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42 Posts
Short story: It is likely in my best interests to get rid of the driver & passenger seats in my 2017 Promaster and I've come here to find out what replacement options I have.
Longer story: I was getting disturbing symptoms in the van, including dizziness and nausea. I used heavy plastic to isolate different sections of the cab and discovered that I was reacting to the headliner and overhead shelf (the carpet-type stuff). With less air movement the fabric also clearly smelled like mold. I also react to something coming up from under the rubberized floor mat. I thought about selling but I'd lose something like $10k doing that. My next option is to remediate -- get rid of anything that causes the symptoms. First to go was the headliner and overhead tray carpet stuff. (I paid a Task Rabbit person to come out and do that.) Although I put plastic over the seats, I did not seal it carefully because I already knew the cloth seats would have the mold's toxins completely embedded in them. So now when I go to sit in the van (say, to roll up the windows), I feel poorly very quickly.
In the best of all worlds I would replace the seats with swivel, adjustable, heated leather seats. (In a really warped world, as long as I don't spend over $10k on remediation, I've "saved" money. LOL.)
Desired features in descending order of priority:
- Adjustable in as many ways as possible
- Aisle-side arm rest
- Heated
- Leather
- Swivel
Why can't I just re-cover my existing seats? Because they are fabric, the mold / mold toxins will have penetrated through the weave of the fabric and into the cushioning.
Why leather? Because fabric is a mold-and-dust sink and vinyl would add to the VOCs in the van, especially on hot days.
Difficulties:
- My van came with standard (non-swivel) seats.
- I am 5' 3" and will be travelling with a short 12-year-old.
- It is in my best interests to have my hands on the leather that will be used to cover the seat before it is put onto the seat -- I need to know that I won't react to it. (I got a real leather belt in the mail that I had to literally throw away from my body because my reaction was so strong. On the other hand, I've had 2 new leather loveseats in the past 2 years and have loved both of them.)
- I don't want to wait 6 months for a custom-made seat to be made.
Note that I have already located a place that will re-cover seats in leather and they will allow me to bring leather I have selected elsewhere to them.
I'd love solutions for both "dream big" and "don't spend more than you have to".
Thanks!
Longer story: I was getting disturbing symptoms in the van, including dizziness and nausea. I used heavy plastic to isolate different sections of the cab and discovered that I was reacting to the headliner and overhead shelf (the carpet-type stuff). With less air movement the fabric also clearly smelled like mold. I also react to something coming up from under the rubberized floor mat. I thought about selling but I'd lose something like $10k doing that. My next option is to remediate -- get rid of anything that causes the symptoms. First to go was the headliner and overhead tray carpet stuff. (I paid a Task Rabbit person to come out and do that.) Although I put plastic over the seats, I did not seal it carefully because I already knew the cloth seats would have the mold's toxins completely embedded in them. So now when I go to sit in the van (say, to roll up the windows), I feel poorly very quickly.
In the best of all worlds I would replace the seats with swivel, adjustable, heated leather seats. (In a really warped world, as long as I don't spend over $10k on remediation, I've "saved" money. LOL.)
Desired features in descending order of priority:
- Adjustable in as many ways as possible
- Aisle-side arm rest
- Heated
- Leather
- Swivel
Why can't I just re-cover my existing seats? Because they are fabric, the mold / mold toxins will have penetrated through the weave of the fabric and into the cushioning.
Why leather? Because fabric is a mold-and-dust sink and vinyl would add to the VOCs in the van, especially on hot days.
Difficulties:
- My van came with standard (non-swivel) seats.
- I am 5' 3" and will be travelling with a short 12-year-old.
- It is in my best interests to have my hands on the leather that will be used to cover the seat before it is put onto the seat -- I need to know that I won't react to it. (I got a real leather belt in the mail that I had to literally throw away from my body because my reaction was so strong. On the other hand, I've had 2 new leather loveseats in the past 2 years and have loved both of them.)
- I don't want to wait 6 months for a custom-made seat to be made.
Note that I have already located a place that will re-cover seats in leather and they will allow me to bring leather I have selected elsewhere to them.
I'd love solutions for both "dream big" and "don't spend more than you have to".
Thanks!