Dear Mary: I recently purchased a newer vehicle. The dealer tried to sell me a package where they treat the leather seats. Because of the cost, I opted not to purchase the package. My question is, do you know the type of treatment that car dealers use to treat leather seats? Is it even necessary to do this? The car is an expensive purchase for me and I need to know how to take good care of the interior to make it last. Thank you for your very enjoyable column.  I read it from top to bottom and always learn or find something I can use daily. Dear Jan: Are the leather seats dirty or are you simply wanting to protect and “treat” them as the dealer suggested? As this is not a new car, I am thinking it may be time to clean the leather just to remove the kind of dirt that naturally builds up from regular use. And yes, I believe that leather needs to be treated regularly to keep it soft and supple. I checked with a car dealer friend of mine, and he said you are pretty smart.

Car dealers aren’t magicians. They just use products that work well, then charge you an arm and a leg to do what you can probably do yourself. After a bit of arm-twisting, he told me his shop’s secret: BooYah Cleaner and Conditioner  (Note: BooYah has undergone a name change to KevianClean Leather Cleaner & Conditioner—only the name has changed). He assures me that this one product will clean, condition and protect the leather and leave it soft and supple. If I were you I would read all of the online reviews first. You’ll learn a lot and then you’ll know whether this is the product you want to trust on your beautiful carseats. By the way, I just have to share something with you that I learned some time ago for how to deep clean and restore stained and really dirty leather seats. This is going to be shocking, so brace: Soft-Scrub Lemon Cleanser. I’m talking about the stuff made for kitchens and bathrooms (DO NOT  grab the Soft Scrub with Bleach … you want only the yellow lemon option).

And yes, on leather. I must admit that I have not had occasion to clean any stained and or really dirty leather, so I cannot personally vouch for this. But for any readers who are dealing with the heartbreak of stained and or dirty leather car seats–or any other needy leather item for that matter–THIS is a must read. I’m almost looking forward to having a leather stain or dirt problem so I can get some first hand experience with this very amazing-if-true way to get rid of the problem and return even very old dried up and ugly leather back to its glory. And of course I would not mind hearing from anyone who has tried this and is willing to report back with their results. Dear Mary: I read your book 7 Money Rules for Life which was great. Which online savings account do you currently recommend now that INGDirect no longer exists? Dear Jason: INGDirect was bought out by Capital One Bank, and they changed the name to Capital One 360. It is still an online savings bank, with lots of great features like the ability to set up automatic deposits, create sub accounts and so forth.

You should also take a look at Synchrony Bank, an online savings bank which is currently offering the best interest rates on savings, a paltry 1.00 percent, but still the best available. Capital One 360 is paying .75 percent at this time. Thanks for liking my book. I’m pretty fond of it myself. Autographed copies are available HERE.best wood floor steam cleaner reviewsI get a lot of questions about my “white” leather seats and how on earth I keep them clean, so I thought I’d write a post to share how I do it. how much does it cost to have your ac coil cleanedI’m not saying this is the best way to clean your seats, but it has worked well for me. best dryer vent cleaning tool

My car is my daily driver and frequently has dogs, mud, and other dirty things in it, so I’m not easy on it either! I was an automotive detailer for a few years in high school and although that doesn’t make me an expert, anyone who knows me knows that my car is always super clean and always commenting on how everything looks brand new, despite the car being nearly 7 years old now.best way to clean car seatbelts The color of the seats is named “Platinum Silver” by Audi but the color is pretty much white. best leather care product for bmwThere are a lot of advantages to this color, most notably they stay very cool in the summer (a huge plus living in Arizona where temperatures can reach up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit!), plus I think they look sporty and unique. air duct cleaning estimate

The downside of the color is that it does not hide dirt well, and even worse if the leather starts to crack at all, the cracks are VERY noticeable. The key is maintenance. I wash down my seats at least once per week. Sadly if you bought your car used, you don’t have much control over damage that’s already done due to neglect from the previous owner. If the leather is badly cracked or soiled, your best off to enlist a professional detailer or upholstery shop that specializes in re-dying leather. But assuming your seats aren’t “beyond repair”, the best strategy is to keep on top of the seats and never let them get too bad. If you take good care of them, they’ll age nicely and look fresh for many years to come. This part is simple really – you don’t have to use special cleaner each time. After I wash the outside of my car and then towel it off, I like to use that same towel to wipe down the seats. The towel should be damp but not soaking wet. This will remove any surface dirt and also hydrate the leather some to help prevent cracking.

It takes just an extra 1-2 minutes per wash and is well worth it in maintaining the life of your leather. I also wipe down the dash and an entire interior using the same damp cloth, which again removes dust without applying any harsh chemicals to anything. Sometimes, simplicity is bliss… I have been using Leatherique to maintain my leather but I also hear that Leather Masters is quite good. Regardless, I recommend you use one or the other and stray away from the store-bought brands like Lexol that I’ve never really been impressed with. A few extra dollars for the professional grade detailing products is well worth it in my book. Pristine Clean is really good at removing spots and discoloration and gets the seats looking bright white again. It also firms up the leather some and gives the interior a nice smell. I frequently get compliments on how good my car smells after I’ve detailed the seats, which is a cool bonus of this product. The product itself is not very harsh and easy to apply and remove.

I recommend using a clean microfiber and my approach is to use a different microfiber for every product you detail with – so I have a microfiber only for seats, one for glass cleaner, one for spray detailer, one for interior cleaner, one for wheels, one for tires, etc. It never hurts to have too many microfibers. The Pristine Clean is great for bi-weekly or monthly maintenance, but if your seats are in bad shape, or if you just want to be extra thorough, the Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil is a powerful product. The instructions recommend that you cover your seats in a generous amount of the product and then sit your car in the sun for 24 hours to let the oil bake into the leather. I put trash bags over the seats to really trap in the oil, and apply second and third coats over the time period to ensure that the seats soak up as much oil as possible. You’ll then want to wipe the seats down with a wet rag and then clean with Pristine Clean to finish the process. You’ll see tons of containments pulled out of the leather and the material should feel softer and more supple.