Stitched leather car seat + diarrhea = ?

November 29, 2014 10:07 PM

Can this be cleaned? Should this be cleaned? Or should we go directly to replacing the seat? I've cleaned the surface, but it still smells, and I suspect the foam underneath must have gotten soaked. I'm willing to spend the money if it needs to be spent. I do not want to spend the next 10 years trying to excuse a faint eau de crap to my passengers.
posted by anonymous to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Details about how much and the circumstances would be helpful.

I once know someone (avoiding specifics to protect the accident prone) who had diarrhea on the seat of an upholstered car, and it ended up being fine after a very thorough cleaning. But the shit in question wasn't on the seat for very long, wasn't allowed to set into the upholstery, and IIRC there wasn't really that much of it.

My understanding is that leather is easier to clean, but if it was a real blowout and if it really had time to sink in, the situation might be different.
posted by Sara C. at 10:24 PM on November 29, 2014

Adult or child poop? How long was it on there? I would think seams and the sides are where the smell is coming from.
posted by saradarlin at 10:27 PM on November 29, 2014

If it were me, I would bring it to a detailer, tell him your father borrowed the car and shit the seat and to please clean it. Tell him you are willing to leave it for a few days if necessary. I might also call the dealer or seat manufacturer and ask them for cleaning advice. Finally, seats are reupholstered all the time. (See Fast and Loud the TV show.)
posted by 724A at 6:54 AM on November 30, 2014 [2 favorites]

Adult, child, or animal?
If my cats did this to our car and we had the money to replace the seat I probably would. Their poop smells soooooo much worse than humans'!
posted by jrobin276 at 6:56 AM on November 30, 2014

Seconding the suggestion to take it to a detailer. It's not quite the same, but a few months ago my (adult autistic) son got sick in the car, literally on the way to the emergency room. I'll avoid being graphic, but just say that there was a very large "protein spill" throughout the front passenger side of the car, including the seat. Due to the emergency situation, said protein spill remained in place for several hours baking in the Florida heat while we were inside the hospital dealing with the health issue (my son is totally fine now, btw). Once things calmed down I was able to go out and do a quick surface clean to get the bulk of the stuff removed. The next day I took it to an auto detailer, explained what happened, paid for a deep clean, and tipped generously. The results were amazing. All signs of the event were thoroughly removed, with absolutely no lingering odors.
posted by Lokheed at 10:35 AM on November 30, 2014 [4 favorites]

You could try soaking it in natures miracle. That stuff is amazing. That said, I don't know how the leather would like it. A detailer would be my first step, unless the cost of replacement is near the same price.
posted by dejah420 at 3:20 PM on November 30, 2014