Are white leather car seats a bad idea? We ask people who’ve tried it

My husband and I are in the process of upgrading our current car, and when the dealership called to inform us that the waitlist was open, we started looking into all the options available. 

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When we saw the photos of the white leather interior, we fell in love, but we have two boys under the age of five. With so much already on our plate, do we really need the stress of a white leather interior?

So, of course, I put the question forward to my local mums' Facebook group. And while there were arguments on both sides of the fence, there were several brave mums who own and maintain cars with light interiors.

Surprisingly, the problem is not so much what your grubby kids are going to do to your rear seats, but rather the possibility of clothing dye staining your front seats, particularly from getting in and out of your seat wearing jeans.

The first few responses I received were all very similar, “Don’t do it!” and “No to white!”. 

A mum who works in the car industry warned me saying, “They look great in the showroom, but they’ll never look the same again”. 

One even said, “Why would you do that to yourself?” to which I sarcastically responded, “Because I like a challenge!”.

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There were even a few who commented saying they’ve had white leather couches, and with the experience of trying to keep them clean, light leather car interiors are a "hard no".

But then there were several comments from brave mums who, proudly, have been able to maintain their white interiors – and their advice affirmed my stubborn desire to take on the challenge!

“I absolutely love it!” said one mum of two young boys. “I had protection done after delivery by the best detailer in my area using Gtechniq, which I am very happy with. I clean and maintain with Bowden's leather care products, 12 months down and I’m still loving it!”

Another mum who owns a Tesla with a white interior and has two boys aged eight and 10 shared, “It’s very easy to clean ... I do deny them eating in it”.

After speaking to the mums' group brain trust, I decided to also seek professional advice to ensure I do everything in my power to keep a future white interior looking fresh.

I spoke with John Pereira from In The Clear Auto Marine for tips on maintaining a white interior.

Mr Pereira's first piece of advice on white car seats, whether new or used, is to get them professionally protected, and then have them deep-cleaned and re-treated every 12 months from that point on.

His second piece of advice was much more interesting, “Make sure that if they’ve got any new jeans or are purchasing new jeans, to get them dry-cleaned. They just have to do it once, and that stops the dye going through”.

Mr Pereira said older jeans that have been washed aren't so much of a problem, but it’s the new purchases that affect the seats badly and it’s really hard to get denim stains out. 

A few mums recommended car seat covers, especially for the back seat and to cover the back of the two front seats where little feet like to kick.

Car seat covers might defeat the purpose of having beautiful white leather, but it is an option.

Mr Pereira told Drive there isn’t much difference between the mass-market products and the niche professional products.

“These days commercially, the consumer-level products are quite good. Whereas in the past the professionals did have access to unique chemicals, but you can get pretty good chemicals now at your local Super Cheap Auto or Repco store.”

After a quick search on Super Cheap Auto’s website, I was overwhelmed with choices for leather cleaners from several brands, the majority of which have four or five-star reviews.

Mr Pereira's recommendation on how to clean your white car seats is to take it to a professional detailer as getting the stains, dirt, skin oils and general grime out of the white leather can be difficult. 

If you’d rather do an at-home cleaning job, start with vacuuming your seats to remove all the large pieces of debris and crumbs. 

Follow that up with a leather cleaner of your choice, finishing off with a leather moisturiser to stop your leather from drying out and cracking. 

Leather wipes are also great to keep in your glovebox for a quick spot clean. 

Now, while Mr Pereira did say I was crazy for wanting a white leather interior with two young boys, he did tell me it was possible.

“If you follow all those protocols I mentioned it would stay clean. It would need a bit more maintenance than, say, your black leather or brown leather," he explained.

"Probably on par with your white leather lounge at home, it’s going to be more prone to showing wear and dirt on it."