Cleaning of Car Covers

[02-T-Bird]

I have a cover from Ford and was wondering how people clean them after a winter of collecting dust. Do you have to Dry Clean them or justs machine was? Any tips would be appreciated.

Ted

[00mustng]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

...Hi Ted....I find my cover to be pretty frail...and also 9 years old....I haven't washed it....but I'm thinking hand wash...and a hose down?....Machine wash might tangle and shred it....unless maybe gentle cycle?....I'm pretty sure dry clean would deteriorate it....

[Lindy]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

Hey Ted, I do have some advice for you, based upon expierience. The stock cover for my '02 seems to be a shiny (perhaps slightly rubberized) silver cover, I plan on hand wiping with a damp cloth. However, on the '05 which I used to own, the stock cover was made of a different type of fabric, silver-gray or gray in color, a more pourous fabric which became soiled from the dust; while I did wash it in the wash machine, I also put it in dryer. Did that twice, and it shrunk, and was very difficult to get back on the car, if at all. Some of the soiling still remained a bit.

You could always by a new one from TB concepts or perhaps another vendor, if your look runs out, which is what I ended up doing.

Lindy

[007Cruiser]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

Machine wash.... NO fabric softeners..... Line dry.

[Ediron]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

I had the silver Ford cover ,it lasted 3yrs. in S.Fl. with the heat and sun. I washed it in the machine once and air dried it. I think it took a lot of the strength out of the cover ,after that the seams started to come apart and towards the end gorilla glue was holding the seams together.Every time I would remove it it would get another fabric tear,gorilla tape fix that.One day we had strong winds and the cover just shred to pieces. I know use a cover from Auto Zone $69.00 it works.

[islandtime]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

I just bought a Ford silver cover from a guy in Ohio who had never even opened the box...brand new...instructions say, "machine wash gentle cycle, mild detergent, line dry".

[Lonestar]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

If you have a traditional washer with an agitator then the cover may not fit unless you have super size model. If this is the type you have then gentle cycle only and even then the cover might get torn by the agitator. If you have large front or top loader w/o agitator then I have found you can use any cycle you want. However, the dryer we have turns the car cover into a very tightly wound ball. However, with an agitatorless washer the spin cycles on many spins so fast that the cover comes out only slightly damp.

[islandtime]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

If you have a traditional washer with an agitator then the cover may not fit unless you have super size model. If this is the type you have then gentle cycle only and even then the cover might get torn by the agitator. If you have large front or top loader w/o agitator then I have found you can use any cycle you want. However, the dryer we have turns the car cover into a very tightly wound ball. However, with an agitatorless washer the spin cycles on many spins so fast that the cover comes out only slightly damp.

I wouldn't use a traditional washer that has an agitator (for anything). Asking for trouble. Front load only, otherwise, just spray it down with a garden hose!

[PaulD]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

I just ordered a multi-layer cover and the instructuctions suggested I use a commercial washer at a landrymat with no center agitator. That size machine is larger than a home washer and will do a better job with less chance of damage. Also, no fabric softner. Line dry or place on car to dry.

[02-T-Bird]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

Thanks for the input guy's. I think I'll try the front load/line dry system.

Thanks.

[Lindy]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

Another tid-bit of advice: Probably not a good idea to wipe the cover while still on car, as cover or its seams could be ever so slightly abrasive; which might prove to be problematic. I plan to wipe the cover for my '02 with a damp cloth AFTER it is removed from the car, and placed upon a clean surface in the house. On another note, I owned a very slippery-fabric T-bird cover for my '05 from a third party vendor. The cover was said to be a Ford part number. However, cover could easily slip off to the floor if handling single handedly, which could pick up abrasives, such as cement dust or dirt, via static cling. And a person would really hate to defeat the whole purpose of the cover. Lots of luck!

Lindy

[justjon]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

I have sucessfully washed a couple of different covers in front loading comercial washers but drying takes lots of quarters, taking it home from the laundromat really wet or just spun dry is a mess and you get it dirty all over again. I dry it until I run out of quarters, maybe an hour, then it air drys on the clean car it belongs to. Try to find a laundermat that has a bar or driving range close by.

[Gwfl]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

For those that have run their covers through washers what happened to the license plate plastic glass window?

Gary

[islandtime]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

For those that have run their covers through washers what happened to the license plate plastic glass window?

Gary

My covers do not have that, so there wasn't a problem.

[Ediron]

Re: Cleaning of Car Covers

Did nothing to mine when I had it. I wouldn't try putting it in the dryer