It looks like either a king-sized beverage spill or small pools of dried blood, and neither are upholstery colors.

October 24, 2008 11:24 AM

The rear seat belts on a 1997 Honda Accord bleed onto the upholstery. Is there any way to stop this?

I have a 1997 Honda Accord that I use to transport animals sometimes. The upholstery has to be cleaned every couple of months, but I just now figured out that the rear seat belts bleed a chestnut brown dye anytime they get moist (dog drool) or wet (upholstery cleaner). Unfortunately, the upholstery itself is a pale beige color and so it often looks like someone has spilled a king sized, dark-colored beverage in my car. Right now, I have the seat belts covered by plastic umbrella bags so that the upholstery can dry.

Is there any way to seal the dye into the seatbelt? Scotch Guard? Other fabric protectors? Any ideas?

posted by fujiko to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

Man that sucks.

I have no earthly clue, but perhaps scotch guard on the seat material itself would make it harder to transfer and easier to clean? I don't see the seat belt taking scotch guard seriously, so to speak.
posted by disillusioned at 11:37 AM on October 24, 2008

you could try hair spray or artists' fixing spray- they're used to seal, or 'fix' finished art pieces.

Not sure how they would hold up to heat and abuse your back seat could see though...
posted by fauxtoes at 11:57 AM on October 24, 2008

Seconding the scotchguard suggestion. Also, you might want to cover the back of the seatbelts with clear, adhesive vinyl (like contact paper, or shelf/drawer liners). Alternatively, you can cover the seats with it while transporting animals till the drool dries.
posted by necessitas at 12:00 PM on October 24, 2008

I know that you can fix some dyes with white vinegar... it couldn't hurt to try since it's nontoxic to your drooling dogs. I'd sponge it liberally on your bleeding seat belts, maybe put crumpled newspaper between the vinegar-wet seat belt and the upholstery while it dries.

If that doesn't work, I'm stumped.
posted by workerant at 12:19 PM on October 24, 2008