My daughter and I went for a little outing...little did I know she had several chocolate covered raisins! Well, needless to say, she dropped a few...which wouldn't be so bad. But, until I noticed the stains, she had managed to rub against them and transfer them to the seat belt, the carpet, and other vulnerable places across the back seat! Arrrrrrrggggh.

And, unfortunately, in this recent Texas heat, I have procrastinated (primarily out of uncertainty of how to clean it) and I'm really afraid that it is getting more and more baked in.

If anybody's had similar experience, please advise me of the best way to clean these stains.

Thanks a ton,
John

 

I would start with water and get what you can out (don't rub it though- just blot it). Keep going with warm soapy water and it should hopefully start to come out. Besides that, good luck.

 

Get a steam cleaning machine! It doesn't have to be one of the huge upright carpet cleaning things... we have a bissell hand-held cleaner that does a decent job. Fill the tank with water and the soap solution... turn it on and press the trigger. Soapy water sprays over the stain and the vacuum then sucks it (and all the dirt) back up into a different tank. The unit I have looks like a dustbuster. It's battery powered. Not very powerful, but it gets the job done for these small stains and messes.

A bigger upright unit (they almost always have a handheld wand for stairs and small stains) would be more powerful. We have one of those, too... and it's great on the floor mats.

 

You might want to try using an ice cube to freeze the chocolate, then pulling it off. That's worked for me on clothes. If that doesn't work, you might want to try a little Goo-Gone, as that would probably do the trick. HOWEVER, since it might also fade the color, try to find a place where the fabric is hidden from view to test it first.

 

ferkee:

What I would recommend is that you visit a local store's auto section or even an auto parts store and purchase a foam based (typically in spray) upholstery cleaner. I personally prefer products from Simoniz or Turtlewax. The one I now have is Power-out and it works pretty well. All we have to do is spray the affected area then brush and vacuum (or wipe). Repeat as needed.

Finally, when you are satisfied with the results, I would suggest you Scotch-Guard the seats and fabric trims. This way, future soilings will not adhere as well, making the future cleaning process much easier. You can also find ScotchGuard at most store's auto section (including Walmart).

Cheers;

MSantos