Whether you’re out with kids on a vacation or out for a short lunch break, it is easy to spill a drink on the car seats. Food crumbs lying around in the car, especially in the crevices) is not an unusual sight.
A stained car seat is not only an ugly sight but also gives an embarrassing feeling when your boss or a friend travels with you in your car.
In this article, we’re going to uncover a rather unusual way of cleaning car seats, whether cloth or leather, with shaving cream.
How to Clean Car Seats with Shaving Cream?
Shaving foam can be used to remove quick stains from home upholstery or even car seats. We’re going to look at both cloth car seats as well as leather ones.
How to Clean Cloth Car Seats with Shaving Cream?
Using shaving foam to clean car seats can remove food stains, cosmetic stains, ingrained dirt, grime, plaster dust, water stains.
This method will leave the car smelling fresh and clean.
This is not an alternative to deep cleaning of seats but a quick and effective way to get rid of stains. On a scale of 10, People give it about 5-5.5 ratings in terms of effectiveness.
YOU’LL NEED
1- Men’s shaving Foam (Dye-free)
2- Brush/vacuum
3- Flat piece of plastic or cardboard or dustpan
4- Brush
5- Wet towel/damp sponge
6- Old toothbrush
7- Warm water
STEPS
STEP 1: Clear away the surface dust and debris (food crumbs, crackers, etc) from the car seat using a brush.
Alternately, you can use a car vacuum or a portable vacuum to suck up this mess.
STEP 2: Apply some shaving foam to the car seats by pressing the nozzle of the shaving foam bottle.
Although it is better to use foam in the first place, if for some reason you don’t have one, you can use a gel shaving cream. You will need to make foam beforehand (Just when you’re about to start this step).
STEP 3: Start to rub the foam with your gloved hands. You may use circular motions to do so. This will start to lift away dirt and stains embedded in the fabric.
STEP 4: After letting the foam sit for 10 minutes, use a toothbrush to scrub the seats. This will remove the loosened dirt.
Now, collect the excess foam (with your hand) on a flat piece of plastic or cardboard.
STEP 5: Now, use a wet towel or damp sponge to get rid of the remaining foam on the seats. If the shaving foam is left on the seats, it can damage the covers later on after it dries.
Use warm water for dampening your towel or sponge.
CAUTION: Be careful with the amount of water that you use to dampen your towel or sponge. If too much water seeps into the car upholstery, it may not dry fully and leave the interiors smelling bad. Make sure to lightly dampen the sponge/towel to clean off the shaving cream. You may squeeze the sponge and dampen it with clean water again when you need to.
STEP 6: It is time to let the car seats air dry. Before you do so, use a dry rag to gently soak the moisture.
You may open the windows or doors for circulation. You may also park your car in a sunny spot at this time.
If you have a blow dryer that blasts out hot air, use it to remove moisture; if not, just let the seat air dry.
How to Clean Leather Car Seats with Shaving Cream?
Shaving Cream is safe for the Color and texture of leather seats. Shaving cream contains cleaning and moisturizing agents that not only help clean but also soften your leather surfaces.
YOU’LL NEED
1- Microfiber cloth
2- Shaving foam
3- Soft cloth
STEPS
STEP 1: Spray some shaving foam on a damp microfiber cloth.
STEP 2: Use this cloth to apply the foam to the car leather seats. Gently rub the surface with your bare hands.
STEP 3: After 1-2 minutes, wipe the excess shaving foam from the seats using your hands onto a dustpan.
STEP 4: Use a clean soft cloth to wipe the excess foam away from the leather surface.
You might feel an oily leather surface afterward because shaving cream contains oils in it and this residue is left on the surface. But this will disappear in time.
Where this method is not suitable:
1- For stains that have penetrated into the pores of the leather and become stuck there.
2- If your leather seats are very dirty or heavily stained. In that case, you might want to try a more powerful cleaner like saddle soap or mild dish soap.
Car Seats Maintenance
1- You should vacuum your fabric seats along with the mats weekly.
2- Any fresh stains that you spot should be tackled immediately (using a rag/towel to soak) to avoid them seeping into the fabric. The towel can be tucked under the seat for immediate access.
3- If you have leather seats, be careful if you have metal buttons on your pants or have sharp objects in your pockets as these can tear through the leather.
Conclusion
Using shaving cream to clean your fabric as well as leather car seats is a neat little hack for quick cleanups of fresh stains and some light old stains.
However, this is not an alternative to deep interior cleaning and detailing.
We have shown detailed steps for using shaving cream to clean your car seats.
You may check out these guides on cleaning carpets with shaving cream and cleaning mirrors with shaving cream. Apply the methods to clean your car carpets and mirrors.
