soaked upholstery in ten to twelve hours.
In turn, dry cleaning does not pose the user with the problem of drying, which is very difficult for the winter period. This is a means of chemical cleaning of the surface, for the use of which no water is required. There is no need to wash off the remains of the preparation and the dirt dissolved by it from the seat – it is enough to wipe the treated surface with a napkin at the end.
The fundamental disadvantage of dry cleaning is that, in the case of an amateur approach, it is not intended for large-scale work. Actually, theoretically, you can clean the entire interior this way, but it will require a lot of time and money.
How to choose a dry cleaning agent for the interior
The products in question come in two forms of packaging – pressurized aerosol cans and plastic spray bottles. This is what you need, since the product is applied by spraying it onto the contaminated area. The professionals who advised us when preparing this article say that the pressurized aerosol is less convenient, since it does not work as accurately as a hand-operated sprayer.
Regardless of the form of packaging, after spraying, the preparation settles on the dirty place in the form of foam – which actually works with the dirt.
How to dry clean
The technology for cleaning the interior from old dirt using amateur products is simple and, in principle, the same for different brands of products.
- The seat or door panel should be thoroughly vacuumed so as not to spread additional surface dirt onto the fabric when working with the stain;
- The preparation is sprayed onto a particularly contaminated area;
- A holding period of 5-15 minutes is given so that the preparation has time to dissolve the dirt;
- The dampened dirty area should be rubbed with a dry cloth. It will remove the dissolved dirt and moisture contained in the sprayed preparation from the upholstery.
- If necessary, the cleaned surface can be additionally wiped with a sponge and a small amount of soapy water;
- After the treated area has dried, you can repeat the cleaning if you find that you are not satisfied with the result of the first attempt.
Dry Cleaning Pro Tips
To ensure everything works as planned, it is important to follow the instructions for using the cleaner, which are located on its packaging. It is also worth listening to the advice of experienced motorists and professionals who have dealt with dry cleaning more than once:
- If we are talking about the advantages of dry cleaning in winter, pay attention to the permissible temperature of the product. For some products, the limit starts at +5 C, for others – from +15 C;
- Some strong cleaning agents may discolor the fabric – test this in an inconspicuous area of the upholstery;
- Use gloves because some products are harsh and dry out the skin;
- Find out the result of your work after the fabric has completely dried, because before that you will just see a large dark spot;
- It is better to avoid getting the dry cleaning agent on metal parts, especially if it is polished steel or aluminum. Protect the wire connectors, which are located under the seats, from moisture and chemicals.
Short
Despite the real effectiveness of “dry cleaning” products and similar amateur means, they have at least one equally effective and quite affordable option. In many modern cars, the seat upholstery can be removed and taken home. There, to wash it according to the usual algorithm – in a washing machine or by hand, say, in ordinary doss houses.
The actual removal process may take a little longer than it initially appears, but keep in mind that you won't have to work on removing stains by hand. And the entire fabric will be clean, not just a limited area. So inspect your seats – most often, removing the upholstery involves unfastening a few zippers and perhaps moving a few metal clips.
In preparing this article, materials from AutoBild and ” Automakeup ” were used.
Let us recall that RBC-Ukraine recently reported what is better for a car: a canopy, a garage or a parking lot.