So, for the longest time, I've been trying to figure out how to clean seat belts (in a car) without totally destroying them or bleaching them. They're made of extremely strong nylon material (it seems), so they can absolutely handle some abuse.
My daughter and I tried a couple of different things, even letting them soak in dish detergent water for a few days... still didn't get them clean. What worked best was this:
- Remove the seat belts and seat belt retraction mechanism from the car.
- Fill a bucket of water with dish soap
- Carefully extend both seatbelt sections to their outer-most ability, and use a zip-tie to cinch them tight at the top (to prevent the belts from being retracted)
- Let the seatbelt soak overnight (with the mechanism OUT of the water, obviously)
- Spray TUFF STUFF carpet cleaner on the full length of the seat belt, let soak for about 30 minutes.
- Pressure wash with a lower power pressure washer (something like 1,500 to 1,750 PSI... like one of the electric ones).
I tried combinations of this, like... pressure washing seat belts without soaking them first, it worked OK, but didn't really get it cleaned. I also tried just soaking the seat belt and scrubbing it in a bucket... didn't do **** . I also tried spraying the Tuff Stuff on it and then hand washing it in a sink, also did nothing.
I have two sets of seatbelts, so I had a couple to try, but it's when I soaked it, sprayed the stuff, and THEN pressure-washed it, did they come out sparkling brand new... like... these seat belts literally look like they're brand new. I took the best from the two pairs and are letting them dry by hanging them in the garage.
