Cleaning stained headlining inside a vehicle can be a challenge because it’s more than likely that we won’t know how it got there. There are many causes for soiling an area of your car that you wouldn’t expect, but it happens!
For example, “lift handles” that are located just inside at the top of the door jam attract the dirt off your hands and your knuckles will rub against the headlining fabric. If you have young kids, drops of soft drinks, cordials and fruit juices will magically appear on the head lining….kids are kids! Adults too are responsible for marking head lining….particularly in SUV’s where bicycles or sets of golf clubs are put in the back. The black rubber off bicycle tyres is often smudged on the top edge of the rear opening.
So how successful is it cleaning stained headlining?? This can depend on 2 main things….how long the stain has been there, and the quality of the fabric depending on the make of car. Water-based stains such as juices and soft drinks are definitely easier to clean off headlining than a stain that has an oily or petroleum base e.g. rubber, certain plastics etc. A water based cleaner won’t always remove an oil based stain, and visa versa! So identifying the type of stain is very helpful. Our biggest concern can be whether we’ll make the stain worse than it was before. I recommend testing a small area first. If the stain isn’t disappearing, then you may need to use another type of cleaner. So “trial and error” is often required. Whatever the stain may be, rather than rub the fabric hard, see if you can draw it out of the fabric by spraying a pad or micro fibre cloth and dabbing it on the stain. This may take a little longer than you hoped, but in the end the effort and care you take in cleaning your stained headlining could be well worth it!