GiantEli

Anyone have the alcantra and a dog?

I'm picking between two cars today that are otherwise identical.

Car 1 shows up March 15 and has the alcantra and the sport diff.
Car 2 shows up April 1 and has silk leather.

Otherwise, both have the nav/b&o/carbon fiber.

So, I'm wondering if cleaning dog hair out of the suede-ish stuff is difficult. I'll put a seat cover on the back when the pup is in the car, but there might be an exception or two. Also, dog hair gets everywhere, so the front seats are "in play" as well.

Thoughts?

Minneapolis Mike

Sportsdiff is worth the dog hair.

GiantEli

See, this is what I was thinking, especially since it's here first and I just shipped my X5 off this past weekend, so I'm without a car until one of these two becomes mine.

Do you have the alcantra? is it tough to clean?

mellow_sparky

You'll let a dog sit in your car?!?!

(just kidding)....

If you go to the Alcantara website, they have a document there that outlines how to clean the material. It's synthetic, so it holds up to cleaning quite well. However if something actually spilled on it, that might be a pain to get out. I'm a "no food or drink in the car" type of person, so mine stays pretty clean.

GiantEli

The car is really his, as I can walk to the office and pretty much everywhere else.

Thanks! I didn't even think to do that...there wasn't anything specific to pets there, but I got the gist.

Minneapolis Mike

I do have the Alcantara and in terms of dog hair it really depends on the dog. My great dane had a longer courser hair and a damp cloth was often the best way I found to pick up a few loose hairs (I covered the backseat when he climbs in the back and hair in the front seats was relatively rare and happened when window/sun roof was open). Had to put him to sleep so non issue in the new S4 but it really wasn't much of an issue then.

If your dog has thinner/finer hair, (think of cat hair) this can be a real challenge. But short of that, I still would stick to the sports diff. In the end, by having a dog, your already somewhat comfortable that it will not always be spotless and a few preventative measures will keep you 90% perfect.

NWS4Guy

Yes this material will pull hair into it easily. Best way to get animal hair out of microfiber is very simple.

Get a brand new typical, cheap, yellow rubber glove set like you would do the dishes with. Rinse the powder it ships with off in clean water with no soap for a minute or so. DRY IT COMPLETELY.

Put the glove on and just gently wipe the glove hand all over the alcantara - the animal hair will easily and aggresively stick to the rubber. Doesn't harm the alcantara at all and removes all the hair in a few swipes.

AlA4

I don't have alcantra in my S4 but I do have it in my dodge truck. My dogs don't ride in the S4 but the back seat of the truck is their normal transportation. I have 2 boxers and thier hair is drawn to the alcantra but I have had no problem getting it out with a shop vac. I do have to change the filter every few months to keep the suction up. I would assume that the S4's alcantra would be much higher quality than my truck's as well.

GiantEli

All great ideas...thanks!

I put the order in for the Alcantara-clad car...now I have to wait 2 weeks (not bad, I know).

Judyw

I am also a pet parent, and dogs often leave some mess, especially some smell and hair. I am really crazy. My friend introduced me to using a hand vacuum, I don't know if it works. But any method is worth a try, or do you have any other methods?