Seat covers and headrests - cleaning

[philharve]

Hi All

My C230K has the hard-wearing, cotton-based material covering its seats and headrests, rather than leather.

What is the best method of cleaning this material (wet, dry, steam) and what cleaning compound is best to remove everyday grease stains?

Can the headrest covers be removed for cleaning? I assume the seats must be cleaned 'in place' because their covers are an integral part of the seat and cannot be removed?

REGARDS

Phil

 

[jberks]

I had the light grey cloth on the E240.
I used a normal carpet cleaner. Drowned the seats, rubbed them to agitate the detergent and then sucked it back out again. Always came up a treat though damp seats can be a pain for a couple of days (sit on a bin liner).

 

[philharve]

I had the light grey cloth on the E240.
I used a normal carpet cleaner. Drowned the seats, rubbed them to agitate the detergent and then sucked it back out again. Always came up a treat though damp seats can be a pain for a couple of days (sit on a bin liner).

Hi jberks

Have you ever tried steam cleaning? It sounds drastic but after seeing how well the RugDoctor steam cleans carpets, I'm willing to give it a go. Carpet cleaner? Sounds about right!

I know you can buy handheld steam cleaners that produce sufficient steam for about 20 minutes work. Not that expensive either. I might buy one and have a go. It's not money wasted because I can use the cleaner for other things, for example, on bedding or clothing. The heat kills crawly things to which some people are allergic.

Wet seats? No, thanks! Sitting on bin-liners? Don't fancy that! How about hot water bottles to dry the seats? I've used a variable temperature heat gun to defrost refrigerators, maybe it would dry the seats. Hair dryer? An electric blanket, perhaps?

My indie's wife mentioned a trick using brake fluid as a detergent but I was so aghast at the suggestion that I stuck my head outside of her office and let go a scream. She wasn't kidding though.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[Bolide]

My indie's wife mentioned a trick using brake fluid as a detergent but I was so aghast at the suggestion that I stuck my head outside of her office and let go a scream. She wasn't kidding thoughl

Brake cleaner, maybe? I've seen it done

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[philharve]

Hi Nick

Now you come to mention it, she might well have said brake cleaner! Still sounds a little drastic though. The cleaner is a fluid which you spray on? I wonder what it contains that makes it suitable for cleaning cloth?

REGARDS

Phil

 

[television]

I had MB tex on my 300TE, that was hard to keep cleen, the dirt came through from the back again after a couple of weeks, Steam cleaners may work

 

[philharve]

I had MB tex on my 300TE, that was hard to keep cleen, the dirt came through from the back again after a couple of weeks, Steam cleaners may work

Hi Malcolm

I'll treat myself to a late birthday present and buy one of these small steam cleaners and give it a try. I don't know anyone who actually has one which I could borrow and leasing one is more expensive than buying a small one. I might get a better deal on eBay. I'll report back later on results.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[television]

Hi Malcolm

I'll treat myself to a late birthday present and buy one of these small steam cleaners and give it a try. I don't know anyone who actually has one which I could borrow and leasing one is more expensive than buying a small one. I might get a better deal on eBay. I'll report back later on results.

REGARDS

Phil

I see that these mini steam cleaner are being thrown away now as they are appearing at the re cycle centers.

The jet is very small

 

[jberks]

The jet size would be a problem I'd have thought. I guess the steam would penetrate the cloth and force mucky water to run out (which you'll have to catch or it'll make an even worse mess) but it's going to be so localised that you'd need to be very careful you don't end up with blotchy or streaky results. Trying to cover every inch of a seat evenly could be a real pain.

The wet seats aren't too bad so long as you do the work at a warmish time. I normally find a weekend I don't need the car too much then start early Saturday, leave it with the windows down on the drive (I can where I live) and lock it in the garage with the windows down at night. Its the moving air that drys them rather than heat.
A day or so later and its basically dry and smells all nice, clean and aired.

I have a steamer which is basically a jet attached to a wallpaper stripper gizmo. Works brilliantly for defrosting the freezer, just cuts straight through all that ice, but I'm not so sure I'd use it on the car. I tried it to clean tile grout as they show in the ads. The result.. wet mucky grout !