How to Clean Leather Car Seats: As Good As New
How to Clean Leather Car Seats: As Good As New
Posted on September 20, 2023
If you’re planning to sell your car anytime soon, giving it a thorough clean is one of the first things you need to do. One area that should receive a lot of attention is making sure you have clean leather car seats.
If you have leather seats in your car, you’ll already know how they like to attract and retain dirt and grime. Cleaning them can not only make you happier to sit in them but can also make them much more attractive to a buyer.
If you’re selling your car to a dealership, knowing how to clean leather car seats might even get you a little more money!
Leather Car Interiors
Leather seats have been around since the very first cars. The material is very hard wearing but also comfortable and very malleable. All things that work well for cars.
Leather can get dirty quickly though.
Leather needs a little care and maintenance to get the best out of it. Where skin produces oil to keep it supple and prevent cracking, leather seats cannot. Yet it can still suffer that fate.
Which is where a little maintenance comes in.
But first, the cleaning.
Cleaning Leather Car Seats
Cleaning leather seats is actually pretty straightforward but does require some specific kit.
That includes:
- A vacuum cleaner
- Microfibre cloths
- Soft brush
- Spray cleaner
What cleaner you use is up to you. You can use coconut oil, baking soda, vinegar, or laundry detergent. However you would need to do your research before using them!
There are also specialist leather upholstery cleaners around which are probably a safer bet.
First, vacuum the seats and the car's interior to remove loose dirt and debris. Be as thorough as you can.
Next, apply some of your leather cleaning solutions to a small patch of a seat first to make sure it doesn’t stain or impact the color.
If it all looks good, apply the cleaner to a small section of the seat and leave it for a few minutes.
Then take your soft brush and massage it in gently. Don’t use force, work it in slowly and steadily. Slow and steady is the name of this game. Don’t rush.
Dampen one of your microfibre cloths and wipe all the cleaning solution off the seat. Then wipe again with a clean dry cloth.
Rinse and repeat until all your seats have been cleaned.
Once complete, your leather seats should look almost as good as new ones. If you were keeping the car, we would now add a leather conditioner to keep the material supply and soft.
As you’re selling the car to a dealership, this step is optional. It can make the leather look nicer but is purely an optional step.
If you do want to use it, use a leather conditioner on another microfibre cloth and massage it gently into the entire seat.
Leave it for 10 minutes or so wipe off any excess with another clean cloth and give it a gentle buff to make it shine.
You may not get any more for your vehicle after this but it will definitely make the car much more attractive to buyers!