How to Clean the Leather Car Seats

If you want a great interior for your car, you must clean your car seats from time to time. These Leather car seats are very comfortable and look luxurious. Most of the people neglect their car’s interior. Most of us don’t even care about our leather seats. However, keeping your car’s interior clean, mainly the glistening leather seats, can make your car stand out. The main reason that your leather seats get dirty, is the surface dirt. Therefore, it is very important to remove the surface dirt, and condition the leather seats regularly. While this whole procedure may sound laborious, this is actually a pretty simple task. You don’t need to call upon a professional, to clean your seats, you can do it yourself by following these simple steps.

Check for dirty areas in your car seat
If your leather seat is dirty in some areas and is visible it is basically due to surface dirt. Be careful not to apply water, conditioner or any solution straight away, because that might get stuck into holes, and cause problems. Check your car manual, before applying anything. Your car owner’s manual will have the list of solutions to use and the products to avoid. The manual should also have the specific care steps for the leather material.

Vacuum clean the seats
If you can see large specks of dust, in the seats of your car, then a vacuum cleaner can do a great job. It can suck up the particles of dust, and can clean your seats of the dry dust. Be careful, not to scratch up your seats. An air compressor can also do the work, for small particles which get locked in between the curves of the seat. The air compressor can blow out dirt between the seat fissures.

Removing the surface dirt
When your seats are really dirty, you can see blackish spots all over the leather. Moreover, as leather holds the dirt, the blackish spot on your glistening leather seat, can be seen clearly. Seats may also get dirty over time, because it is very common that, dirt will get accumulated over time. Now, in these cases, spray a cleaner into the seats, and wipe it with a microfiber towel. Before spraying anything, you may consult the owner’s manual for reference. There are many cleaners today in the market in the genre of leather cleaner, mild leather soap, saddle soap. While you may use a cleaner by buying it from the market, you can also make a cleaner at home. Adding one part of Vinegar with two parts of linseed oil, and then shaking it, may also result in a great leather cleaner.

Deep clean with a brush
If you have a pet in your house, you may have this soft-bristled brush. If you don’t, you can buy it from the market. Spray your cleaner onto the seats, and then gently scrub the brush, on the seat. This will stir, the dust particles, and It will come out of the fissures, and onto the surface. If you are not really sure about the authenticity of the spray, avoid directly spraying into the leather seat, as that might damage the leather, instead, spray into the brush, and then gently scrub the leather seat with the brush. After, you have scrubbed with the brush, it’s time to dry the seat. Take a microfiber cloth, and wipe it dry. Wipe the seats clean, afterwards again with the microfiber cloth, and you will see that oil, grime and dirt on the piece of cloth.

While it is very important to clean your seats every day, even if you don’t get the time, try to clean your seats once in a week. This will avoid larger accumulation of dirt in the leather seats, and your seats will be back to the showroom standards. Only cleaning your seats will not give it back the original glow that it actually had. Simultaneously, conditioning your seat is important. Here are the few steps that you can follow to condition your seats.

Choosing the right conditioner
Choosing the right conditioner for your leather seats can be a fuss. Search for a leather conditioner which does not contain petroleum distillates, waxes or silicon. A conditioner gets back the oily finish of the leather, so choose a high end product, since the low end products may leave back a greasy finish.

Test your conditioner
Test your conditioner by applying it in an inconspicuous area of your leather seats, and see if it discolors or damage your seats. If it does not, then it’s pretty safe to be used. To apply your conditioner, you need a microfiber cloth, to gently rub it around.

Use your conditioner
Spray a little bit of conditioner in a specific part of your seat, and gently rub it around with a microfiber cloth. Be cautioned about not to spray more than a few drops. More conditioner will make it stick to the leather, and hence it will appear sticky or greasy. Even if, it is sticking, then you may take another microfiber cloth, and wipe the seat, to get rid of excess conditioner.



Garage your car overnight
Your conditioner needs to settle in on the leather seats, which will give you the glow. So, for that you need to garage your car overnight, or at least keep it in a shade. The bombardment of UV light helps it to set in, but before that, you need to give it a chance to set in naturally.

Tone the seats with a microfiber cloth
After the conditioning process is over, take a microfiber cloth, and buff the seats. Polishing the seats, can help get rid of the excess conditioner in the seat. Gently polish with circular motions, and get every area, slowly, by getting rid of excess conditioner. Most of the leather seats, do not need daily conditioning. Conditioning for twice or thrice a year, is enough.

You will notice the difference after following these steps of Cleaning and Conditioning. The sparkling leather seats will again be soft, supple and will look like new. The sparkling leather seats will obviously differentiate your car from the other cars.