OEM Seat Cover removal and wash possible? Detailing 2013 XLT

[JamaicaJoe]

I have a 2013 with "stone" interior, cloth seats. The dealer did an awful job of detailing. I cleaned a spot from the rear of the second row and all kinds of dirt came up from the carpeted area on the back. The cloth seat covers look bad as well. I am thinking of removing the OEM covers and running them through my washer and dryer on a delicate setting. Has anyone done this?

 

[BigOleFordFan]

IF, and only IF, the covers are 100% cloth, and you can get them off without damaging them, then yes you should be able to wash them without much problems... HOWEVER, I strongly recommend air-drying them (hang outside over a chair on a sunny day or something similar) instead of in the dryer, as this could cause significant shrinkage, which could make them not fit back on the seats...

The alternative would be a heavy duty vacuum cleaner with a built-in scrubber device, the kind that puts out hot water, scrubs & vacuums up the dirty water all at the same time....

 

[JamaicaJoe]

IF, and only IF, the covers are 100% cloth, and you can get them off without damaging them, then yes you should be able to wash them without much problems... HOWEVER, I strongly recommend air-drying them (hang outside over a chair on a sunny day or something similar) instead of in the dryer, as this could cause significant shrinkage, which could make them not fit back on the seats...

The alternative would be a heavy duty vacuum cleaner with a built-in scrubber device, the kind that puts out hot water, scrubs & vacuums up the dirty water all at the same time....

Yeah; I just watched some videos about removing and replacing seat covers with aftermarket and the process is quite intense job, with hog clips and airbags etc. I would like to get them entirely apart, but think I will be better off with using a steamer. I have Bissel carpet steamer, in box, in the attic and think I will go that route as it has an upholstery wand. These are cloth seats.

 

[BlackBetty]

Get yourself a delicate cleaning brush (drill attachment style) and some Chemical Guys Lightning Fast upholstery cleaner. Or, get some Oxyclean (mix with water at a 2(water):1(Oxyclean) ratio) instead.

Spray the seat with the cleaning solution. Dampen the brush, then get to scrubbing. Be careful… get as much of the excess water out of the that you can. If not, it’ll sling all over the vehicle. Then you’ll be wiping down the wet parts of the interior. Also, make sure you use a the proper stiffness brush. If it’s too stiff you’ll damage the material nap.

Gotta throw this out there… if you have an issue with headliner material don’t use a brush and normal water-based cleaner. Instead, use a dampened cellulose sponge and Stoner’s window cleaner in the aerosol spray can (or any other spray can brand). It has cleaning properties, but most importantly its chemical make up makes it dry super fast. This prevents the headliner cardboard material from soaking up the moisture which results in sagging. Oh, the dampened (make sure you squeeze as much water out of the sponge as possible) cellulose sponge is gentle on the headliner material. Prevents it from looking frayed; what a brush or towel would do.

Lastly, if you need to clean the mats or carpet a stiffer brush works just fine.

Btw, not pushing Chemical Guy’s stuff… just easier to show as they have all the things I just spoke of on one page. Hope this helps at least one person.

Chemical Guy’s Cleaning Brushes