Best way to clean old seats in a hatchback? what tools and products did you use?

 

I usually bust out my Bissell carpet cleaner for interior work, and it does fine. Remove the seats from the car first; this will allow easier access to the crevices and accelerate drying times. Use some regular carpet foam and let it soak into the carpet and seats for a while. Then run the carpet cleaner over it and let it dry. I have, in the past, had to use an ozone generator to eliminate really nasty interior odors. If you're a non-smoker, never buy a car from a smoker; it'll drive you mad.

 

Remove seats, then use a pressure washer, be careful with what jet you use and don't get too close or you will make bald spots.

 

really? pressure washer?

 

I have pressure washed all of my cloth and vinyl seats. Carpets too. Floor mats. They come out really nice because you can get the nasty areas near the floor and beneath. Spend extra time on stains. You just have to be careful, like I said. Get too close and you will cause damage. Lube the sliders when you are done.

The carpet cleaner sounds like a good idea too, I've just never tried it.

 

thanks for the tip!!

 

I'm sure a pressure washer would definitely "get them clean", but considering these seats are 15-20+ years old, I don't know if I'd trust the foam to stay in 1 piece. Also, I'm not sure if getting water down into the mechanism of the seat is a good idea; all the "funk" is usually just embedded in the seat fabric itself. Oh well, to each his own!

 

Interior detailing, we would carpet shampoo the carpet and seats, then use a wet dry vac to suck it out and leave the windows down to dry for a couple of days.

Carpet shampoo is just carpet cleaner.
https://www.thespruce.com/best-carpet-shampoos-4158201

If it's real bad, I second pulling the seats out. You can get into more spots and do a more thorough job.