How to Clean Toyota SofTex Seats Easily At Home

Are you wanting to know how to properly clean Toyota Softex Seats? If you are looking for a step-by-step guide to cleaning your SofTex seats, this article can help you to get started with the steps you will need.

How do you clean Toyota SofTex seats?

To clean Toyota SofTex seats, you’ll need to gather up the right equipment and park you car somewhere convenient. Then, remove any large debris and vacuum the seats. Then, you’ll need to use a leather cleaner for the leather parts of the seats. Be sure to wipe off any excess to avoid spotting on your SofText seats.

To learn more about the step-by-step process of how to clean Toyota Softex Seats, keep reading.

1. Collect and Purchase Your Tools

For this cleaning process, you will need a vacuum cleaner, a bottle of leather or upholstery cleaner, and a set of microfiber cloths. A soft-bristled brush may help get extra dirt and debris out from the cracks in your seats, too. For a better and longer-lasting clean, you can also purchase a conditioner to apply to your seats after the leather or upholstery cleaner.

It’s best to use a shop vacuum or a vacuum provided by your local car wash. If you use a car wash vacuum, be sure to purchase a wash first, then park to use one of their complimentary or paid car vacuums.

If you do not already have these tools, you can purchase them at your local auto shop or online. Toyota recommends using an alcohol-based cleaner for leather, vinyl, or upholstery and, if conditioning your seats, use an alcohol-based conditioner made for leather, vinyl, or upholstery.

The brand Meguiar has great cleaning and conditioning products at an affordable price. While these store-bought cleaners are ideal, a homemade mixture of unscented soap and water in a spray bottle will work just fine.

In addition to purchasing the correct type of leather cleaner, you should also purchase microfiber cloths to clean and wipe your seats with. Microfiber cloths are soft enough and have small enough fibers that they won’t catch or scratch the faux leather.

2. Park Your Toyota in a Convenient Spot

If you’re cleaning your seats at home, you’ll want to park your Toyota in your home driveway, as close to your home as possible. This way, the cord for your vacuum will be able to reach from your car to an outlet on the exterior or interior of your home. It may also be helpful to park close to your home while you collect your materials. If you’re cleaning your seats at your local car wash, park next to a vacuum.

3. Remove Large Debris

The first thing you will need to do before you start the process of cleaning the seats is to remove all the debris from the seats. This includes everything that your vacuum won’t be able to pick up.

Removing all the large debris before vacuuming will allow you to clean out any unnecessary looming trash that has been collecting in your vehicle, as well as clear off the seats so you can vacuum more thoroughly.

4. Vacuum the Seats

Using the hose of your vacuum, vacuum up any crumbs, dust, hair, dirt, or other debris from your SofTex seats. Be sure to vacuum in the crevices of these seats, where crumbs and dirt tend to hide. This will provide a smoother cleaning experience for when you begin wiping the seats down.

5. Clean the Leather on the Leather Seats

Once you have prepared your seats for cleaning by vacuuming it is now time to begin cleaning the leather interior and seats. It is best to clean one seat at a time. Depending on what type of cleaner you purchase, either spray or liquid, you will either spray a light coat or pour a small amount of cleaner directly on the microfiber cloth and begin wiping. Be sure to scrub lightly and wipe inside and in between the small crevices of your seat.

If your seat is heavily soiled in some areas, you can spray or pour a small amount of the cleaner directly onto the soiled area. You can allow the cleaner to sit for a few seconds, then begin lightly scrubbing the area until it is clean.

7. Allow Seats to Air Dry

When the first seat has sufficiently wiped down, allow it to air dry and move on to the next seat to repeat this cleaning process to the remaining seats, as needed.

It is important to let the seats air dry after wiping them down because if you dry them with another dry cloth too quickly you risk taking off all the cleaner you just used on the leather that will not have the time it needs to soak into the leather to clean and restore it as desired.

8. Wipe off any Residue

This next step may seem contrary to the previous step we just discussed. While you should allow the cleaner to air dry and avoid wiping the cleaner off, occasionally there are streaks of cleaner that get left behind or missed. While this won’t damage the seats, it isn’t a good look to have cleaner residue still on your leather seats.

There is also a risk if you don’t remove that residue, it will rub off on your clothes as you sit in the seats, and the chemicals from the cleaner can discolor and damage your clothing if you don’t remove the residue on the seats. One way you can prevent this is to use small amounts of cleaner to reduce the amount of product that doesn’t adhere to the leather.

If there is any residue left over, use a clean microfiber cloth to buff the cleaner into the leather and allow it to fully air dry.

9. (Optional) Apply Conditioner on Leather Seats

The final step to cleaning your Softex seats is to apply a leather conditioner. While this isn’t a mandatory step, it is an additional step that will help improve the condition and finished look of the leather on your seats. Conditioner will hold the leather fibers together longer than if you used the cleaner alone.

As the fibers become worn over time whenever passengers slide across them, those leather fibers go through a lot of wear and tear and the conditioner prolongs the integrity of those fibers so the leather doesn’t wear down as fast.

While conditioning your leather seats after initially using the cleaner is optional, it is definitely recommended for those who want to have their leather seats have an added layer of both treatment and protection.

10. Leave the Interior of Your Toyota to Airdry

Once you’ve applied and buffed the cleaning solution or spray into your SofTex seats, you should allow them to fully air dry before sitting in them or going for a drive, whether you followed this cleaner with a conditioner or not.

Toyota recommends opening all of the doors of your carl to allow for wind to pass through your vehicle and dry your seats, while also eliminating any odor from the cleaner or conditioner.