CLEANING UPHOLSTERY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 7 May 1927, Page 15

CLEANING UPHOLSTERY.

VACUUM METHOD SUPPORTED

.Judging by the appearance of the upholstery ol many cars, the 1 uunibei of motorists who Jail to appreciate the necessity for frequently cleaning the seat cushions anil interiors generally is considerable. Bedford cord and cloth types of covers particularly require attention, otherwise dirt and dust will work its way into the folds of the cloth and cause rapid wear. Upholstery in good condition is a feature which adds greatly to the saleable value of the * Dirt and dust is best extracted from the cloth with a vacuum cleaner, lh« household type can quite successfully be employed, but there are, additiorially, models expressly designed for the us* of the motorists. Those take ad-

vantage of the suction of the engine, , the inlet manifold being tapped in the 1 same manner as with a suction-oper-ated windscreen wiper. The vacuum cleaner is certainly the best method, if it can be adopted. If not, then remove the cushions and squabs —they are removable on practically all cars now — and place them on sheets of paper, pceferably in the open air, to keep the underside clean. If they are to lie cleaned in the garage, they should be placed on paper to prevent their picking up oil and grease, etc. Beat them well with a carpet-beater to loosen the dirt, brushing vigorously with a fairly stiff brush afterwards. Grease spots can he removed by gently rubbing with a swab soaked in highly rectified benzine. This is fairly expensive, but it is advisable to purchase good benzine in preference to the cheap stuff, especially if the cloth be of fine texture. Another way, and a quite simple one, in which grease can be removed is ho apply a fiot iron over a sheet of blotting paper laid over the grease spots. The

heat will cause the grease to become liquified, when it will be absorbed in the blotting paper. If the seats and squabs arc not removable, tbon all th<? windows of the ear should be opened to their fullest extent, and the brushin<r and beating carried out in the normal way. Finally, dust the whole of the interior of the car with a leather brush or duster. Leather and leather-cloth upholstery do not, of course, hokl the dirt in quite the same manner as cloth. It settles on the surface, whence it can easily be removed with a damp cloth or duster. The upholstery material can be preserved bv cleaning with a furniture cream, one which contains very little or no grease being preferable, or one of the special preparations marketed for this purpose, taking care to remove all of it when polishing.