I have acquired some used seat covers to replace my ripped ones. They are in good condition but a little dirty. HAs anyone put these things in the washing machine, if so what setting, and did you air dry them or tumble dry etc...

Thanks,

Matt

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'82 DL - 153k, '93 945 - 102k

I washed the seat covers from my 86 when I rebuilt the seats. No problems at all. These were grey zig-zag cloth covers. I washed them warm, gentle, and dried them for about 5 minutes on low. They're polyester, I'm pretty sure, and they don't need much drying at all. Keep an eye on them in the dryer.
They're pretty tough I think. Mine went through with a little rip on the driver's back bolster and it didn't get any worse. Still hasn't, 40,000 miles later. It's night and day when you compare the feel and smell of the covers before and after. I think I'll be doing this with my '91 soon. That car has disgusting seat upholstery. Tan cloth, of course.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE, 91 244: 808K total

I've washed several sets of cloth seating. The first wash will amaze you what those covers can hold in the way of dirt. A second wash was always necessary. I used warm, gentle. I let them drip dry while rebuilding the foam, grid, heaters, etc. A bit of dampness won't keep me from putting them back on.

Overall, I didn't notice any shrinking. If anything, the fabric might have been a bit more limp after washing. Treated one set to a good spraying of a 303 waterproofing product.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

I've put my carmel color ones twice in the machine, gentle cylce, cold water and no problems. Air dry or a few minutes in the drier. Major difference! They look like new.

I put blue ones in the same, but some of the fabric has seemed to come apart from the foam backing. Not a major problem, but they do seem a little loose than the originals. Hardly noticable, but like new looking. They were dirty, as soon as I put them in, the water turned brown.

Hi,

I put a set of 15 year-old covers (cloth, of course) in the washing machine on cold wash and cold rinse. Tumble dried them on a low perma press setting and all went well. I ws hesitant as I didn't know if seams would open up on them. No problems. Check teh stitching first to make sure it is intact and strong. Washing made a world of difference in appearance and smell. Fresh as a daisy afterwards. A result unobtainable with surface spray cleaners, or even using an extractor before.

One nite of caution. After I did it I mentioned what I had done to an automotive upholstery guy. He told me I shouldn't have because washig and drying like this can sometimes shrink the backing on the fabric. Maybe out of ignorance I was just lucky.

Mike