The Best Ways to Remove a Stain from Your Car

Most automobile owners want to keep their new-car feeling forever. However, drink spills, muddy feet, dropped food, and other things create unsightly stains in the upholstery and carpeting inside your car, quickly aging the vehicle and destroying the new-car smell. Here are just a few of Heritage Mazda Bel Air, Catonsville & Towson's best ways to remove a stain from your car that can help you preserve the pristine beauty of your investment for years to come.

Clean the affected area

The best way to approach a carpet stain is to scrape away and vacuum out all excess debris. Mix some soapy water and wipe the stain with a soaked sponge or clean cloth. With a little patience and elbow grease, dirt and grime stains can disappear.

Use an effective solvent

Grease, lipstick, shoe polish, and similar stains normally demand the use of a solvent to remove them. A carpet cleaning agent that you use inside the home should do the trick in the car. Automobile carpeting stains look like those in home carpeting, so treating them the same way often produces the best results. Spot cleaners made for home carpeting do a good job removing stains from cars, but those who want something special can visit a local auto parts store or dealership. There they can find various products including deep cleaning solvents. Just spray some solvent on the stain, wait about five minutes, and then soak it up with a clean cloth. After cleaning the stain, vacuum up the residue to finish the job.

Lift the area to dry

Coffee and other liquids leave challenging stains because they soak into the padding underneath the carpet or seats. Lifting the carpet helps to allow the padding to dry while also providing access to clean the carpet from both the top and the bottom. This usually calls for the loosening or removal of sill plates, so those who feel uncomfortable taking such action should take their car to a dealership for detailing, instead. If the liquid spills on a non-leather seat, be sure to always have napkins on hand in your car to immediately try to soak up as much liquid as possible. Use a carpet cleaning agent here, as well.

To save time, you can also visit Heritage Mazda Bel Air, Catonsville & Towson for a complete detail to remove dirt and stains, inside and out. You made a large investment when you bought your car, so take care of it.