How To Properly Clean Your Cover
All covers will eventually need cleaning, care will help extend their lifespan and performance. Cleaning your cover properly ensures you don’t ruin the material or cause shrinkage.
Before putting your cover on, make sure your vehicle is properly cleaned. This helps keep your cover cleaner for longer and prevents dirt or debris from rubbing against your vehicle’s surface.
Cleaning Outdoor Covers
Spot Clean First
For outdoor covers we recommend spot cleaning first. With the cover on the vehicle, rinse off excess dirt. Use mild soap (delicate laundry detergent such as Woolite or ¼ cup of Simple Green diluted in 1 cup of water) with a soft bristle brush. Afterwards make sure to remove the cover and let it air dry.
Spot Cleaning Tips
- Make sure the interior of the cover is clean as well as the car underneath so that you don’t cause any scratching while cleaning.
- Make sure to remove the cover and let it air dry fully.
- If the interior of the cover is dirty, you’ll need to machine wash it.
Machine Washing Your Outdoor Cover
Please carefully read all the instructions before washing. While they are machine washable, we advise using a larger commercial washing machine.
- Always use a front-loading commercial washing machine.
- Select the delicate cycle.
- Wash using cold water only.
- Use the recommended amount of a delicate laundry detergent (such as Woolite), or
- ¼ cup of Simple Green diluted in 1 cup of water.
- Run the rinse cycle at least twice.
- Never use a top-loading washing machine with a center agitator—it can damage or rip the cover.
Drying Your Outdoor Cover
Never machine dry your cover. Heat can shrink an indoor cover or permanently damage it.
For best results, hang the cover and allow it to air dry completely.
Cleaning Indoor Covers
Washing an indoor car cover is similar to washing an outdoor cover, with a few important differences. Because indoor covers are smaller than outdoor, they can sometimes be washed at home as long as a front-loading washing machine is used.
After washing, you may be tempted to place the cover in a dryer. Do not machine dry the cover. Heat can cause shrinkage, which may result in a poor fit on your vehicle. Always hang and air dry the cover completely.
Machine Washing Your Indoor Cover
Please carefully read all the instructions before washing.
- Always use a front-loading washing machine.
- Select the delicate cycle.
- Wash using cold water only.
- Use the recommended amount of a delicate laundry detergent (such as Woolite), or
- ¼ cup of Simple Green diluted in 1 cup of water.
- Run the rinse cycle at least twice.
- Never use a top-loading washing machine with a center agitator—it can damage or rip the cover.
Drying Your Indoor Cover
Never machine dry your cover. Heat can shrink an indoor cover or permanently damage it.
For best results, hang the cover and allow it to air dry completely.
Cover Cleaning DON’Ts
- Do not dry clean
- Do not use fabric softener (it weakens water resistance)
- Do not use hot water
- Do not use anything other than a delicate cycle
- Do not use top-loading washers with center agitators
- Do not use harsh chemicals such as bleach
What If My Cover Has Stains?
If you haven’t cleaned your car cover in a long time, you will notice that even after washing it, the fabric looks stained. Learn how to clean two common stains below.
Bird poop: Fill a bucket with warm water, add detergent and vinegar. Use a microfiber cloth to rub the solution on the stain until it is removed. You can also use Poop-off, a spray specially made to clean bird droppings.
Sap: Use a cloth and ethanol (denatured alcohol) to rub the stain of sap. Once it has softened, scrap the sap with a spoon.
