How To Clean Seat Belts

By Colin M

Your car seat belts have been collecting dirt for years.

Time Needed: About an hour, Difficulty: Beginner, Cost: £0-200

Seat belts are woven for strength and durability, but that same weave is also extremely good at harbouring dirt. Seat belts are one of the most touched areas inside a car, yet maintaining them is often completely neglected. These touchpoints collect dirt and grime, and eventually, you might notice a colour difference, or it might even develop a stench. You can also create functional issues with an extremely dirty belt — filth could slow the retraction speed of a belt as it slides through its mechanisms. Avoid all this by keeping those belts clean.

As with any maintenance, remove dirt before it does any damage. You don’t need to clean seat belts every week or month, but it’s a good idea to clean them occasionally to keep them fresh, especially if you get beverages, food, or oil directly on them.

Because of how they’re attached, seat belts are a bit awkward, but we’ve gathered three different methods for cleaning them. Your options range from using home remedies to buying an expensive steamer. Have a look.

The Safety Brief

Cleaning seat belts involves shallow risk, but using chemicals and hot steam to protect your eyes and skin is a good idea. Grab these items for safety.

  • Safety glasses

  • Rubber gloves

Seat belts caution should be exercised to avoid using inappropriate cleaning methods that may weaken the seat belts and render them ineffective in a crash.

The Tools & Parts You Need

Prepare your tools ahead of time to make your job simpler and quicker.

For cleaning the seat belts, you will need:

  • P21S® High Performance Total Auto Wash

  • Distilled water

  • Plexus Plastic Cleaner

Avoid using bleach, strong detergents, or dye on the seat belts.

Tools

Products

How To Mix a Homemade Cleaning Solution

Depending on how dirty your belts are, you might be able to clean them off without spending a dime on extra chemicals. In an empty spray bottle, pour in the following:

  • 1 cup of warm water (preferably distilled or filtered)

  • 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar (add more to increase strength)

  • One teaspoon of dish soap

Vinegar solutions are great for cleaning, disinfecting, and removing smells.

The Task: How To Clean Seat Belts

Below, we detail three different ways to clean your seat belts. One method can be done using only household items; the second requires specific chemical cleaners, and the third requires a steamer. A steamer is not necessary, but we believe it accomplishes the best clean.

METHOD 1 (Household Items)

You’ll want your vinegar solution ready for this method.

1. Pull the seat belt out and keep it there.

Once you cull the belt out, you’ll want to prevent it from rolling back up for easy cleaning. Many people recommend using a solid clamp at the top of the belt to keep it out but use whatever tool you have.

2. Suck up loose dirt and dust.

If you notice any loose particles or crusty stuff on the belt, give it a once over with the vacuum to remove any dirt.

3. Identify and treat stains.

Find any harsh stains on the belts, saturate those spots with your homemade vinegar solution, and use a toothbrush or small stiff brush to scrub them out from the front and back lightly. With all scrubbing, be sure to go toward the fabric grain, as circles or back-and-forth could fray or damage the material. After scrubbing, wipe the belt down with a dry microfiber towel. 

4. Start cleaning the belt section by section.

Once the stains are handled, you can start cleaning the belt from the top down. Do not allow the seat belt to roll back up after cleaning to prevent excess moisture from causing mold growth. Spray the belt with your vinegar solution, scrub the front and back with your fabric brush, and wipe away the dirt and excess solution with a towel. Repeat and continue these steps, working your way down the belt.

5. Keep the belt out to air dry.

Do not allow the seat belt to roll back up after cleaning. With moisture trapped in the belt, mould might start to grow. Keep it stretched out, enabling it to air dry completely.

Using a clip to hold the belt out will make things much more manageable. Tony Markovich

METHOD 2 (Chemical Cleaners)

This process is almost identical to the vinegar solution but is made with store-bought cleaners.

1. Pull the belt out and clamp it in place.

This is the same across all three methods.

2. Vacuum loose dirt.

Use a shop vac to suck up any dusties or crusties off the belt. Again, this often won’t be necessary. Hit stains with a stain remover.

Find the stains and treat them with your stain remover. After allowing it to soak for a bit, use a small brush like a toothbrush to scrub lightly in the direction of the belt fabric, then wipe clean with a towel.

4. Clean the belt one section at a time.

Use your degreaser or all-purpose fabric cleaner to spray a section of the belt. Scrub it with a fabric brush on both sides toward the belt. Once scrubbed and cleaned, wipe off excess dirt and product with a towel to remove excess moisture, then move on to the next section of the belt until complete. Once the entire belt is clean, take a new microfiber towel and soak up all the dirt and wetness you can.

5. Allow the belt to air dry.

Leave it out, and it’ll dry on its own. However, due to the risk of mould, you do not want to roll the belt back up while wet. 

METHOD 3 (Chemical Cleaners and Steamer) (Recommended)

Using the belt only with a steamer is possible, but double-duty with the cleaners could help with stubborn stains. We believe steam cleaning is the most effective and complete method, so this is our recommendation.

1. Extend the seat belt to its max and hold it in place.

A large, sturdy clamp is extremely helpful here.

2. Vacuum the belt.

Loose dirt and dust can easily be removed with a shop vac. While you’re at it, consider vacuuming the car seat to ensure the entire interior stays clean and free of dirt and grime.

3. Address the stains.

For heavily trashed areas of your belt, spray it with fabric stain remover or degreaser and gently scrub with a small brush. Remove the dirt and liquid with a towel.

4. Spray, steam, wipe.

It’s time for the steamer! This part can be done in sessions or across the entire belt, whichever is easier for you. Spray the belt down with fabric cleaner or degreaser, quickly brush problem areas, and steam it. If you see dirt from the belt, wipe it off with a towel. The belt is clean when the water comes out and is no longer dirty. When clean, wipe it down with a towel. You can also use the steamer to clean other parts of the car interior, such as the steering wheel, to remove germs and bacteria.

5. Air dry the belt.

Always air-dry the belt. Rolling it back up could result in mould

All three methods should give you a complete cleaning, but there are quicker and easier ways to do this; you could steam the belt without any chemicals or use dish soap and a microfiber towel, but that might not result in the ultimate clean you’re hoping for.

Tony Markovich

FAQs About Cleaning Seat Belts

We want to try to answer any questions you have before you start the job. We’ve selected coWe’vepoints of confusion from our experience and commonly asked questions from popular search results. We answered those questions below.

Q: Is it safe to clean seat belts?

A. If you use the methods described above, you should be fine. Just make sure your brushes or cleaning methods do not physically damage the seat belt’s webbing. 

Belts: do you eliminate smells from seat belts?

A. BThevinegar solution and steam clean methods should help remove stinky smells from seat belts. If the first time doesn’t work, complete the process again for a deeper clean.

Q: Is it better to remove seat belts to clean them?

A. Some people remove entirely their seat belts to soak them in a cleaner bucket. This would also allow for the use of a washer, making the cleaning extremely easy. However, in our experience and opinion, that’s a waste of that and more of a hassle than it’s worth.

Q. Cait’suse bleach on seat belts?

A. We do not recommend using bleach to clean your seat belts, as it could potentially damage the belt or interior of your car.

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