Looking for recommendations on getting dusty smell from old fabric

[zirconx]

Hi, I'm looking for recommendations on getting rid of the dusty smell from my 2006 motor home. It has a cloth interior more similar to house furniture upholstery. I've looked through a lot of youTiube videos about cleaning interior fabric, but all the fabric in those examples is different from mine. I have the two front captains chairs to do, as well as a chair & couch in the back.

They look pretty clean, but when the motor home is closed up I can smell something like "dust" from them when I get close to the furniture. I don't think it's a musty smell, I think it's more like dust.

I have an ozone machine and that did seem to help a bit, or at least I didn't notice for a while after I did that. It's not super obvious, most people can't smell it.a

Should I just soap it up good with a bristle brush and then vacuum it out? Would a steam cleaner work good here?

Thanks.

Edit - sorry about the very small photo, I tried it several times and I either get an error that the file is too large, or it comes out like this.

[Nick Winn]

Not sure what you are thinking in regard to "soaping it up" but wanted to first mention that we for sure would recommend using a very specific automotive product made for this task. A few options we have are below:

Meguiar's Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner - 19 oz. (meguiarsdirect.com)
Meguiar's D107 Citrus Power Cleaner Plus, 32 oz. RTU (meguiarsdirect.com)

The aerosol can option above, our G191419 Carpet & Upholstery cleaner is a good DIY option that dispenses as a foam. This helps to not get the upholstery too saturated. Remember the more wet and deeper you try to clean, the more of a project it can kind of become. There are even professional carpet extractor equipment companies which offers special "dry" attachments which attempt to leave the upholstery more dry for quicker overall drying. Something to keep in mind. The DRTU Citrus Power Cleaner would be a stronger approach for heavy grime, even grease.

The products in this below video are no longer made, but you could practice the "bonnet cleaning method" highlighted in the video below, where one would wrap a cotton terry cloth towel around a stiff bristled brush. It is what I usually use for cleaning large areas like a seat. Many people seem to like those household Bissell Carpet Extractors for automotive use as well you can get in the vacuum section at Target/WalMart/Amazon.

These are designed to eliminate odors as well. Just be advised with the whole car air refreshers as they can have a strong fragrance left behind which some users may or may not prefer.

Meguiar's? Carpet & Cloth Refresher (meguiarsdirect.com)
Air Fresheners - Interior - Car Care (meguiarsdirect.com)

Hope this can get you started & feel free to follow up.