Steam Cleaning Cloth Seats

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2016 Mazda CX-5
Have not found what I was looking for as far as steam cleaners used by fellow Mazda owners.. dog knocked over my wife’s water bottle and spilled about 8oz of water in the passenger seat.. after drying, can see the water stain. Anyone have any luck with a nice steamer? Looking to invest in something, as I plan to keep the car long term. Planning to spend somewhere in the ballpark of $300. Hope I’m not way off. Any suggestions?
 
I don’t have a machine to recommend, but I’m a fan of Mothers upholstery cleaner. It gets my seats looking like new every time I use it, maybe 2x a year.

is there an airbag sensor located under the cloth of the passenger seat? I’m scared to apply more than a spritz if anything to car seats after a spilt drink broke the air bag sensor on my old 05 Focus. It would no longer detect an adult in the seat and disabled the passenger side airbag : (
 
Awesome thanks for the recommendation. A fan of Mothers. I can safely say there is in fact a sensor under the seat, as my dog constantly sets it off. I can also safely say, it is still working even after spilling 8oz of water on it and letting it soak in while driving.. if I can’t find a steamer I’ll give the mothers cleaner a try.
 
A good steamer cost way more than 300 bucks. That said you can buy some distilled water and white vinegar to remove the water ring. Any decent upholstery or rug cleaner should do the trick as well. Spray it on and wipe/blot the stain away with a microfiber. Water will brown out unless its dried properly ie air mover or fan.
 
Wanting to invest in a good one as water won’t always be the stain I’m dealing with - 3 week old baby now..

What’s a good one cost? $500, $1000?
 
Just to put it on folks radar screens, the 2019 models have an electrostatic sensor on the front seat for the air bags, not one that detects weight.

Front Passenger Occupant Classification Sensor
Your vehicle is equipped with a front passenger occupant classification sensor as a part of the supplemental restraint system. This sensor is equipped in the front passenger's seat cushion. This sensor measures the electrostatic capacity of the front passenger's seat.

Not certain about prior MYs, might make a different in how you decide to clean it. I would think that the capacitance sensing circuitry would be more sensitive to chemicals than one that detects weight.
 
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Wanting to invest in a good one as water won’t always be the stain I’m dealing with - 3 week old baby now..

What’s a good one cost? $500, $1000?
A good baby's gonna cost you way more than that!
I guess it's too late to worry about that now. ;)

j/k Congrats! Can't wait for the "Projectile vomit in my Sig" stories.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned). There's a couple around $1,700 then a handful from $400-$1,000 and the rest from $100-$300.

I have no idea as to quality. I have one of those machines that puts out steam to loosen dirt (used it once to bend wood), but it's not a vacuum, just a kettle with a spout on the end.
 
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I've periodically just gotten my inside carpet and seats cleaned at a local car wash. One of those deals where you are sitting on plastic for a couple days lol.
 
You may want to look at trying "Spot Shot" cleaner https://www.spotshot.com/. We have successfully used the aerosol spray on carpet and various cloth covered furniture to remove stains.

Wade
 
If money isn’t an object... From what I have read, the ladybug brand of steamers are arguably the best ones out there.
 
the "best" in any category is gonna be a LONG debate. what you should be asking is "what would get the job done at a reasonable price?"

while not a steamer this model has PLENTY of people online that swear by it:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

this one as well
https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

find it cheaper right now in refurb:

if anyone is new to cleaning a car properly what you are looking for is "car detailing" information.

of course that is a whole other rabbit hole to go down.. but you can't go wrong with starting at:

and reading all the threads at:
https://old.reddit.com/r/Detailing/ (a bit more relaxed)
https://old.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/ (a bit more obsessive)
 
hardcore Alabama red clay from my kids boots. 2 weeks cure time.
9DA49146-EEA2-49E4-B5EF-7D04605E7E0F.jpeg

After mist of Mother’s upholstery cleaner (don’t soak) and scrubbing with a clean cloth:
D980AAB2-84AE-485D-BA4A-0A531F2AD37C.jpeg

2013 with about 77k, seats look like new. No steam cleaning required.

cloth takes out crap you can’t see:
72F64974-57E9-42F8-AD30-E105DFBE66FA.jpeg
 
I have one of the Bissell spot cleaners. Yes, they work great. I use it to remove spots from the carpet. I mix my favorite vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Then use the machine.

The machine is not a steam cleaner. It sprays hot water and whatever you put in the canister(soap). I put nothing and use the vinegar mixture. Then, it has a strong vacuum to suck up all the water.

The OP may not want to spray more water onto his seats.

Lowes has it for $109.

If you have a wetdry vac, you might want to check for a narrow attachment for sucking up water. Then you could possibly use a spot cleaner or my favorite and suck it up without excess rubbing.
 
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I bought a Bisell SpotClean Pro and used it on my mom's 09 Altima. I was able to extract all the coffee stains off the cloth seats and eliminate the bad odors. She wanted a new car and I said the car is fine just needs a good detail. What I did is spray the solution to the seat, work it in with a brush and then suck it out with the SpotClean. The car looked brand new after.
 
I bought a Bisell SpotClean Pro and used it on my mom's 09 Altima. I was able to extract all the coffee stains off the cloth seats and eliminate the bad odors. She wanted a new car and I said the car is fine just needs a good detail. What I did is spray the solution to the seat, work it in with a brush and then suck it out with the SpotClean. The car looked brand new after.

Mom traded it in shortly afterwards and got an extra $600.

jk, jk XD
 
Mom traded it in shortly afterwards and got an extra $600.

jk, jk XD

Lol nope. A while ago my dad wanted to sell his Honda Oddysey so I detailed it for him so that he can ask for a higher price. My dad couldn't believe how nice it turned out so he decided not to sell it.
 
Lol nope. A while ago my dad wanted to sell his Honda Oddysey so I detailed it for him so that he can ask for a higher price. My dad couldn't believe how nice it turned out so he decided not to sell it.

That’s awesome! I had to fool myself recently too. There’s nothing wrong with my ‘13 CX5. She’ll be 8 years old this October. Rather than rid myself of a perfectly good car I upgraded the speakers, added sound deadening, and finally sprung for OEM all weather mats. For less than a single monthly car payment I likely kept myself happy for at least another 5 years.
 
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