Why you Need to Extract and Clean your Seats

Keeping a bacteria-free car takes more than just throwing away trash and wiping down your interior — achieving a safe, clean car requires deep cleaning. Not convinced? Microbiologists from the University of Essex’s, in partnership with UK car insurance provider Confused.com, found that cars and vans are hotbeds for bacteria.

Here’s what could be on your car seats alone (source Confused.com):

• Staphylococcus aureus — or a potential MRSA superbug resistant to antibiotics 
• Streptococcus mitis — can cause infective endocarditis if it enters the bloodstream
• Cutibacterium acnes — this bacteria feeds on fatty acids secreted from the skin causing acne
• Legionella (Tatlockia) micdade & Legionella (Fluoribacter) bozemanae — can cause Legionnaires disease, or ‌pneumonia

If that didn’t immediately make you want to take a hot shower, consider that ExxonMobil found that 70% of surveyed drivers admitted to eating behind the wheel. So, now that you know how gross your car is, what can you do about it?

While our immune systems can protect us and brush off microbes, extracting your seats and disinfecting your car surfaces is about stopping the spread of germs. Using Pearl Nano’s 3 pc. Drill Brush Set, All-Purpose Cleaner (APC), and a consumer-grade, portable upholstery extractor, it’s easy to clean your seats and kill these dangerous strains of bacteria in your own garage.

For car seats, spray APC onto the cloth and use the drill brush to loosen up the dirt and penetrate the seat fibers. Then use the upholstery extractor to remove the APC and dirt residue. The heat from the extractor will help kill the bacteria. You’ll know you’re done when the seat looks clean and doesn’t feel saturated with soapy residue and water. When the water pulled from the seat through the extractor runs clean, the cloth is clean.

For disinfecting surfaces, Pearl Nano’s Interior Cleaner — with its 5% hydrogen peroxide — kills bacteria and inactivates viruses. Spray it onto the dirty surface and a clean microfiber towel. After cleaning with the Interior Cleaner, use Interior Detailer to leave a non-greasy matte look. The anti-static and UV blocking agents will bounce off dust and protect against sun damage while making it look like it rolled off the showroom floor.

If you’d rather leave it to the professionals, you can find a Pearl Nano Certified detailer near you using our homepage detailer locator.