Our morning life is always on the rush and so we are often used to having my breakfasts on-the-go. That bread and butter has filled your tummy at home. You’re late but you badly need some smooth coffee so you hop on your car holding a take-out cappuccino from a favorite coffee shop, and you go oops! That fresh hot drink splashed up on the roof of your car and on those lovely seats.
This incident is devastating, as it ruins the splendor of your car’s interior and displaces the fresh smelling car scent. Good thing the best car upholstery cleaners are available to get you through.
With powerful upholstery cleaners, dirty and matted car upholsteries can be brought back to original vibrant colors and soft, suede feel with the use of car upholstery cleaners. These cleaners are specially formulated to remove stubborn stains such as chocolate, ice cream, cola, coffee, ketchup, etc.These dedicated products are also safe and effective in cleaning dining seat covers, carpets, textiles & standard upholstered seating and interior surfaces.
The best car upholstery cleaners have a good combination of active cleaners, degreasers and release agents formulated to break down dirt and oils in carpets, upholstery and fabric. They also contain “fresh air” essence which gives your car a clean fresh scent.
The cleaning process
The first step for any car owners in cleaning a vehicle’s interior has to be a thorough vacuuming. Hit the seats, dash, floor, and especially the corners and folds where most dust and dirt collect. The only exception is the headliner which is a bit trickier to clean and should be lightly brushed instead of vigorously vacuumed. To make the job go faster and easier, start with a soft, natural bristle brush to loosen clingy dirt from all interior surfaces. After pushing it into an accessible corner use your vacuum’s crevice tool to suck up all the debris. The crevice attachment is also handy for cleaning other hard-to-reach areas. Keep in mind that any chemical treatments for carpet and upholstery need to have a minimal-dirt environment to work properly.
Here are some general steps on cleaning your car’s upholstery:
- Vacuum or clean upholstery surface of loose debris.
- Shake cleaner’s container well before use.
- Test the fabric for color fastness in an inconspicuous area.
- Spray dirty areas and rub with a damp sponge (Recommend SONAX 417300 Application Sponge).
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Rub again with a damp sponge or premium microfiber cloth and let dry.
- After, vacuum or brush to allow upholstery fibers to stand in its natural state.
Please note, that in order to avoid differences in color between treated and untreated areas, the cleaner should always be applied to complete parts or sections.
Types of car upholstery stains
In a newly purchased car, your vehicle’s interior would be clean and clear and smelly fresh every time you get in for a ride. Unfortunately, keeping the interior perfectly clean is almost impossible in the presence of clumsy kids, pets, and food. especially in a family with more than a few members. There is nothing more frustrating than purchasing car, or having newly repaired upholstery, only to have it ruined by dirt and stain the next hour. Such things are indeed inevitable, and it is good to know that we got the help of the best car upholstery cleaners.
Not all stains are equal and being knowledgeable on the different type of stains that can hit your car covers is a pretty good preparation for some undesirable incidents of spilling and splashing of chocolates and coffee. Knowing these kinds of stains can also help us determine what upholstery cleaner is best to use. The following guidelines identify some of the more common stains that car owners and even home makers should be aware of:
Water-Based Stains
Water-based stains is the most common and encompass a large amount of car carpet and seat stains. Water-based stains include beverages such as soda, liquor, juices and milk. Ink, mud and dirt, and paint also belong to this category. Water-based stains usually occur in the car seats, arm rests, and on the floor.
Oil-Based Stains
Oil-based stains are also very common. These are sometimes extremely difficult to remove than water-based stains. Oil-based stains include oils, glues and adhesives, colorings, nail polishes, oil-based makeup, tars, waxes, butter and gravy. Given the increased difficulty involved with removing oil-based stains, upon encountering such a stain, car owners should sometimes ask for a professional’s aid.
Pet Stains
Humans are absolutely not the only ones who can leave some nasty dirt and stains on car’s lovely seats. Pets, most especially dogs and even more the cats, are always valid suspects. Pet lovers have the highest risk of acquiring pet stains especially when these huggable pets travel along. Even trained pets and the matured ones still cause some inconvenience.
Other
Other stains include blood, coffee and tea, and dyes, which are the hardest to lift-off, treat, and takes tons of time and effort to remove.
No matter what type of stain or odor your car has acquired, these awesome upholstery cleaners can come to the rescue! See the list below for more information about the best upholstery cleaner you can purchase on Amazon. Knowing which type of stain is present can help you match which cleaner works best.
1) STP Tuff Stuff Multi-Purpose Aerosol Cleaner
Price: $15.74
Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars, 569 customer reviews
- Perfect for cleaning any washable or painted surface
- Deep cleaning foaming action
- Lifts dirt and helps restore true color and appearance
- Effective for cleaning vinyl and fabric upholstery, floor mats, carpet and chrome
- Can be used at home as well
STP Tuff Stuff is perfect for cleaning any washable or painted surface. Deep cleaning foaming action lifts dirt and helps restore true color and appearance. For autos and boats, Tuff Stuff is especially effective for cleaning vinyl and fabric upholstery, floor mats, carpet and chrome. For home, Tuff Stuff is excellent for cleaning appliance, Formica, bathroom fixture, asphalt or ceramic tile, painted wall, wall coverings, screens window, fans, porcelain, painted wood or metal. Removes soil and stains from vinyl or fabric upholstery and carpets.
2) Meguiar’s G9719 Upholstery Cleaner – 19 oz.
Price: $15.82
Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars, 142 customer reviews
- Professional-strength cleaning foam with deep cleaning power to remove staining and odors
- Fast acting foam quickly breaks down stains
- Dries quickly without leaving behind a sticky residue
- Dual purpose sprayer is perfect for general cleaning or spot and stain removal
- Penetrates and dissolves stains for deep cleaning leaving carpets and upholstery looking and smelling fresh, and feeling like-new
Meguiar’s Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner foam quickly breaks down stains. It has a new formula that is perfect for general cleaning or spot and stain removal on car seats, covers, and even on your carpet and sofa
3) Blue Coral DC22 Upholstery Cleaner Dri-Clean Plus
Price: $9.10
Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars, 381 customer reviews
- Effective on grease, tar, coffee, lipstick, ink, blood stains and more
- Interior cleaner lifts stains off of carpet, upholstery and floor mats
- Easy-to-use brush cap helps remove ground-in stains and soils
Easy to use interior cleaner and stain up-lifter. Convenient built-in scrub cap helps you extract ground-in stains from carpet, upholstery and floor mats.
4) Sonax (206141) Upholstery and Alcantara Cleaner
Price: $19.90
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars, 63 customer reviews
- Brand new formulation developed especially for vehicles with Alcantara seats and accessories
- Dirty & matted Alcantara will be brought back to it’s original vibrant colors and soft, suede feel
- Safe and effective on carpets, textiles & standard upholstered seating and interior surfaces
Sonax Upholstery & Alcantara Cleaner is a brand new formulation developed especially for vehicles with Alcantara seats and accessories. Your dirty car upholstery will be brought back to it’s original vibrant colors and soft, suede feel. This awesome upholstery cleaner is also safe and effective and carefully yet thoroughly cleans your carpets, textiles & upholstered seating and interior surfaces.
5) Dr. Beasley’s I10T12 Upholstery Cleanser
Price: $19.99
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars, 1customer reviews
- Powerfully formulated odor elimination
- Safe to use on carpets, seats, headliners
- Assists in rejuvenating and restoring your car’s interior
Dr. Beasley’s Upholstery Cleanser is a powerful cleaner and odor-eliminator, designed to tackle even the biggest of messes. Created to fight odor causing bacteria and dirt trapped within carpeting and upholstery, this product removes light stains and aromas from your car’s interior, leaving a fresh, clean scent after every cleaning. If your car’s interior could use a pick-me-up, grab a bottle of Carpet & Upholstery Cleanser and see the difference for yourself. Carpet and Upholstery Cleanser is a concentrated formula designed to clean and revive various fibered surfaces of your car. Perfect for use on carpets, seats and headliners, this product delivers a deep clean that is partnered with industry leading odor eliminators to make sure the job gets done at a molecular level. Formulated to eliminate bacteria, this product can remove stains, smells, and even brighten the surface that’s being cleaned. Whether it be a coffee stain or spilled dinner, Carpet and Upholstery Cleanser is the top-tier option for any mess.
6) Eco Touch (CUC24) Upholstery Cleaner
Price: $10.74
Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars, 44 customer reviews
- Safely cleans rugs, carpets and upholstery
- Effective on wine, coffee, and more
- Non-toxic, biodegradable and free of any VOCs, fragrances or dyes
- Easy spray + wipe process
- Leaves all surfaces soft + fresh
Eco Touch is a powerful Carpet Cleaner for Your Car. We put our chemist to the test on this one. You may now enjoy using an amazing and effective upholstery cleaner for your car or home, but avoid the heavy solvents. After creating a special formulation, we came up with Eco Touch Carpet + Upholstery. It is formulated using a powerful soy-based solvent, and this product can quickly and effectively remove stains away from your car and home’s interior fabric. Plus, there’s no sticky residue left behind, just fresh and clean. Directions: 1. Shake bottle well. 2. Spray directly onto stain until completely covered. 3. Let set for 1 – 2 minutes to allow product to penetrate. 4. Blot with a clean cloth. Repeat if stains persists. Test first in an inconspicuous area to ensure colorfastness.
7) Mothers 05424 Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner
Price: $10.39
Rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars, 139 customer reviews
- Cleaner can be used in your home on stubborn stains
- Trigger spray bottle for easy use
- Environmentally safe to use
- Regular use provides a long lasting benefit to your vehicle
- Easy to apply
The purpose of a carpet and upholstery cleaner is to loosen the soil’s attachment to the carpet and interior fabric fibers. Mothers Upholstery Cleaner is specially formulated to lift contaminants stuck in the pile and suspend them for easier removal. Rub the area briskly with a towel and use the brush to further agitate areas with stubborn dirt and stains, all after applying the carpet and upholstery cleaner. Don’t be hesitant to re-treat any portions of material that won’t come clean— numerous firm attacks are better than one prolonged battle. In many cases your interior has become dirtier than you’d expected, and cleaning individual ‘dirty spots’ may actually leave you with one exceptionally clean area and the rest unevenly dark. Be ready to treat larger areas accurately and evenly to ensure consistent coloring when finished. Also, make sure any area are cleaned with another vacuuming: dirt once stuck will be loose and/or suspended, ready to come free.
8) Armor All OxiMagic Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner
Price: $11.90
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars, 42 customer reviews
Bundle comes with: Two Armor All OxiMagic Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner (22 oz. each) – Powerfully cleans the toughest carpet and upholstery stains. Oxygen formula works like magic to break down stains. Leaves colors and fabrics unaffected. Can be safely used on a variety of your car’s soft and hard interior surfaces. One large Peak microfiber cloth that is safe on all surfaces (color may vary).
9) Go Green Upholstery/Carpet Cleaner – The Best Organic 3 in 1
Price: $15.88
Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars, 16 customer reviews
- OWNERS 1st CHOICE – This product unleashes the power of Citrus, cleans stains and smells and repels pets from returning
- CLEAN IT ALL – Great for carpets, rugs, cloth and furniture, animal bedding, automobiles, RV’s, and many other uses!
- CHILDREN & PET SAFE – totally safe to use around your children and pets. No harmful chemical formula from natural citrus
- GUARANTEED HIGHEST QUALITY –removes stains & eliminates odor, manufactured in the United States.
- RISK FREE GUARANTEE – No hassle money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied contact us for a full refund.
Keeping up with cleaning your car’s interior sure takes a lot of work. Kids, pets, food and everyday messes can quickly accumulate leaving you with quite a mess on your hands. One of the keys to keeping your carpet and upholstery looking its best is to take care of spills and stains as soon as they occur.Go Green Carpet & Upholstery formula is a powerful soy-based solvent to quickly dissolve and lift away these contaminants with minimal effort. Just spray, scrub and blot dry for easy cleaning.
10) Adam’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner
Price: $20.95
Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars, 16 customer reviews
One of the faults with most carpet and upholstery cleaners is that they foam and leave behind cleaning residue. Sure, they clean okay, but they also continue to clean again and again. That means every time you get in your car with damp shoes, the cleaner reactivates. You’ll have nice, clean shoes, but your carpet and floor mats will get dirty again in not time. That’s not a cleaning solution, that’s a nightmare! Adam’s Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner is different. Our non-foaming formula deactivates when dry. That means it stops cleaning when it’s supposed to. Plus, cleaning without foaming means less work for you.
Simply mist over the soiled area, agitate with a damp towel, and wipe dry. On tough stains, you can saturate the stain, allow to dwell for a few moments, agitate with an upholstery brush, then blot dry. Non-toxic and skin safe. This is the fastest, easiest and most effective carpet and upholstery cleaner you have ever used. Guaranteed! 16 oz. Spray.