MomReviews

If my Van was ever suddenly buried in an avalanche or something and then dug up again hundreds of years from now, the scientists studying it would most likely be able to tell exactly what foods my kids ate based on the stains on the carpeting. My standard clean-up supplies of baby wipes and paper towel haven’t been at all successful in removing the spilled Slurpees, apple juice, chocolate milk, the dropped Tootsie Pops, the french fries, etc.
Milliken & Company has created
YES Essentials, a fabric that is being used for both automobile seat covers and carpeting that not only repels stains but also repels odors, and they sent me a test kit so I could see for myself. I received a square of carpet and two squares of different seat covers, along with packets of ketchup, soy sauce and pickle relish, and three foil-wrapped moistened towelettes.

I thought about what one of my kids would do if they were eating a cheeseburger while we were driving and got ketchup on their hand-they would reach down and wipe their hand on the seat. So I took a finger full of ketchup and wiped it on one of the seat cover samples. I assume that the moistened towelettes were provided because that is something you might have from stopping at a fast food place, so I opened one and used it to wipe the ketchup off the seat cover sample. Then I blotted it up with a napkin. I can’t say that the stain completely disappeared, but the seat cover wasn’t red, and best of all, it didn’t smell like ketchup.

Next I took the pickle relish and did the same thing, smeared it on the other seat cover sample. Again, I used a towelette and a napkin and removed the relish and blotted up the moisture. The seat cover sample did not smell like pickle relish after that, and I think we can all agree that there would be nothing worse than having your car sit in the hot sun with pickle relish baking on one of the seats. Bllleeeuuugghh.

The last experiment I did was the most fun. I took the soy sauce packet, opened up, and squeezed it onto the carpet sample. Now when YES Essentials says their fabrics repel spills, they are not kidding. The soy sauce did not soak in to the carpet, instead it just sat on top of it in a bubble. I took a napkin and gently patted up the sauce, and then used the last towelette to rub the slight stain. Even though the soy sauce didn’t saturate the carpet, it still left a stain, but I think saturating it with warm soapy water and then blotting it up with paper towel would remove it.

In conclusion, I think YES Essentials is on the right track, especially with the odor-resistance feature of the fabrics. None of the fabric samples looked completely clean when dry, but professional steam-cleaning as opposed to fast food towelettes would probably be the most effective. Dirty carpets and seats lower a vehicle’s value, and they just don’t make it fun to be in the car. I HIGHLY recommend you stop by the YES Essentials website, where you will find a complete list of vehicles that come with the fabric-including the Chrysler Town & Country and the Dodge Caravan, as well as information on how to order custom seat covers and floor mats for other vehicles.

I also recommend you stop by http://www.splatthemat.com/. Go. You’ll see why.

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