Did I just ruin my brand new perforated passenger seat?

[Patroradio]

Ok, this is one of those "don't-ask-me-how-but-help-me-manage-what's-next" posts.

So, I managed to spill a full medium cappuccino on the passenger's seat of my brand new car this AM... I was driving when it happened so it took me a good 30 second to be able to pull and take care of it. Thankfully, I had paper towels and a bottle of water so I absorbed all I could and then "washed" it with damp paper towels. I also happened to have a small alcool pad which I gentry rubbed after everything, so that it wouldn't be sticky. Not sure that last part was brilliant.

This would be nothing on a regular black seat... however the seat is perforated. Hence my seat had a few sips of my coffee before I could recover the rest with paper towels.

Three hours later, I came back to the car. Of course, no stain, since the seat is black. However, upon inspection, the perforated leather on that seat now seems more stiff than elsewhere in the car

Should I be concerned about it since it's perforated leather? Could it damage the underlying cooling/heating mechanism?

Do you recommend any product to wash/treat/protect the leather now that I spilled a mix of coffee and milk on/in it?

This was gonna happen one day... but I would have hoped not in the first month... I know, very first problem. Still a bummer though.

Thanks

 

[azred]

Time to consult a professional upholstery shop.

 

[vip gts]

May try using a vacuum to get it all out. I have had several spills and the seats have done fine.

 

[Drewflux]

The foam under the material is fairly dense, anything that made it through is now staining the foam.

I have done the same to a lexus seat and after a mop up, no smell later on. You could rent a steam cleaner to try and clean whats left. But it will be a limited clean. An upholstery shop can remove the material and wash/ steam the foam if there is a smell later.

 

[RichardD]

Was there any milk? You may want to look at getting some pro help to get it treated. Wife spilled a gallon of milk in the back of her wagon a few years ago and thought simply cleaning it up would work.. We used a enzyme for treating dog urine stains and in a few days the milk smell was gone. Hope that helps. We got it at Petsmart or Petco..

 

[Kenriko]

Never use Alcohol on leather it dries it out and makes it hard.

 

[Patroradio]

That was the mistake. I figured it out after.

Yeah there was foamed milk

 

[Patroradio]

@Kenriko: any remedy?

 

[TexLaw]

As noted, alcohol will dry out leather and strip the "finish" on it. You probably can remedy or minimize the damage with a quality leather conditioner. There are a ton of them out there. You might want to call up an upholstery shop for a recommendation or just drop by an auto supply store.

Really, even neutral shoe polish probably will help, as it will have some conditioner in there. Even though your seats are black, I wouldn't use black polish unless you are DEAD certain you buff off all the excess (or you wear only black pants).

 

[TexLaw]

FYI, here is a very good thread on leather care:

Vendor - How to PROPERLY care for your Leather Interior

 

[Jimmy 1]

Steam clean it, it will solve the issue

 

[jelloslug]

NEVER steam clean leather.

 

[Dog lover 1]

Really, I had my BMW steam cleaned by a professional detailer and it looked fantastic! I know they apply some treatment after the steam cleaning, but the leather was buttery soft.

 

[Patroradio]

Why shouldn't steam it?

 

[jelloslug]

Why shouldn't steam it?

Steam will shrink leather, especially perforated leather.

 

[Jimmy 1]

My BMW has been steam cleaned twice by my professional detailer, but had adds leather condistioner afterwards. Looks like new, feels great.