How to Deep Clean Fabric Car Seats and Get Rid of That Stale Smell

Chuck out the Macca's bags, the old receipts, and the kids' toys. Move the seats all the way forward and back to get into the runners.

Vacuum everything. Use the crevice tool to get deep into the 'biscuit crumbs and loose change' zone between the backrest and the base.

Find a tiny spot on the back of the headrest or under the seat. Spray your cleaner, wait a minute, and wipe with a white cloth. If the seat colour comes off on the cloth, stop right there (though this is rare with modern Aussie cars).

Don't try to do the whole car at once. Work on one seat base, then the backrest. It keeps the product from drying out before you can work it.

Mist the upholstery cleaner over the area. You want it damp, not soaking wet. If you over-saturate it, you'll be waiting three days for it to dry and it might start to smell like a wet dog.

Chuck your soft white brush on the drill. Run it on low speed in overlapping circles. You'll see the foam turn a nasty grey or brown, that's the red dust and sweat coming to the party.

Let the chemicals do the heavy lifting for about 2-3 minutes. Don't let it dry out! If it starts to look dry, give it another light mist.

If you have a steamer, run it over the fabric now. It helps break down the oils from skin and sunscreen that make seats look shiny and greasy.

Take a clean microfibre and press down hard, twisting as you go. You're trying to pull the moisture and dirt out of the fabric and into the towel. Keep flipping to a clean side of the towel.

Lightly mist the area with plain warm water. This helps neutralise the cleaner. If you leave soap in the fabric, it'll actually attract dirt faster next time.

If you've got a wet/dry vac, use the narrow tool to suck out as much moisture as possible. Keep going until you don't see any more water being pulled through the clear nozzle.

Use a dry hand brush to brush all the fabric fibres in one direction. It makes it look professional once it dries.