Cleaning Leather

Leather is a popular choice of material for car seats. It's soft, cool and durable. If you have leather car seats, though, you'll need to maintain them. When neglected, leather car seats can degrade. You may notice that your car seats have faded to a lighter color, or perhaps you discover them cracking or flaking. Regardless, you can protect your leather car seats from damage such as this by cleaning and maintaining them.

Begin With Vacuuming

Before attempting to deep clean your leather seats, you should vacuum them. Vacuuming will remove crumbs, dust, dirt and other debris. If you rarely or never vacuum your leather car seats, this debris may cause damage. It can stain your leather car seats, or it can scratch them.

Spot Treat With Dish Soap and Water

Vacuuming alone won't remove all stains and blemishes from your leather car seats -- and that's okay. You can always spot treat them with dish soap and water. Spot treating involves the application of soapy water to select areas of your leather car seats. Start by mixing warm water with some gentle-formula dish soap. Next, spray the soapy water onto the dirty sections of your leather car seats. You can then wipe those areas with a dry washcloth.

Use a Leather Cleaning Product

If spot cleaning doesn't work, consider using a leather cleaning product. Available at most auto parts stores, leather cleaning products are safe and effective. They contain cleaning agents that are designed specifically for leather. When applied to leather car seats, they'll remove debris while creating a shiny texture in the process.

While most leather cleaning products are safe and effective, it's a good idea to test them in a discreet area. Find a section of leather that's hidden from plain sight and apply to apply the cleaning product. Assuming it doesn't stain or otherwise damage the leather, you can then apply the product to the rest of your leather car seats.

Condition Your Leather Car Seats

In addition to cleaning them, don't forget to condition your leather car seats. What is conditioning? It's a maintenance process that involves the application of a hydrating cream, known as a conditioner. Conditioners aren't designed to clean leather. Rather, they are designed to hydrate it.

Leather car seats can dry out when exposed to sunlight. By conditioning your car leather car seats, you'll protect them from sun damage.