An Article Covering the benefits to automotive Seat Covers
One of the great on-the-road ironies is that while you're
sitting comfortably in your car seat, the seat itself is having
to stand up to a tremendous amount of abuse. Dirty clothes, wet
swimsuits, spilt drinks, kids snacking in the backseat,
slobbering pets, seat friction and harsh sunlight all have the
potential to ruin and wear out your great looking seats. And if
something terrible has befallen your interior, a complete
reupholster will cost you dearly.
The days of worrying about permanently staining your car seats
or of being embarrassed by ripped, tattered and unkempt
upholstery are close to being over. With the right set of seat
covers, you'll be able to:
* Proactively protect your upholstery from a dizzying array of
hazards
* Cover over existing damage rather than having to reupholster
your seats
* Make over your interior to suit your tastes and lifestyle
Seat Cover Proactive Protection Reference
There are certain "high-traffic" areas in your vehicle that seem
predestined to receive a lot of punishing use. Your carpets are
constantly being trampled by dirty shoes, your steering wheel is
being throttled non-stop by oily hands and your seats are always
besieged by a steady onslaught of abuses. While the only
surefire way to safeguard your seats is to stop driving your
vehicle, that solution just isn't practical. Dressing your seats
with a pair of form-fitting, protective seat covers is just as
good, and this solution won't force you into riding public
transportation either.
Your car seats face a number of perils, including:
Moisture
Whether you're driving home from an outing at the local pool, a
kayaking trip or an endless summer's day of surfing, the
moisture in your clothing can lead to serious problems for your
upholstery. Moisture is especially problematic for residents of
the drizzly Pacific Northwest and other wet zones. Leather's
worst enemy is water. When it gets wet, it becomes tacky to the
touch - a sign that the leather's natural oils are being washed
out. Cloth seating is also prone to damage from moisture. When
water seeps into factory-installed fabrics, it can fester and
grow into ugly, stinky, disgusting mold. Never fear; our seat
covers come in a wide selection of materials with varying
degrees of water resistance to protect your interior.
Spills and Grime
No one plans on fumbling a 40 ounce beverage right into their
lap while barreling down the freeway, but it happens. As drinks
keep getting larger and larger, the potential damage keeps
growing and growing. Besides sticky sodas and scalding coffees,
on-the-go meals are a car seat's worst nightmare. That
overstuffed burrito hanging out of your jaws is like a Sword of
Damocles, looming disastrously over your upholstery and
threatening a permanent stain with every succulent chomp. Not to
mention soiled clothing, tracked-in mud and salty back sweat.
Luckily, a snug set of seat covers will bear the brunt of
any spillage and grime you can toss at it.
Kids and Pets
Nothing's quite as adorable as the mesmerized look of a toddler
who's discovering the sweet, luscious delights of his or her
first birthday cake. At the same time, that image of a child's
tiny digits grabbing chunks of chocolate cake by the fist-full
and smearing it over every square inch of their upper body
should remind us that kids are just as messy as they are cute.
And, while you can easily mop away accidents in your kitchen, it
becomes a huge hassle when it happens in your back seat. The
same goes for your furry, four-legged co-pilot. Not only does
slobber leave white-bordered saliva stains, hair clings to
everything and is a nightmare to remove. Plus, their sharp
little talons can rip, tear and gouge your upholstery,
especially leather. However, the right set of seat covers will
shield your seats from the messes that children and pets
inevitably create.
Friction
While getting in and out of your vehicle may seem like a
harmless operation, it is, in fact, putting a lot of stress on
your seats. Like sandpaper on a jagged block of wood, the
texture of your clothing grates against the texture of the
upholstery (leather and cloth alike). This constant friction
between your body and your seat steadily grinds away at your
upholstery. As time passes, the strength of the leather or
fabric starts to wane, and it will eventually start becoming
threadbare, torn and split. Of course, this pitiful fate can
easily be avoided with a quality set of seat covers.
UV Damage
Just because every form of life on Earth is dependent on the sun
for its existence doesn't mean that solar rays aren't a mixed
blessing. Too much sun exposure is not healthy for our skin, and
it certainly is harmful to our upholstery. Leather is especially
susceptible to sun damage because UV radiation dries out the
natural oils in the leather. Without these oils keeping things
moist, the leather will eventually start to crack. Cloth
upholstery is also in danger. Direct sunlight on your fabrics
has a bleaching effect. Where once your seats were dark blue or
black, an overdose of ultra violet radiation will leave your
seats looking purple or ashen. Since you can't always park in
the shade, you can give yourself year-round protection with a
snazzy set of seat covers.
A Guide to Covering Your Damaged Seats
Sometimes bad things happen to good upholstery. If the interior
of your vehicle has suffered some cruel twist of fate (a leaky
pen left lying in the backseat, or a torn seam that's
threatening to unravel completely), you have the ability to
rejuvenate your vehicle's seats without having to go through the
hassle of a complete reupholster job. Instead of calling up your
dealer and shelling out an arm and a leg for new seats, you can
simply slide a new set of seat covers directly over the old
ones. No muss, no fuss-just great looking seat covers that fit like a glove.
There are three different types seat covers, a custom fit,
semi-custom fit and universal fit. Let's take a closer look at
the benefits you get with each style.
Custom Fit Seat Covers
Just as an Armani suit is properly measured, cut and stitched to
fit the unique shapes and contours of the wearer, so too is a
custom fit seat cover meticulously designed for a precise fit
over your seats. No part of your particular vehicle's seat is
forgotten or overlooked - not the position of the head rest, nor
the location of the seat's ergonomic controls, nor even where
your seatbelts are mounted. Everything is taken into
consideration, and these made-to-measure seat covers will fit
like they were factory-installed. Moreover, custom fit seat
covers will not obstruct your seat's side-impact airbags, so
you'll be just as secure as before, only with better looking and
better protected upholstery.
Semi-Custom Fit Seat Covers
While a tailor-made suit fits your body to a T, off-the-rack
clothing still looks and feels great, and you usually have
enough left over for a matching shirt and tie. Semi-custom fit
seat covers are the economical alternative to the tailored suit.
They are stitched together following patterns that will work
with your vehicle's seats as well as with similarly sized seats
in other cars, trucks and SUVs. Except for the 3 Star
Semi-Custom Sheepskin Seat Cover,
semi-custom fit seat covers do not leave access to lumbar
controls, and they should not be used if you have side-impact
airbags on your vehicle. Nevertheless, they deliver fantastic
protection against the whole gamut of seating hazards.
Universal Seat Covers
Like the name implies, universal seat covers fit any high-back
and low-back bucket seat, regardless of your year, make or
model. Rather than being used as long-term coverings, our
universal seat covers are a perfect companion in your vehicle
for when life gets a little messy. They install in seconds, so
you can slip them on when you need them and store them away in
your trunk when you don't. Like the semi-custom seat covers, the
universal seat covers should not be used on seats with
side-impact airbags.
Tips On Making Over Your Interior
Your vehicle is more than just a means of transportation - it is
an extension of your identity, your personality and your
uniqueness. You want your vehicle to mirror yourself, and the
right set of seat covers is an excellent way to personalize your
interior. And, with all the different colors, patterns and
materials at your disposal, you have an almost limitless array
of ways to customize your car seats.