i just bought a set of bucket seats off craigslist. they're a little dirty but in decent condition. i'd like to give them a good cleaning before i install them in my truck.
question is has anyone ever taken the cloth off a seat and run it thru a washing machine? would the detergent fade the cloth or cause it to shrink?

 

Blue Corral makes an excellent upholstry/carpet cleaner. KR2 or Goddards dry clean are excellent products for spot cleaning.

I would avoid the washing machine!

 

I wouldn't do it either. try a good carpet/upholstery cleaner or drop them off at a detailing shop. If you wanted to get fancy, rent one of those steam cleaners with a remote head.

 

after some consideration i decided to heed everyones warning and not run the cloth thru a washing machine. too much work to get the cloth off. i found a can of blue corral cleaner that my g/f bought a few years ago. seemed to work okay. good enough anyway.

 

John Deere Carpet Cleaner works fantastic on Cloth Seats. Just make sure you hit the whole seat with the spray or you will have very different looking sections on your seats.