I've searched a few threads but haven't found a good answer to my specific questions. Hoping somebody has a suggestion.

One of the reasons I bought my car was its funky navy blue leather seats with orange cloth inserts. To me, they capture the fun spirit of a Mini convertible. Unfortunately, the orange cloth inserts were dirty when I got it, and have a few light stains as well.

I can find lots of advice and products for cleaning microfiber seats, but very little on cleaning true cloth like the inserts on my car. And, I assume 12 year-old orange cloth in a convertible will not be the most colorfast fabric if too strong a cleaner is used, but there is no "inconspicuous spot" to test cleaning solutions.

So, has anybody cleaned cloth inserts like these, or in general have advice about what cleaner/technique to use?




Funkalicious Sunrise Orange & Blue Seats (code FEDC)!



Hard to see in pics, but ground-in dirt on side bolsters. Bottom cushions similarly dingy

 

May be a silly idea, but how 'bout taking it to a local dry cleaner and see what they would suggest.
I'd be very cautious about using any liquid cleaning agents for fear they could have a detrimental affect on the leather and naturally would be very hard to rinse out.

 

Actually, Fly'n Brick, that's a great idea. 👍 Can't hurt to at least ask the local dry cleaners--lord knows we've spent enough $ there over the years! And you raise a good point about the challenges of using a liquid in this situation. Thanks.

I keep thinking somebody must've tackled this little clean-up project before. I know not everybody has the highly-coveted orange inserts 😜, but maybe somebody has cleaned cloth inserts of another color and has some advice.

Any experiences to share? Or any other thoughts or suggestions?

 

Only other suggestion is based on a question. Only 25K miles? You need to find the roads less traveled, get the top down and motor. We're heading out on cross country jaunt #14 this weekend. To get started, consider MITO Oct. 26-29, registration opens today. Incentive - fantastic day trips and Sunday morning breakfast at the mud street cafe.
http://ozarkmini.com/

 

Go visit a pro detailer and see what they would do and charge you for it. You might pick up some tips or find that the price is right.

 

Yea, those are cool seats as I was going to order those from my hot orange convertible back in the day. I would have a detail shop steam clean them and then treat the leather sections also. If they have the cloth UV protectant I would use that also after they are cleaned. Great looking interior. I wish I had it because its very rare.

 

A pro detailer would be a good first step. If it's in the budget, then let them do it.

If you're a DIY guy and want to take a shot at it yourself, I recommend following Larry from AMMO's advice and using a very mild cleaner. Personally, I use Meguiar's General Purpose Cleaner (http://amzn.to/2sdUnBI) and dilute it in a spray bottle (http://amzn.to/2rEpkSu).

 

rent a carpet cleaner and the upholstery accessory ......

if you plan to repeat regularly just buy a small one


daughter has cloth seats a dog and seems to spill drinks regularly - we clean the seats in her car about every 6 months!

(edit: the video above would call this an extractor)

 

Steam cleaning will give the best results - you want to pull the stains and dirt up and out, any kind of cleaner without any suction will just push the stain further into the fabric.

 

Wow. Some great suggestions, and good logic, here.

Thanks all, once these seats are clean(er) I'll update this post.

 

Steam cleaners work well. Really depends on the detergent used to determine effectiveness and color fastness.

I like using diluted Woolite in a spray bottle and scrubbing in with a white towel by hand, then going back over it with warm water in a spray bottle and a fresh towel just to make sure you've gotten the solution out of the cloth seat. Woolite is pretty gentle to begin with and diluted it's still effective but is a really safe bet to ensure you don't ruin the seat color.

 

Bissell green machine works good, just dont soak it down that much and put the top down and let the sun hit it so you dont get that moldy smell. If you dont feel good about doing it, the steam at the detailer is more topical.

 

NJMini and ECS perfectly identified my fears, as I follow the Hippocratic Oath when it comes to my cars: "First, do no harm!"

I'm feeling extra cautious about not fading the color, as I think the orange inserts on both front seats are already a little faded from sun and/or past cleaning efforts--not sure which as I've only had this car for a month. It lived the first 11 years of its life in central FL, though, so I think it's quite possible that some UV exposure may have faded and/or weakened the cloth. I've certainly seen both those effects on cloth boat covers intermittently left out in the sun.

So, I think I'm going to try NJMini's Woolite technique first, as it seems the lowest-risk approach. If no joy with Woolite, even though I'm definitely a DIY'er when it comes to detailing, I'll probably give up and take it to a pro.

I also have another fun job in front of me--the whole Raggtopp routine for the convertible top. Will tackle that soon. Love that dark navy fabric top, need to keep it looking good and lasting.

Last but not least, the wheels have not a nick on them but unfortunately the finish seems to be delaminating. Once they are refinished, and I get a minor water spot or two off the hood, even a fussy OCD car nut like me will be fully happy with this little gem.

 

You can hit that fabirc with some uv protetct like what they use on the top. Just test it in a small area after you get the seats clean.

 

Great idea, thanks.

I did complete the two-step Raggtopp treatment over the weekend, and it went well. It was time consuming, but TBH I spent way more time taping off everything than actually cleaning and treating the top.

The top wasn't that dirty, but a little grime did come out in the rinse water and it does seem a little more "blue" to me now. After it was dry I gave it three coats, about 20 minutes apart, with the UV/water-resistant protectant. Unexpected plus: the process seemed to hide some of the minor wear marks where the top folds.

I have some of the protectant left so once the seats are clean I think I'll follow this suggestion and give the cloth inserts a spray. I'm not too worried about the protectant changing the fabric color, in fact if it darkened them a bit that'd be a plus, but I'll try to test a small area first.

Not sure when I'll finally tackle the seats, as both work and family commitments are escalating lately. Don't you hate it when life interferes with car time??

 

I know when I search these forums I find it frustrating to discover a thread discussing my exact question, but with no resolution or report back.

So, in the hope this update might help somebody else someday, I wanted to share what I finally did to remove the dirt from my cloth seat inserts.

I went back and forth with lots of different ideas, and bought some of the products recommended here and elsewhere. In the end, though, I just grabbed some spot remover we've used for years around my house and sprayed some on the seat. Big risk, I know, but I'd been working all day in the garage on another project and was using the spot remover on the seats in that; at one point I looked up and saw the Mini, was reminded of the issue with the inserts and just wanted to cross it off my list.

So, I sprayed on the stuff, agitated and blotted, and I'd say the seat looks about 75% better, with the dirt gone and the remaining 25% minor imperfection being wear from the seatbelt rubbing that same spot for 12 years.

The product I used is called "Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover," I think it's pretty easy to find, but if anybody is interested PM me and I can take a pic of the bottle with manufacturer contact info. My big fear was that it would make the seats worse and/or leave a big ring around the sprayed area, but thankfully, at least on my car, it did neither.

Thanks again to everybody for the advice and tips. Someday I'll do a full interior detail and thanks to the posts here I'll be armed with some awesome knowledge.

 

Wonder what is in Folex? It says non toxic, must be some serious magic juice.

 

i literally read every post thinking "they need to try folex" and looky there! Folex is a great product to use when you are not extracting the cleaner from the seats as it will not re-attract dirt to the surface once it is exposed to moisture like many cleaners will. If Folex wont get it i would look into the P&S Double Black Carpet cleaning system, between their exnzyme cleaner, degreasing agent and peroxide final treatment ive removed stains that i never thought possible.

extractors are great but be careful when extracting seats to not oversaturate, mytee makes a dry upholstery attachment that is vital to getting seat fabric clean without soaking to underlying foam

 

Thank you Prestige, your comments make me feel a whole lot less reckless in my choice to use Folex on the fairly delicate cloth inserts.

We've used Folex for years around my house, sometimes in settings that feel more like an infomercial than reality: red wine on beige carpet, cat puke on a favorite rug, etc., and the darn stuff has always worked. I'm sure like any product it has limitations, but luckily so far I haven't found them. It worked wonders on some stains in the gray cloth seats in an old Jetta my daughter and I fixed up this summer, for her to bring to college, so that was my guinea pig for automotive use.

Anyway, thanks again, and also appreciate the info on P&S and extractors. IMO posts like yours are what make this site such a great resource.

 

Just tried Folex...where has this been my entire life? Love it

 

Haha! Love to hear it, Z_wrecker. Like I said above, we have used it for years around our house and so far I haven't tried it on anything it hasn't conquered. IME it is great on brushed fabric seats, too, not just the tight-weave cloth seats in the Mini. So glad that you and others are finding a good use for it.

 

once the towel was soaked from blotting I used it to wipe down couple of spots on my audi headliner and it worked like magic. Thank you so much!!

 

 

 

Here is the thing with spray-on wash-off cleaners. They are virtually impossible to completely remove and the dried "soap" becomes a dirt magnet. Then the dirt deep in the upholstery migrates to the surface. It will give you okay temporary results at best.

The only way to properly clean upholstery is with a vacuum carpet/upholstery extractor. You can rent them or even buy cheap ones that do a good job of EXTRACTING the dirt, not just removing the top layer or rubbing it in.

The carpet extractor I had at my shop cost 3 grand, seemed absolutely crazy at first, but proved to be worth every cent. Bissel makes a cheap home-use unit that works good.