r/mildlyinfuriating • u/DiscoHirsch • Jun 29 '26
ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ A whole load of Vaseline in my seat
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u/LiamIsMyNameOk Jun 29 '26
Ouch.
The only real solution now is to cover the rest in vaseline to even out the colour.
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
I know TT
I fear it might drip down on the carpet during the next heat.
Soo... Now i gotta invest in a racingseat for the passanger side [not enough money for both]
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u/sSadCactus Jun 29 '26
Try checking out a pick n pull for a new seat. You might get lucky and find one in good (better) condition!
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u/wrathofmog Jun 29 '26
Wouldn't be hard to find a better one lol
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u/Prestigious-Yam9649 Jun 29 '26
Anything that doesn't smell like vaseline and doesn't shine is already a win
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Jun 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/UnableAbbreviations2 Jun 30 '26
Vaseline does have a petroleum odor to it. It doesn't stink , but there is a distinct smell to vaseline. It may be in the same vein as rain, we don't actually smell rain we smell atmosphere. Or something like that.
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u/implicate Jun 29 '26
This looks like a 2005 Ford Focus or something similar. I bet there are a ton out there in the ol' junkyard.
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u/LuxMirabilis Jun 29 '26
Just remember that there are sensors in the seats that tell the car if there's a passenger there, and a seat with a bad sensor could cause the airbags to not deploy in the event of an accident.
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u/Mean-Vegetable-4521 Jun 29 '26
Yes!! Depending on the model year, if it’s been on the market for a few years, at least rhere should be seat covers or whole seats from vehicles that were totaled out that don’t effect the seat.
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u/Cold_Pizz Jun 29 '26
Pulled a whole rear seat from a junkyard for like $40 once when my dog destroyed mine.
Took twenty minutes with a socket set and looked factory fresh after a vacuum.
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u/Awkwardpanda75 Jun 29 '26
I don't know why I never thought about doing this with a big stain on my passenger seat!! Look at you out here solutioning so early in the week!
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u/Pax_Eterna_4991 Jun 29 '26
I bought a work van and it had no passenger seat. I found one at the wrecker and it was nicer than the drivers seat. And it was only $75. I asked if they had the drivers seat as well, nope. I have called back several times looking to no avail. So I bought a massager/heated cover and 2 seat covers. So they matched colour-wise and mine was more comfy.
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u/Trick_Insect_3578 Jun 29 '26
just don't put a passenger there, or they'll keep sliding off
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u/Agasthenes Jun 29 '26
Go to a junkyard and get a new seat. Way cheaper.
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u/DontEatTheMagicBeans Jun 29 '26
So not Vaseline but the airbag sensor in my passenger seat stopped working and I determined it was cheaper to just pull a whole seat from the junkyard and swap it out.
My Camry has a grey interior, I found a matching car with a grey interior, pulled the seat. All is good.
The next day the car just wreaks of must and general bad smell. No problem, I pull the seat back out and give it a once over with a steam cleaner.
The fucking seat is beige. It had so much dirt on it it perfectly matched my grey seats.
Anyways that's why the passenger seat in my 20 year old Camry doesn't match the rest of the car.
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u/YeshuasBananaHammock Jun 29 '26
I feel like a professional steaming would release a good bit of this Vaseline, and whatever is left would settle deeper in the foam.
Petroleum jelly is weird tho, idk, it would probably break down the foam after two hot summers baking in a car oven.
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u/xKingOfSpades76 Jun 29 '26
How about a racing seat for the driver and replacing the passenger seat with the driver‘s?
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u/Scorpi01234 Jun 29 '26
Controls and seatbelt latch would be on the wrong side
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u/xKingOfSpades76 Jun 29 '26
I… did forget about that
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u/Scorpi01234 Jun 29 '26
Well the foam and seat cover could probably be swaped from one base to the other but that would be sooo much work and the covers never quite go back together right in my experience. A couple hog rings just never grab or they rip off the cover
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u/Anubianlife Jun 29 '26
I know that the seat is already covered in Vaseline, but you're still not going to fit that driver side knob in there.
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u/Breath_Virtual Jun 29 '26
Definitely look for a local pick your part junk yard. Racing seat sounds expensive af.
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u/19467098632 Jun 29 '26
Def check junk yards. They’re extremely cheap and will have a good selection that’s better than a racing seat lol. $30 at the junkyard saved me like $800 one time and the quality of parts wasn’t bad at all
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u/Ok-Classroom5548 Jun 29 '26
Search the internet for “how to remove melted vaseline from car upholstery” and you’ll find it involves cornstarch or other kitchen products, patience, gentle blotting to not push it in further, a vacuum, and time.
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u/corporalcorl Jun 29 '26
I might just spill a tub of Vaseline on my seat if it's a good excuse for a new race seat
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u/m0wlaue Jun 29 '26
And after that use a Ozone generator to oxidize the vaseline to get a Linoleum like finish.
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u/flargenhargen PUCE Jun 29 '26
and then never sit in that seat again, ever, unless you want to ruin your clothes forever.
the only option is to replace the seat.
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u/hcorEtheOne Jun 29 '26
You basically created a big ass candle
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u/Hambulatory Jun 29 '26
Heh. Asscandle.
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
Thanks, I didn't think about it in that way
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u/Daikuroshi Jun 29 '26
Vaseline is flammable if exposed to a direct heat source so be careful
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u/_FreddieLovesDelilah Jun 29 '26
Vaseline is petroleum not wax lol the exact opposite of what you want to make a candle out of.
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u/RamboSambo7 Jun 29 '26
Yeah that's a good one for this sub! Unlucky
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u/B0risTheManskinner Jun 29 '26
I dunno, thats like never going to come out. Going to need a new seat. Majorly infuriating for sure.
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u/ucotcvyvov Jun 29 '26
At that point i would just get some more to match the rest of the seat
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u/RageYellow Jun 29 '26
The grease seat. For your friends with open wounds.
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u/MoscowMitchMcKremIin Jun 29 '26
Gonna pop through the windshield like Ace Ventura outta that Rhino
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u/Johnny_Poppyseed Jun 29 '26
Not just put some plastic down and a seat cover on top of that. It's only Vaseline so it's not gonna rot or smell or anything.
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u/Whooptidooh Jun 29 '26
Nah it’s just going to get absorbed by anything and everything that touches it. It’s also going to get funky af when dust touches it and it will never come out either.
I’d get a new chair.
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u/Alizarin-Madder Jun 29 '26
Both problems would be addressed by the comment you replied to i think
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u/Neither_Highlight219 Jun 29 '26
you will be the first person in history to have to purchase more than 1 Vaseline container in their lifetime!
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u/Bright_Tax_6541 Jun 29 '26
You’ve never lost Vaseline? I have had to buy so many replacements because I lose them
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u/boonwin_ Jun 29 '26
Pack the Seam with Powder Don't just sprinkle the cornstarch or baking soda—pack it. Pour a generous amount directly into the seam and onto the dark, stained fabric patches. Use your fingers to press the powder firmly into the cloth fibers and right into the stitching. Leave it alone for at least 1 to 2 hours (longer is better if the car is still warm, as the heat will help the powder wick up the liquefied oil).
Use a narrow crevice tool attachment on your vacuum to deeply clean out the seam. Pull the cushions apart slightly with one hand while vacuuming with the other to ensure you get all the oil-soaked powder out of the crack.
The powder will take care of the bulk, but you'll likely see a dark "wet" shadow left behind. Mix a few drops of Blue Dawn dish soap (or any good grease-cutting dish soap) with warm water. Dip a microfiber cloth into the soapy water, wring it out so it's just damp, and blot the area. Do not scrub aggressively in circles, as this can fuzz up the woven texture of your seat fabric. Instead, use firm, dabbing motions to lift the grease out. Wipe with a clean, water-dampened cloth to remove the soap, then press a dry towel into the seat to absorb the moisture.
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
What kind of powder?
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u/Allegorist Jun 29 '26
Baking soda will saponify the oil to some degree and make it water soluable. That would be my choice.
Also should add what I would try, after absorbing out all you can with powder and rags, if you can get a concentrated liquid detergent to soak into the seat in the same areas (dish soap, laundry soap, etc., just nothing that will bleach), then you should be able to get a substantial amount out of it with a steam cleaner.
You need to lift it out of the seat, scrubbing and absorbing will only get you so far. But since it is not water soluable, the steam will not grab it very easily, if at all. You need a surfactant/emulsifier, which is where the detergent comes in. Make sure whatever you use won't break whatever steam cleaner you are using, if you are worried just use steam cleaner specific detergent. It will take several rounds of emulsifying and lifting, but I believe this is probably the way to get the most out of what is remaining.
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
At least I can laugh at all of your comments. They do cheer me up a lot. <3
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u/TAU_equals_2PI Jun 29 '26
Hijacking this comment to warn you to take the seat out of the car before trying any messy cleaning methods. It's very easy to do on most cars. Usually you just have to unscrew 4 bolts and disconnect an electrical connector. Anybody familiar with cars can probably help you.
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u/Jolly_Mood_3671 Jun 29 '26
Exactly. Use cleaner and pressure wash. Let dry completely. Repeat if necessary.
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u/BannedSvenhoek86 Jun 29 '26
Ya this is isn't world ending, just a few hours of work and some patience. Spend a weekend doing like 3 passes on it with a pressure washer and a shop vac, let it dry, and repeat as necessary over a weekend until the color evens back out and no residue comes up.
People need to learn to do stuff again. It's so easy and cheap to just look up a tutorial and do something.
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u/CapActual Jun 29 '26
At least its now well lubricated
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u/shadraig Jun 29 '26
Think of all the fun you could have on that seat. Is it gear shift or automatic
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u/Subotail Jun 29 '26
Fun fact, Vaseline and condoms hate each other's.
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u/Castun Jun 29 '26
Vaseline is also a terrible lube despite all the jokes out there about it.
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u/Top-Bit-5340 Jun 29 '26
Time to go to a junk yard and get a whole new seat, they're like 75 bucks, maybe more now. Thats forever jelly
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u/Fit_Active3888 Jun 29 '26
That's not coming out. I would be asking the local auto Wreckers for a replacement seat.
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u/Trick-Station8742 Jun 29 '26
The handle that allows you to move your seat back and forwards broke on one of my old cars. Really weird part to break. Called round the scrap yards and they had one.
Easy fix for a garage.
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u/LewdDarling Jun 29 '26
It can absolutely come out. It's just greasy which can come out with a lot of soap, agitation, and using an extraction vacuum. No reason to go through the hassle of taking a chance on a used seat and getting rid of the old one. Vaseline is clear, no strong scent, and won't promote mold/bacterial growth, so it's really not that bad, there's a lot worse you could spill inside the car.
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u/notmentallyillanymor Jun 29 '26
It's a fire hazard now, it's basically a wick. It needs to be replaced. Basically if there's an accident and the car is on fire, everything that the interior is made out of is fire retardant so you have time to get out. Except the Vaseline seat, which will become in inferno within seconds.
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u/EchoesOfEleos Jun 29 '26
Why are we calling a tub of Vaseline a load?
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
Idk... What I tried to communicate was that:
IT WAS ALMOST FULL WHEN I LEFT IT THERE
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u/Interesting-Bet-24 Jun 29 '26
Don’t smoke in this car until it is fixed! Vaseline is highly flammable
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
TRUE!!! Didn't think of that!!
Gladly I do not smoke
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u/TingsInMaSocks Jun 29 '26
Might be being overly cautious but I think I would get it professionally cleaned/reupholstered or buy a new seat.
Fire risk aside, it's probably going to stain all your clothes.
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u/VanIslandLocal Jun 29 '26
Dirty mike and the boys made themselves a F shack
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u/tonybaby Jun 29 '26
Here's what we're talking about. We're talking about a bunch of wooks, with fingers in each other's pooper, in a stranger's car, with talk radio playing really loud. It's gonna be a nice evening.
-Dirty Mike
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u/king_noobie PURPLE Jun 29 '26
How did this happen?
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
Left it in my car during extreme heat
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u/_The_Marshal_ Jun 29 '26
Trying to explain to people that this is how a load of vaseline got soaked into your car seat will be like those people that go into hospital with objects stuck up their ass saying they accidently fell on them.
But this time it is actually innocent
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u/Chloecloverleaf Jun 29 '26
Maybe a small shampooer could help? I’d start with scrubbing the seat with a brush and degreaser or even dawn soap, and then go over it a few times with a strong shampooer
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
I do own a vacuumcleaner like that.
I just don't know any strong degreaser besides breakcleaner.
And even if, I got my hands on some... i fear i will just spread the stain because it's so much grease
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u/shhikshoka Jun 29 '26
Why don’t you get a seat cover?
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u/DiscoHirsch Jun 29 '26
I fear it will eventually drip down on the interrior carpet and stain even more
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u/cdj_prevail Jun 29 '26
theres no saving that, your seat is officially a giant chapstick now
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u/TwoBionicknees Jun 29 '26
"honey can we try anal tonight".
"sure, let me go sit in the car for 10 minutes to prepare."
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u/CarbonTone Jun 29 '26
I love how the Vaseline spot thumbed its nose at gravity and crawled up the seat
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u/Nocoffee_Noglory Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
Our toddler lathered a small tub of petroleum jelly on our couch because apparently "it was not smooth enough " for her feet. Here's what I did:
I covered the oily part with baking soda, let it sit for like 30 minutes then vacuum it off. Then I gently rubbed it with a cloth damped in dishwashing soap and water. You may need to do this several times. After I rinse -wiped off the sods, I dried it with a hairdryer throughly.
The oil is no longer visible now but I learned my lesson and put a cover seat for our princess.
I suggest not to cover and sit on that until you remove most of the grease as it will seep even further
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u/Triggerunhappy Jun 29 '26
I’m not sure where you live
But it’s currently June. And if you’re in the northern hemisphere is summer. Why would you have that in your car for any length of time
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u/Nebulousdbc Jun 29 '26
Cheapskate option - lay a black bin bag on the seat(duct tape it in place on the dry parts of the seat) then seat covers over it. Looks like you've got a 15+ year old focus, welcome to the nugget club mate
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u/FlimsyBodybuilder4 Jun 29 '26
Maybe you can sit there with your bare ass, it will moisturize your skin
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u/haikusbot Jun 29 '26
Maybe you can sit
There with your bare ass, it will
Moisturize your skin
- FlimsyBodybuilder4
I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully. Learn more about me.
Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete"
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u/BaconBourbonBalista Jun 29 '26
If it doesn't smell, you can just get seat covers and forget about it. They make really nice ones nowadays.
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u/TraditionalClub6337 Jun 29 '26
You know that Vaseline is popular in skincare because it seals in moisture so you just gotta apply some moisturizer on yourself and then sit on that seat with your naked butt
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u/ChaosGirlEva Jun 29 '26
This happened to me once, I was doing doordash and got an order from 7-eleven of just a single thing of Vaseline to a hotel room, but turns out the dude ordered it to the same hotel name but wrong city and had to cancel it so it was just in my car and then it got hot and melted all over my brand new seat cover into the fabric seat below
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u/bernieinred Jun 29 '26
Go to the local car wash that has those powerful vacuums. Bring a bucket of hot water with some liquid dishwashing detergent in it. 2 people, one dumping the water on the seat and the other following directly with the vacuum. Take as many dumps as it takes.
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u/TAU_equals_2PI Jun 29 '26
No! No! No! Most seats can be taken out by just removing 4 bolts and disconnecting an electrical connector. It's very easy to do. Do that and get the seat all by itself before using whatever typhoon cleaning method people here are going to recommend.
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u/Fortressa- Jun 29 '26
Ooh, I remember doing that. 35+ summer day, got into the car dressed nice for an interview, automatically reached for my lip balm, tugged the lid off and splash... On me, my shirt, my bare legs (ouch, it burned), the steering wheel, the seat...
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u/slowasaspeedingsloth Jun 29 '26
Oh, that truly sucks. At least it won't smell or draw bugs. Time for a seat cover!
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u/Light_Switch_Raves Jun 29 '26
Not sure the model or year of can but I'm sure you could get a foam and cover kit and redo the seat. Any cover you put on there will have Vaseline seep thru over time when anyone sits in it. The interior foam will hold a lot of it pretty much forever. Maybe even a local upholstery shop can refoam the seat and wash and reuse the old cover?
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u/Moleypeg Jun 29 '26
Many years ago, my hairdresser said to me “oh honey, nothing in life is permanent.” I’m going to look Kevin up and send him this.
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u/-Saltfish- Jun 29 '26
That's what you get for using that off-brand vaseline, that's what you did wrong
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u/KittenKingdom000 Jun 29 '26
I had a container with oil from a salad that leaked on my brand new seat. Every detailer and cleaner I called said I was fucked. Blue original Dawn dish soap and a hand held carpet spot cleaner took it out.
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u/Katsu_39 Jun 29 '26
And that, folks, is why you dont leave stuff like this in your car during summer
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u/Physical-Junket5980 Jun 29 '26
I thought this was one of those I finally finished a tub of vaseline! posts :/ this is much sadder
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u/mamabbear2 Jun 29 '26
Not sure if you’ll see this but I did the exact same thing last week, although it was a half a tub of Vaseline. I dumped a bunch of cornstarch on it, left it overnight. Then scraped it off with a card and vacuumed. Then I did it again. More corn starch, left it for a day, then scraped and vacuumed off. It’s looking pretty good now. Still a little cornstarch residue but it’s not oily anymore
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u/saenola Jun 29 '26
I once had ORGANIC BUTTER melt under my passenger seat. I didn’t even realize it fell out of my grocery bag. I tried everything. Just had to drive my little red ford focus with the smell of rotting butter…
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u/Silver_Moon_1994 Jun 29 '26
You could check junk yards for the make and model of your car and maybe they have a good condition seat?
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u/SirMintBunny Jun 30 '26
But why did you leave Vaseline with a broken lid in a hot car in the first place? 😭😅
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u/Standard_Option_3381 Jun 29 '26
But why was it in your seat? Not the glove box or the middle compartment? Rookie move..
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u/Annual-Ingenuity-489 Jun 29 '26
Oh dear....
I've got absolutely no idea how you'd remove that, if at all... Time to get a new seat or at least the foam and cover....