seat belts

Anyone have a super great way to clean seat belts? I currently use stain remover and a towel, but sometimes very dirty ones still look dirty, I have even tried the extractor on them to little success. Any tricks? Trade secrets?

Most all vehicle manufacturers have a section in their vehicle's owner's manual regarding cleaning of seat belts.

They are aware that almost all hydrocarbon based solvents may weaken the woven fabric used and allow them to fail if in an accident, so they say only mild soap(cleaners) and water.

Ford has even went so far as to issue a bulletin to their dealers to NOT DYE the fabric.

The concern is that due to the nature of the fabric, the dye will not completely adhere and may jam or allow undue slippage of the holding device in the wratchet mechanics.

All, and I mean ALL of the engineers for interiors I worked with all told me the same, "do not clean the belts with solvents or dye them", if they won't come clean, replace them with new belts.

A lot of liability involved, and if a detailer was found to be at fault under the right circumstances, they couldn't possibly have enough insurance to handle the lawsuit's decree.

Explain these "OEM provided facts" to a customer, so you are not on the hook for big buck decrees.

That is sound advice. You don't want to start worrying about what might happen if your client is involved in a collision.

I don't know if it has been discussed here before, but a Tornador is a great tool for cleaning awkward interior components. Plus it cuts your overall cleaning time by 1/3 to 1/2. You need a really good compressor though. I use a 200L compressor and it works a charm. People using small ones like 25 or 50 Litre tanks don't get the same performance.

Promobile: a tornador is a great tool to help with seat belts..

anyone try a steamer on em yet? I have yet to buy one but a steamer is in my future I think.

They may work, on some stains, and from when I retired two years ago, no vehicle manufactuer had said to not use them.

Sounds like a plan, let everyone know how it goes.

Bob i use many different methods,steam, extractor, air, rotary brushes, etc as i do many ranch(farm) trucks like you and maintenance vehicles but here,s a cheap way to help clean the nasty ones better.Go to the supermarket or hardware store and get a 2 inch circular dishwashing or utility brush,a drill disc and some glue and you have a great drill brush for about 8 bucks compared to the 35 bucks the stores want for a similiar brush .As bud always states you need friction!!! Then use your extractor,i use a dripless crevice tool that works great with no mess.

Personally I am finding that the Vapor Steamer offers the best alternative to cleaning seat belts quickly without danger to the material, as Ketch indicates using some chemicals.

Regards
Bud Abraham

Bud, a vapor machine will not clean a rock hard salt stained grease stained seatbelt as fast compared to the 210 degree water from my extractor. It loosens then dirt much faster than a steam machine .On a puff cake vehicle they are great

Thanks for the post. Guess it depends on the dirt, I have found that extractors are not effective on every seat belt we have tried to clean. As well, vapor steamers do not work on every seat belt either.

Another technique is to pull the seat belt out as far as you can, close the door on it and hit it with a high pressure washer.

Sometimes you need to allow the cleaner to dwell for some time to work on the grease before you start scrubbing..

The interesting thing about detailing is that you meet so many different people among my clients I have the manufacture of seat belt materials and the manufacture of seat sponge materials