How To Clean Car Seats

Let's get that moldy cheeseburger cheese out from the seat cushion, okay?

jonathon_klein

jonathon_klein

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So you’ve hopped into your car only to find that something, somewhere, stinks to high heaven. After a little investigative nose work, you’ve discovered part of last week's Taco Bell Nachos BellGrande fell between the seat and console when you hit a bump. Well, it seems like a great time to clean your car seats!

Cleaning your car's interior, as well as regularly maintaining its luster, will not just make your everyday life that much better, it will also contribute to your car's overall value when you decide to sell it—no used car buyer wants to find someone else's toenails. And with a little elbow grease, a vacuum cleaner, and a bucket of soapy water, your car's seats can go from trash-pit to palatial palace in just a few hours.

If you’re unsure of how to get started, look no further than The Drive's guide to how to clean your car seats below!

Got your vacuum and trash can?

Estimated Time Needed: Two to four hours

Skill Level: Beginner

Vehicle System: Interior

Working on your car can be messy. It can also be dangerous. Here's what you’ll need to ensure you keep your jeans, shirt, and skin spotless, and your bones intact.

Organizing your tools and gear so everything is easily reachable will save precious minutes waiting for your handy-dandy child or four-legged helper to bring you the sandpaper or blowtorch. (You still don't need a blowtorch for this job. Please don't have your kid hand you a blowtorch—Ed.)

You’ll also need a flat workspace, such as a garage floor, driveway, or street parking that's also well-ventilated. Check your local laws to make sure you’re not violating any codes when using the street because we aren't gonna pay off your impound fees.

We’re not psychic, nor are we snooping through your toolbox or garage, so here's what you’ll need to get the job done.

Let's do this!

We know a number of you likely also have children who are confined to child car seats. And as such, food, debris, and, well, other things will become ingrained in your child's car seat. With that in mind, The Drive also came up with a How-To guide for cleaning those car seats.

If your seats are too far gone to be saved by a mere cleaning, consult The Drive's

How To Reupholster Car Seats or you can check out this brief explainer.

If you’re wondering how to get smoke smell out of your car's seats and interior, you can consult The Drive's

How to Get Smoke Smell out a Car or you can check out this brief explainer.

Over the years, The Drive's editors have cleaned countless interiors. Everything from our low-buck first rides to million-dollar hypercars, we’ve seen it all, including a number of moldy leftovers our kids forgot to tell us about. Here are our pro tips for cleaning your car seats.

The real question is how often do you eat in your car? Or how often do your kids eat in their car seats? Depending on how messy your life is, you may need to clean your car seats as often as once a week or once a month.

It costs zero dollars if you clean your car seats and child seats yourself. If you have someone detail your car's interior, then it could cost anywhere from $50 to a couple thousand dollars depending on who you enlist to do the job and the type of car you have. A classic Ferrari Daytona is going to cost more than your bog-standard Honda Odyssey.

Since you may not have access to the right tools or friends you can bum a wrench off of, we also compiled a list of our best hacks to make your life easier and drain your pocket less.

Chemical Guys InnerClean

CarGuys Super Cleaner

Meguiars Whole Air Refresher

Got a question? Got a pro tip? Send us a note: [email protected]