Seat cleaning issues - spreading stains?

[flybynight512]

Hello all,

I'm new to this detailing thing and have run into an odd situation with the rear seats of my car. It's a 2003 Hyundai Elantra. (And black, of course... dear God, why did I buy a black car? I wish I'd been reading this forum back then.) A year or so ago some juice from cooking a ham was spilled on the back seat and left a small medium-dark stain.

I recently attacked it with some diluted 303 spot remover. It worked like a charm - I was mopping up surprising amounts of dark brown liquid, even from areas that hadn't been visibly stained. I figured the spill must have soaked into the seat a lot more than I thought.

Here's where it started getting strange. When I added more water and spot remover, the brown color seemed to get pushed out to the edge of the wet area. When I sprayed that down, the stain spread further out again. I was wiping with an MF cloth between passes, and pulling out water that was visibly brown each time. I ended up chasing an ever-expanding, ever-lightening stain out nearly to the seat edge. I decided to leave it alone at that point, as it was fairly light and I didn't want to make it worse. When I went to clean the other seats in the car, much to my surprise the other side of the back seat (opposite where the original spill had been) also had the same problem. The front seats did not, and I've cleaned other cars with the same technique without this issue. What in the world is going on? The seatbelts in the back are also acquiring a brown stain where the connect to the seat, and those stains spread like crazy when I try to clean them as well.

I've heard that soy-based foam can leave brownish stains when it gets wet, but Ford was only just starting to experiment with it in their seats in 2003. I can't find any confirmation one way or the other, but it doesn't seem likely that Hyundai would be putting that in their mid-range cars at that time.

Any insight? Any thoughts on lifting the current brown staining without making it worse?

[jamesboyy]

I would try using a carpet extractor with folex

[rmagnus]

Pretty common. The stain is deep in the foam re-wetting it brings it to the surface. This has been known to happen when using an extractor on automotive seats. It's hard to get all the water out of the fabric and foam.

+1 with jamesboyy use an extractor and Folex. Even w/o the extractor Folex is pretty awesome. Just keep treating it eventually it will come out.

Stop transporting food in your car!!!!

[flybynight512]

Thanks, I appreciate the info. I don't have access to an extractor at the moment but I'll keep at it. Good to know I'm not dissolving the seats or anything. For what was apparently a small stain it's really a spectacular amount of stuff coming out. Folex is at the top of my purchasing list, along with a better APC.

It's a daily driver - not a lot of choice about transporting food, at least if I want to stay on my Mom's good side during the holidays! Next time it gets wedged in the trunk, though.

[BillE]

You can rent an extractor. Check out your local grocery store, rental shop, etc. Just be sure there is a 'hand tool' included.

BTW-How was the ham?

Good luck...

Bill

[flybynight512]

Thanks, I'll look into renting an extractor. I didn't realize they were available for anything but carpet cleaning. I do have my eye on a Little Green Machine as well.

The ham was awesome! I don't remember what the glaze was, but it was cooked with cherries and pineapple slices pinned all over it with toothpicks. It was probably worth the trouble in the long run.

[flybynight512]

Well, Folex worked like a charm! I sprayed it on the stains, let it sit for a minute, agitated with a cheap paint brush, and then blotted with a microfiber. It pulled the stains up without spreading, and even cleaned the seatbelts where the stain had crawled up them. I think I may have over-diluted the product I was using earlier, which contributed to the spreading and lack of cleaning.

Thanks for the advice!

[statusdetailing]

Water and upholstery don't mix imo. I know lots of guys disagree, but I almost never touch a seat with an extractor. . .I almost never touch anything in a car with an extractor for that matter.

If you could cut a seat in half and get a side view of an extractor being ran across the upholstery. You would see that mostly what is happening is the water and stain is just getting pushed deeper and deeper into the foam.

Furthermore, you spread stains across the upholstery and even if you do manage to get them clean they can reappear days or even weeks later, due to wicking

Although you weren't using an extractor, it's the same reason you had trouble with the stain when you got it too wet.

Extractors are meant for extremely dirty floor mats and thick gummy spills imo.

I know I know lots of you guys disagree.