From camping trips to car-pooling and from pets to snacks, your car’s upholstery is bound to get a pesky stain at some point. Living a busy life, you are constantly on the go with a career, a social life, and possibly a spouse, kids, and a dog or two, which means you have little time to give your car the attention it needs. The outside may look bright and shiny, but the inside may be a different story. When stains do happen, you want to be able to deal with them quickly and effectively and definitely want to try to DIY first before you haul it to a professional for cleaning.
Here is a list of five common stains you may encounter and the best DIY way to get rid of them:
Coffee: This may be one of the most common stains since 64% of Americans drink at least one cup of coffee a day, and surely many of those are while in a hurry to get out the door and into the car. If you spill your coffee, take these steps to rid yourself of the stain…but maybe not the aroma:
- Blot the stain up as quickly as possible—-baby wipes, napkins, that sweat towel you have in your tennis bag…use anything.
- Create a mixture in a bowl or cup of a squirt of dish soap, ⅓ parts vinegar, and ⅔ parts water and apply to the stain. Gently blot, repeat adding mixture to stain, blot again, repeat until the stain is gone.
- Use a fan or blow dryer to dry the area unless it is a dry, hot day.
- If there is dairy in the coffee or the aroma is too strong for you, you can also use baking soda, which will help with the smell.
Blood: There could be a variety of reasons—suspicious or not suspicious—as to why there is blood in your car. We will use the don’t ask, don’t tell policy here! Getting out blood from upholstery is actually pretty simple:
- Get a sponge or cloth and use cold water to blot the stain. Do not use hot water with blood, as it will set the stain.
- Grab a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, which costs less than a dollar, and first test it out on a small, not-so-easily-seen spot in your car to make sure that the solution will not discolor your upholstery.
- If all is good, apply the hydrogen peroxide directly to the stain and wait a minute or so. If the stain does not seem to be dissipating, reapply.
- After the stain has disappeared, rinse the area with cold water once again to remove any lingering solution.
Ink: If you have children or just fumbled with your pen and the cap was off, ink is another common stain that is super easy to get rid of:
- Gently wipe the area with a sponge and cold water.
- Squirt a bit of dish soap into a bowl or cup of cold water—-dab the stain with the mixture. You may need to repeat.
- If this does not work, use one capful of rubbing alcohol (apply to a small portion somewhere else to test it out first) and use a white towel or rag to blot the solution directly onto the stain.
- Once the rubbing alcohol is on the stain, continue to blot the area, but this time with the dry part of the towel.
Urine: This mess may be from a pet or child, but regardless, the same techniques apply:
- Start off by blotting up the excess liquid.
- You can use two simple mixtures in order to get a urine stain out: vinegar and water or dish soap and water.
- After the area has been cleaned and blotted with the mixture, spread a paste of water and baking soda over the entire area of the stain and let sit overnight. This will help absorb the strong odor.
- Vacuum up the dried baking soda the next day.
Oil and Grease: This type of stain can be more tough to get out than the previous listed stains. Here are the recommended steps:
- Use something plastic or metal (recommended spoon or knife) to scrape any excess oil or grease out of the upholstery. Be gentle when doing so.
- Blot any excess oil or grease up with a towel or sponge.
- Apply baking soda to the stain and let it sit for 15-30 minutes.
- Rinse the stain with hot water then blot again—hot works best for oil stains.
- You can also use a steam cleaner and repeat the first step—-the steam will help loosen the stain and bring the oil to the surface more easily so that you can scrap more off.
- Now you can apply your cleaning solution of dish soap and water. Let sit for about 10 minutes and repeat if necessary. Scrub area.
- Lastly, when you feel it is cleaned up, dry the area thoroughly.
No matter the stain, there is a simple DIY solution to the problem and one convenient thing about these solutions is that most people already have the ingredients under their kitchen or bathroom sink. Trying to de-stain your vehicle upholstery at home is more time-efficient and cost-effective; so the next time you discover a troublesome stain, give one of these DIY methods a go!
For all of your other auto needs, such as repair, don’t hesitate to contact Downtown Autobody, which proudly serves Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Cotati, Windsor, Petaluma, Sebastopol, and the rest of Sonoma and Marin counties.