Cleaning leather car upholstery with castile soap and coconut oil

Cleaning leather car upholstery with castile soap and coconut oil

I don't know WHAT we were smoking when we bought a family car with tan leather upholstery five years ago, but it will probably never look good again. Muddy boots and smudgy fingers have really taken their toll. (Possibly compounded by the fact that I am a failure in the car maintenance department.) I am also loathe to spend the money to have the car professionally detailed (though I have to believe there are eco-friendly options out there now). So finally this past weekend I tackled the stains, with pretty good results.

I last cleaned the upholstery (gulp) three years ago and used a concoction of 1/2 cup of olive oil and 1/4 cup white vinegar in a squirt bottle, which worked really well. You just squirt it on the upholstery and rub it in really good. But then I went and cleaned the windows with lemon juice, which combined with the odors of the olive oil and vinegar left the car smelling like a Caesar salad. Turns out the only time I like this smell is when I'm about to be served a Caesar salad. This time around (thanks to a quick Google search) I simply used a touch of Dr. Bronner's liquid castile soap and warm water. While it doesn't completely remove all stains, the upholstery looks so much better. Very gently using the rough side of a kitchen sponge also helps. After I cleaned the upholstery I rubbed in some coconut oil with a rag to condition it (apparently an important step to maintaining leather). And, nope, there was no lingering coconutty aroma.

Have you had success using non-toxic cleaners on upholstery?