Guys,

I finally picked up a 40/20/40 seat for my 94 f150 to replace the bench. It's a little dirty and needs to be cleaned. I've pulled the covers off since the lumbar bag is busted on both. The seat is completely dis-assembled. Bare seat covers, no foam cushion pad attached.

What's the easiest way to clean the covers? Can I toss them in the washing machine? It looks like the thin foam backing might come off in the wash. Will they shrink if I let them soak in the wash and rinse them with the hose and air dry?

I'm just thinking there has to be an easier way than scrubbing a small area with the upolstery cleaner and wiping clean. Then repeating.

Any ideas?

 

i would have them steam cleaned and then i would scotch guard them. i have a bissel little green machine that i use on my trucks to clean the floors and seats. it gets alot of dirt out.

 

I just did this with some really dirty captain's chairs I bought. I completely disassembled the seats and took the covers off. I ran them in the clothes washer with regular laundry detergent, each seat separately (that's all that I wanted to cram in there). After they dried I was pretty disappointed. It had helped a lot, but they still looked pretty dirty. I had some Prestone automotive stain remover I used on my carpet. Good stuff. I used it on the entire covers and scrubbed at it with the brush. Then I ran each cover through a wash cycle again and let them completely dry. I put them back on and now my seats look brand new. If you'd seen them before, you'd swear I'd bought new ones. It was quite a bit of work but definately worth it.

edit: About the thin foam on the inside. It won't come off enough to matter, but there'll probably be a bunch of little "fuzzies" from it on the carpet part on the back of the bottom seat cover. They're a pita to pick out, but it's still worth it.

 

Brown 4x4,

This is what I'm wanting to hear.

Sounds great to me. Did the covers shrink any when washed? That's my only concern. Did you air dry them or use the clothes dryer?

Also, did your seats have the covers held in with hog rings in 1 or 2 spots?

 

John,
No they didn't shrink at all in the wash. I used the warm cycle. I air dried them, I wouldn't risk putting them in the dryer.

No I didn't have any hog rings. Just undid the plastic at the bottom and the covers came off. I did take my 40/20/40 apart this spring to fix the lumbar, and I don't think it had any either. I'd have to check to be sure though.

 

Sounds good...

I'll work on cleaning them this weekend. This 40/20/40 has hog rings on both pieces under the covers. There are some metal rods that hold the covers snug to the cushion in the middle of the cushion areas.

Thanks,

John