Water stain on seat

[Art Ebeling]

I put my rear seat in after picking it up at the upholster and it has a large water stain or water ring. How can I remove that water mark?

[tbirdtbird]

The detailers have small steam cleaning devices that do wonders. I never saw one up close, but it was made for the job.
When they detailed the inside of my RAV they used it and it came out spotless.
I can't be certain this would help. I'd check with such a detail shop, and maybe ask to be right there when they do it

I wonder if anyone can access Marco, I wonder if he would have an idea

did the upholstery guy mess up?

[Beauford]

Tide sticks get out stuff on my clothes without washing or Shout instant stain remover wipes.

[Mitch]

Whatever you use try it in a spot where folks cannot see just to be sure it does not remove the coloring. I would call the place where you purchased the material / kit and ask them what they would use.
All good ideas above
We use a professional upholstery cleaner at the shop which I’m sure would work. It’s the middle one foamy cleaner from crest products. They supply professional shops with all kinds of different things. I can send you a can if you want

I am also curious how that happened

[plyfor]

It looks like you have Bedford cord, assume it's a natural fiber, not synthetic like polyester or rayon.
Most of the cleaners available are for sythetic materials.
I had natural Bedford Cord by prior owner in the car with similar issues.If it's natural, usually a dry cleaning fluid is preferred. However, the old school carbon tet type fluids have been removed from the market due to carcinogens.
Are you sure it's a water stain? Soaps and water can make the stain worse on natural fibers. Do you have a detailer in your area that is familiar with cottons or wools? One option is to try a steamer,as posted, on a hidden area, which can shrink the fabric but helps remove wrinkles. Use distilled water, and if possible , the entire area between each pleat needs to be entirely done to blend the area.
I used a steamer in the full area bordered by each pleat affected, and running from top of seat to the bottom which got out most of my dirt. As stated, one has to be careful not to affect the color.
I also used a product called ALBA which I found on the net that is an industrial type drycleaning fluid which is not as good as the older types like Energine which used naptha to replace the carbon tet based fluids. You may still be able to get naptha in your area from hardware stores and blot in on carefully, 1st testing in an inconspicuous area..
Another option may be to ask a drycleaner in your area if they can dryclean a seat with out putting it in their vats. If you can take the seat back cover off, that may another way to do it or try to have your upholstery installer do that. Attached are 2 before and after photos of a seat stain removed using light steam and blotted to blend the area. I used (wet) coffee on a washcloth to blot out the small removed-color spot from someone over cleaning on the worsted side panel below the door. Depending on fabric color, teas can be used as well.
Finally all the side panels were fairly soiled and from age, and the portable steamer removed most of the dirt followed by blotting , not rubbing with a turkish towel.

[tbirdtbird]

naptha is readily available at auto body paint shops, it is known in that trade as 'pre-cleaner' 'wax and grease remover' etc

[Art Ebeling]

Thanks for all the ideas. I don’t know when it was stained. It was a twenty year old Lebaron Bonney kit that came with the car.

[Art Ebeling]

Whatever you use try it in a spot where folks cannot see just to be sure it does not remove the coloring. I would call the place where you purchased the material / kit and ask them what they would use.
All good ideas above
We use a professional upholstery cleaner at the shop which I’m sure would work. It’s the middle one foamy cleaner from crest products. They supply professional shops with all kinds of different things. I can send you a can if you want

I am also curious how that happened

Thanks Mitch, We have a guy that supplies the dealership so I can see what he has. There is also an interior repair guy that comes around once a week and he recommended Shout interior foam cleaner so that type of cleaner must be the ticket.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Water stains can usually be removed by wetting the WHOLE cushion with a sponge & "wicking" the water out with BIG towels.
Dad

[plyfor]

Thanks also for the product info. Our upholstery is also about 20 years old and our local upholstery shops wouldn't touch it, hence we had to try ourselves to resolve issues.. And so yours is probably assumed to be cotton, wool or cotton / blend fiber. In the past, we've used Scotch Gard spray to help with water repellantcy, again tried in a non -visible area..

[SeaSlugs]

I use one of those bissel spot cleaners on my modern cars. Spray the liquid cleaner on, massage into fabric with the head and then use the vacuum portion to suck it up. Amazing amount of dust and dirt gets pulled out. Im not sure if the cleaner would affect the wool....

Could always just try warm water and use the vacuum portion to suck the dirt out.