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Ford and Their Sweaty Seats
Your car seat is a critical part of the driving experience. From built-in heaters, memory-foam seats and many more gadgets and electronic controls – car seats have come a long way in terms of the old-fashioned rigid benches drivers were forced to use decades ago.
Car seats actually go through an extensive amount of testing to ensure that they are durable enough for the lifespan of the vehicle. Ford in particular have taken this seriously and have designed the new Fiesta to cater for those sweaty after-gym moments – to ensure that all this good work at the gym, isn’t bad news for your car.
Materials used in Ford’s car seats are able to withstand a 10 year span of regular dry wear and tear. To test this theory Ford created a robot called the Robutt to simulate a ‘sweat test’. The machine simulates ‘a decade’s worth of car use in just three days’ according to Ford as they test out their new seat theory and design.
The test was used to show what could happen should a person make it a habit to hop into their car shortly after a good workout.
Apparently, the system works so well that Ford is looking into rolling the test out to all their vehicles within Europe.
Now, for those of us that aren’t as fortunate to own a Ford soon but still want to keep their cars seats squeaky clean, we have some tips for you:
- Leather upholstery is the way to go over fabric. However, over time your leather seats will require specialist care products to clean away grime and dirt that has built up over time.
- Use a toothbrush to get into those small crevices before doing a deep clean. You can then run the vacuum again and then apply your specialist leather cleaner of choice.
- White vinegar can remove ball-point ink stains on light-coloured leather. Remember to apply sparingly at first and don’t rub too aggressively.
- Cloth upholstery absorbs stains. You can park it outside on a good sunny day to warm the seats to dry out the seats and absorb the stain.
- Remove lost dirt first with a brush and vacuum cleaner. Use a toothbrush again and vacuum the seat to remove any loose dirt before applying a cleaning liquid.
- Tackle the seats in sections and don’t try and clean all the seats in one go. You don’t want the fabric seats to absorb too much moisture and become too wet.
- Create a foam. Then apply a damp sponge and rub aggressively on the seat. The foam will draw first to the surface – wait for it to dry and the brush off with a different dry cloth.
- A hair dryer will speed up the drying process. Don’t be too close to the seats when drying though, as it will the fog up the interior and create a mouldy atmosphere.And there you have it folks
– a clean and fresh interior!
Adapted from Auto Trader, INSIDER and Wheels24 on 12/02/2019
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