How to Clean Your Car’s Seat Belts

Primarily a safety feature, your car’s seat belts play a vital role in keeping you safe behind the wheel.

But seat belts can take a beating.

Every time you grab the belt to buckle up, oils from your hands soil the material. Spills from food or coffee combined with dirt wreaks havoc on seat belts, too.

If your seat belts are looking tired and dingy, it’s time to clean them up!

Here’s how to get your car’s seat belts to shine:

1. Pull one of the seat belts all the way out. Use a clamp to hold it in place.
2. Spray the fabric with a fabric-cleaning solution. Then, scrub the belt with a stiff brush. Work your way back and forth over the belt, in the same direction that the material’s fibers face. Don’t move in circles. Over time, the material may degrade with excessive force.
3. If the belt has a stain, you may want to use a stronger solution. Combine an all-purpose cleaner with warm water, creating a 3-parts to 1-part solution. Dip the scrub brush into the mixture and then work it over the belt. Try not to soak the belt in water and get it really wet, as it will take longer to dry. You don’t want to retract the belt back into the spool until it’s completely dry to avoid mildew problems.
4. If you’re dealing with seat belts from which a bad odor emanates, use a mixture of warm water and baking soda to scrub the belt. Or try a mixture of dish soap, vinegar and warm water.
5. If you have a steam machine, this is an ideal way to clean the seat belts, as it won’t get the belt too wet and it speeds up the drying time. Spray the fabric cleaner on the material and then direct the steam toward the belt.
6. Use a dry towel and run it back and forth over the belt to soak up the water.
7. Repeat these steps to clean all the other seat belts.
8. Let the belts dry overnight before removing the clamps and retracting the seat belts.

For more car-cleaning tips, contact the folks at Serra Subaru Akron today!