Best Natural Seat Belt Cleaning Tips To Keep Your Family Safe

The seat belts in your car are one of the most important aspects of your vehicle. However, when you think about how often you touch, use and mess with your seat belts, it should come as no surprise that your seat belt also holds a lot of germs. The seat belt has a huge collection of germs and bacteria on it, but most people don’t take the time to clean this part of their car. Did you know that your car’s seat belt is actually dirtier than a toilet seat? Yes, your seat belt contains that many germs and tends to build up that much bacteria.

Regularly cleaning your seat belt is a great way to make sure that you are keeping you and your guests safe and way from harmful germs, especially during cold and flu season when something as simple as touching a seat belt can spread a deadly virus. So, what exactly is the best way to clean your seat belts? We have curated a list of the best tips on how you can clean your seat belts with safe and natural products that will get rid of germs without putting any harmful chemicals or toxins in your vehicle.

Helpful Tips

Keeping your car sets and seat belts clean is very important—especially if you have little kids using your car on a regular basis. Are you looking for some easy tips that will help you with the seat belt cleaning process? These tips will help you effectively clean and disinfect your seat belts in a natural manner and in a way that won’t harm your existing seat belt.

One of the main reasons why seat belts tend to have so much germ build up is because they simply aren’t cleaned that often. The issue with cleaning seat belts typically comes down to a) people forgetting to clean the belts in the first place and b) seat belts are awkward to clean. Here’s the easiest way to make sure all of the seat belt gets cleaned and that all of that nasty bacteria becomes a thing of the past.

Extend

You need to clean the entire seat belt, not just the part of the seat belt you touch the most, and not just the buckle. The entire seat belt tends to have germs and bacteria on it, because it not only touches your hand when you pull it out, but it also touches your arm, clothe and other parts of your skin as you wear it. If you want to clean the entire seat belt, then you need to extend the seat belt as far as you can before you start cleaning.

Wash

This step is pretty self-explanatory. If you want to clean something like a seat belt you need to wash it with a cleaner or disinfectant (we will get into the actual products you can use later) and cover both sides of the seat belt. Keep washing until the entire belt is more than damp again making sure that both sides are completely covered.

Wipe

The material used for the seat belt is a really porous material, but it is difficult to get in all of the little cracks and crevices of the elastic where the germs and bacteria tend to grow. This is why you need to use some strong pressure to really wipe down the seat belt and make sure that your cleaner gets into the fabric. Of course, it is not only important to keep these seat belt cleaning tips in mind with your own car, but when you are in other people’s cars as well—particular in Lyfts, Ubers and taxis where a lot of people are touching the same grimey surface over and over again.

Cleaning Your Car Seats

While cleaning your seats, you may also want to clean your seats and the area around your seat belt as well. Depending on the material your seat is made of, there are a different processes you may want to use in order to get your seat belt as clean as possible. The best news is, these car cleaning approaches use only household products that you likely already have, or that you can pick up easily at your local convenience store.

Cleaning Cloth Seats

If you have cloth seats in your car, here are some of the best ways to get this cloth material super clean. Cloth seats are more porous than leather and can hold in more bacteria if you aren’t careful.

Spray some club soda on the stained area and scrub away the stain with a brush, using light circular motions. Wipe the stain and the soda remnants away with a clean towel, blotting carefully until the dirt and soda is gone.
Mix warm water and baking soda together and apply the mixture to the stain directly. Use a toothbrush to scrub the stain away. If you are dealing with a tough stain, then let the solution sit and soak in for at least 20-40 minutes.
Take all-natural white vinegar and 2-3 drops of dish soap and mix them together in a bucked. Dab this solution into the stain your cloth seats and use a brush to scrub the seat until the stain loosens and removes. Rinse off the seat with clean water when you are done.
Use laundry detergent mixed with hot water to clean your entire cloth seat or to spot clean stains in the seat.

These are all ways that you cannot only keep your seats clean but to get rid of stains as well.

Cleaning Leather Seats

Leather can be slightly more difficult to clean than cloth as this luxurious material is more prone to discoloration. However, the good news is that leather is much less likely to hold in germs and bacteria and less likely to stain in the first place.

Here are some easy ways to clean leather seats.

Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover will get a stain off of leather. You will need to carefully blot the stain using a clean rag until it lifts away. When you are done, clean the seat off with warm soap and water to prevent the alcohol from settling in and harming the leather.
Use toothpaste (the non-gel kind) and dab in on the stain. You may want to use a rough side of a sponge or a toothbrush to scrub the stain away.
One part vinegar and water can help clean away stains and bacteria from leather seats as well.

The thing to remember with leather is that if you aren’t careful with your cleaning solution it can damage the color or feel of the leather. If you aren’t sure then spot test the cleaner somewhere that is inconspicuous.

Natural Cleaning Solutions

Knowing how to clean your seat belts and seats is important, but it is also important to look at the different types of cleaning solutions that you can use in order to get your car clean, safe and free from bacteria. There are several household products that you can use to clean your car’s interior, as we detailed before, but if you are looking for something really natural, you may want to consider an organic plant-based soap. This is a great way to clean your car’s interior without doing any unnecessary harm to the environment.

Make sure to read the label on any cleaning solution that you consider. It should have the power to get rid of germs and bacteria but should still be natural enough where you don’t have to worry about toxic fumes impacting your car—or the run off from these cleaners hurting the environment.

DIY

You can always call a professional company to help you clean your seat belts and all of your vehicle’s interior. You can also go to the store and buy a natural cleaner. However, if you want to “do-it-yourself” here are some suggestions on how to make your own cleaners for cleaning out your car’s interior.

DIY Stain Remover

To get rid of stains on upholstery, car mats or seat belts, you can make an easy DIY solution made of equal parts vinegar and water. Just let the solution soak into the stain for several minutes. Blot with a wet cloth until the stain starts to remove and then repeat the process until the stain is gone. If you have grease stains on the floor of your car or on your car’s mats (as many people do), you can also just sprinkle these stains with cornstarch before vacuum the solution up and removing the grease along with it.

DIY Cleaner for Your Windows and Dashboard

While you clean your seat belt and seats, you may also want to clean your windows and dashboard. This cleaner can also help you clean the buckle on your seat belt as well (which has plenty of germs on it) Here’s a DIY cleaner you can try to clean these areas of your car.

1 cup of water
½ cup of vinegar
¼ cup of alcohol

Mix the ingredients together and either spray or blot on and wipe off. This cleaner is easy to make, eco-friendly and you likely already have these items in your home.

DIY Cleaner for Leather and Vinyl

If you want to make your own DIY cleaning solution for leather or vinyl interiors, then consider mixing one part vinegar with one part linseed oil. Mix together the two products and then use it to clean your car’ interior and to get rid of unwanted dirt and grim. This is better than using straight alcohol as it won’t discolor leather or vinyl.

Keep These Natural Seat Belt Cleaning Tips In Mind To Eliminate Germs

Keeping your car’s seat belts as clean as possible is a great way to not only help your car stay as clean, germ free and as safe as possible but to also help your car look its best as well. Keep these natural cleaning tips in mind as you clean your seat belts and make sure that you carve out some time in your schedule to get those seat belts clean and eliminate germs—we know you will be happy that you did.

Rebekah Pierce is a professional social blogger and has worked on several online publications including Citrus Sleep. Rebekah is an experienced content writer and copyeditor. You will find many of her works throughout CitrusSleep.com that cover a wide array of subjects including sleep education, natural, sleep products, electronics, fashion and many more. She is passionate about her work and family.

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