As mentioned by Shirley Niemeyer (Published in Upholstered Furniture Care: Cleaning and Stain Removal), upholstered furniture is a significant investment in your home. Thus, upholstery fabrics require maintenance to keep their attractive appearance. When we sit or lay on our upholstered furniture, sweat, dirt, dander, and oil all transfer from us and onto our furniture. Over time, this starts to make our furniture look and smell unappealing.
Upholstery isn’t just used in our living rooms; however, upholstery can also be found in our cars and can become just as dirty as our furniture.
Upholstery Cleaning Tips
To keep your upholstery as fresh as possible, keep the following upholstery cleaning tips in mind:
01. Weekly Maintenance for Upholstered Furniture
Vacuuming your carpet once a week is necessary; it helps remove dirt and allergens from your floor.
Whenever you vacuum your carpets, get in the habit of vacuuming your upholstery. It will remove hair and other debris from your furniture. Most vacuums come with a specialised upholstery attachment; if yours doesn’t have one, buy one.
While debris can still get embedded within the deeper fibres of your upholstery, vacuuming once a week will prevent grime from building up on the surface of your upholstery. As mentioned by Shirley Niemeyer (Published in Upholstered Furniture Care: Cleaning and Stain Removal), while vacuuming, avoid using a stiff fibre or metal brush; it may damage the fabric. Each time you vacuum the furniture, reverse the seat and back cushions.
If you have kids or pets, you might need to vacuum your upholstery more often. You can also use a lint roller to pick up pet hair during the other days of the week.
If you need to know more about usage of vacuum cleaner, here we provide some pro tips:
02. Take Care of Accidents Immediately
No matter how careful you are with your upholstery, something happens.
Whether it is your toddler spilling a cup of milk or your cat coughing up a hairball, an accident on your couch, chair, or car upholstery isn’t any fun.
Whenever something gets spilled onto your upholstery or your pet has an accident, you’ll want to clean it up immediately before it has time to absorb into the fibres of your upholstery fully.
For liquids, press a dry towel firmly onto the spot. Do not rub; this can force the liquid to spread. For food, vomit, or feces, try to remove as much of the mess as possible before using a towel dipped in water to blot at your upholstery.
03. Treat Stubborn Stains
Unfortunately, most of us aren’t able to immediately clean up spills or accidents, which results in a stain on the upholstery. Bodily fluids, certain liquids, and food might also leave behind odours.
One option is to use a commercial cleaning product to stain-treat your upholstery. It should help remove stubborn stains.
If you don’t want to use a commercial cleaning product, you can try making your own out of the water, vinegar, and dish soap. Blot the mixture onto the spot until the stain lifts, blot again with clean water, and then let dry.
As for smells, try sprinkling baking soda over the spot. Baking soda is a deodorizer. Let it absorb the odour, then vacuum the area.
04. Deep Clean Once A Year
While vacuuming and stain treating can help keep upholstery looking fresh, once a year you’ll want to do a deep clean with a steam cleaner.
A steam cleaner will help lift deeply embedded debris, leaving your upholstery as fresh and clean as possible. If you don’t have a steam cleaner, you might want to hire a professional cleaner.
Professional cleaners will have the right tools and chemicals to clean your sofa and get rid of even the most stubborn stains.
You can also hire professionals to clean the upholstery in your car. If your car seats are starting to look dirty, consider hiring Sunrise Chemdry; they provide the best upholstery cleaning in Phoenix and consider such professional in other cities.
05. Cover If Necessary
If your upholstered furniture or your car seats are starting to look particularly bad, and doing a deep clean hasn’t helped, it could be time to cover things up.
They make slipcovers for couches and chairs. Slipcovers come in a variety of colours and sizes, so you can find something that fits in with your decor. Slipcovers are also helpful for those who have pets that sleep on the furniture. Hair and dander come in contact with the slipcovers, not your couch.
As for your car, consider a waterproof car seat cover. These also come in a variety of styles, so you can pick one that matches your style. Plus, if you spill a drink in your car, the cover will be easier to clean up than your upholstery.
Final Thoughts
In a nutshell, when it comes to taking care of the sofa upholstery in your house, or upholstery of any furniture or your car, you’ll want to provide regular maintenance. Vacuuming, stain treatment, and deep cleans can help make the upholstery look and smell good.
While it is possible to maintain upholstery on your own, don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional when it comes time for those deep cleans. A professional will have the right tools and chemicals, no matter if you’re cleaning your upholstered sofa or are taking care of your dirty car seats.
Upholstery fabrics require regular maintenance to keep their appearance attractive. I hope you must have gone through the upholstery cleaning tips. Now, have a look at rug and carpet cleaning tips and cleaning tools for house cleaning.