On page 350 of the 2012 Prius V owner's manual it states the following, "Cleaning the synthetic leather areas: - Remove loose dirt using a vacuum cleaner. - Apply a mild soap solution to the synthetic leather using a sponge or soft cloth. - Allow the solution to soak in for a few minutes. - Remove the dirt and wipe off the solution with a clean, damp cloth. I edited my original post as, after taking another look at the manual, I noticed that I had posted the directions for cleaning regular leather vice synthetic (i.e. Softex) leather. I'm not really sure why Toyota has instructions for cleaning regular leather as the V only comes with Softex. With this being said, the directions aren't much different for the synthetic leather. Woolite isn't specifically recommended ... I think it would still be safe to use, however you might want to do some more research in order to determine what Toyota considers to be a "mild soap."
Thanks for the good info. I had leather in the past that cracked badly because I did not use conditioner regularly. Maybe Softex does not have the same problem. --Dave
Vinoh, Please take another look at my post, I revised my post to include the correct directions for cleaning Softex.
I need help! My Prius is only a week and 3 days old and I have been wearing dark jeans and I noticed on the left side of my bisque softex seats (driver side) where I would get out of the car, there's already a bit of staining from my the dye of my jeans rubbing off on the softex. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can use to get rid of this? I'm really bummed about this and this was one of the reasons why I didn't want the light interior but I just fell in love with the car. I can't believe it's barely been a week and there's already some discoloration on my seats. The staining is light and I saw it early but I'm just wondering now what is considered "mild soap" so that I can go ahead and get rid of it and keep up with my seats. I can already tell this light interior is going to be part enemy!
I noticed a pen mark on my SofTex seat the other day. I've tried rubbing alcohol to remove the mark, and it didn't work. Does anyone have any suggestions for other things I might try?
I haven't used any of these but this is what I'd try: I would try this in an inconspicuous spot first but maybe an alcohol and baking soda solution? Rubbing alcohol and Wisk? (it may be a pain to remove the blue from Wisk) Or Woolite or Maybe Dawn detergent diluted. Zaino also supposedly has a good product for cleaning synthetic leather but again no experience. W
Wanderer, thanks! I'll look into all of those ideas and let you all know if any of them pan out for me.
P&S Xpress Interior Cleaner should work great for this. $14/gal. Go to their website and see if they have a distributor in your area. Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
Just put in an order for a pint of P&S Xpress Interior Cleaner. Thanks, The Critic! Will report back on how it works out.
For what it's worth . . . I bought an aluminum ladder and slid it over the softex on the back seats, leaving black marks. Soap and water did no good at all. So I got the "Weiman Leather Wipes" product that we use on our leather furniture. It comes in a pop-up container like Wet Wipes do. It took the black stuff off immediately and completely.
Let us know how well it works. If anyone is local to the San Jose area, Id be glad to let you have some of my gallon.
Unfortunately, the P&S Xpress Interior Cleaner didn't work on the pen mark. Oh well! I'm sure I'll be glad to have it when other cleaning needs arise, but it's back to the drawing board for the pen mark removal.
Sorry to hear. Hopefully it will still be of use for routine clean-up. Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
An update: I bought a Mr. Clean eraser per CLUBGUY's suggestion, but hadn't gotten around to trying it yet. At some point though, I did notice though that the pen mark seemed to be fading. It's actually barely visible now! I have no idea how this happened -- if it was residual P&S Xpress cleaner that slowly worked on it, or if it was sun-bleached away, or .. I don't know what other options there might be. So I'm not sure how helpful my update will be to others, but at least it says that pen marks can go away! Attached is one photo of the original mark, and one taken of the same spot today. I can still see the mark if I look very carefully, but it's essentially gone. I haven't touched it since the P&S Xpress cleaner attempt two weeks ago.
