Maintaining tips for Auto Headliners

Your auto headliner loses its life quickly than other parts of your vehicle interior since it is made of lightweight material. It starts sagging in small areas and finally sags in the entire areas just holding at the edges. Your auto headliner may delaminate and fall down if it becomes wet. Headliners may also be damaged if serviced by untrained technicians or by using the wrong products and techniques. Sagging or damaged headliner gives a shabby look to your car as well as reduces the value of your car.

When taking steps to maintain your auto headliner, you can use either hand cleaning method or vapor steamer method. Hand cleaning will be the best method of cleaning headliners if performed properly. Some professionals use vapor steamers to clean the headliners. Using vapor steamer helps in cleaning headliners easily and quickly using less chemicals and saving you more money. Both the method involves cleaning the headliner by clearing all soil or dust present on the surface of the headliner.

If you are using hand cleaning method, brush the headliner with a sponge or brush having very soft bristles such as natural-latex sponge or horsehair brush, in order to loosen dust/dirt trapped at the headliner. Gently scrub the spots present on the headliner using a soft white terry cloth towel applied with a good recommended cleaner. The scrubbing should be done in circular motions as well as back and forth movements. Repeat the step several times until the spot is vanished. The same step can be used on the entire headliner to remove all the spots on the headliner. You can clean the spots from the entire headliner in about half an hour.

If you are using vapor steamer method, the spots present on the headliner are removed using a vapor steamer injecting cleaning product and steam on low setting. The vapor steamer method is much better and faster than the hand cleaning method. Headliner with moderate to heavy soil can be very easily cleaned using the vapor steamer method in about 10 minutes. Your headliner will look new after cleaning it using the vapor steamer method.

Inspect your headliner regularly and clean it immediately when necessary. Always wipe your auto headliner very gently using Fabric & Vinyl Cleaner and terry towel.  An alcohol based aerosol glass cleaner evaporates quickly and is also best for cleaning headliners. APC cleaner is an incredible all purpose cleaner. The APC cleaner foams very well and cleans even very nasty spots without damaging the headliner material.

Before trying any cleaner, it is always recommended to test it on a small area of the headliner. This will ensure you whether the cleaning product is safe for the headliner material without damaging it. Avoid spraying cleaning products directly onto the headliner. You have to be very careful not to wet your headliner while wiping it.  Try to clean your headliner twice such that the headliner is free from any wet.

Regular maintenance of your auto headliner will not only maintain the look of your car interior but also adds value to your car. If your auto headliner sags down, you can either replace it or get it professionally repaired by any good auto service center. Trying to fix it yourself using adhesive, pins or something suitable, may be helpful only for a few days and even less.