Upholstery fabric and padding can make your furniture more comfortable to sit on. At the same time, these can be a bit difficult to clean, especially when compared to the metal or finished wood.
However, why should a small mistake wherein you mistakenly spill the coffee on the sofa be the end of the world for you? To overcome this problem, you can call a professional expert, or you can learn to clean the upholstery all by yourself.
In all honesty, it is not possible to run down every piece of furniture or upholstery fabric. However, if you are aware of certain basic tips for keeping your upholstery and furniture clean, you will a hundred percent see your desired success.
Now, let us get started, and take a look at these cleaning tips one by one.
Every few days, vacuum your upholstery.
Surprisingly, with a simple vacuuming task, you can renew your incredibly well. For this, all you need is a cleaner that has an upholstery attachment annexed to it. We would recommend you to vacuum your furniture every once a week. At the same time, every time you desire to undertake your home’s deep cleaning, the first step is vacuuming your furniture. It is a great way to work onto the surface dirt that sits deeper into the surface.
For this, you can start from the top and then take the vacuum all the way down. In this manner, you will save yourself from going onto the same area more than once. Once you are done with the front, you can tackle the sides and the back. Please bear in mind that the dust often tends to cling onto the sides and the back, too. So, it would help if you did not ignore it.
If you intend to clean the sofa at home, you should remove and vacuum underneath the cushions, too. In case your cushions are not removable, you can switch to the crevice tool. In case you have to get rid of the grime and dirt along the seams or the places, which may not be easily accessible, a vacuum cleaner may not be the ideal tool.
In this case, Samantha, a TFTH shares with us a simple tip. According to Samantha, to blow the dirt, dust, or debris out of the small spaces, you need a compressed air can. Well, you can sure try it to reach every nook and cranny of your upholstery.
Treat it immediately
Of course, we understand that it is tempting for you to ignore that juice spill until the next time you undertake your couch’s deep cleaning, but that is wrong. Amy, a TopAssignmentExperts representative, says that I live in a family with three small kids, and it is almost every alternate day that she is doing a spot treatment for one thing or the other. Well, we, too, would recommend you the same.
Regardless of the time of the day, if there is even a small stain on your furniture or chair, you should clean it immediately; else, it will leave a permanent mark. Anytime you spill something on your upholstery, you should blot it with a paper towel or a clean cloth. Please bear in mind that you should never scrub or rub the stain. It will do you no good, and instead, it will spread the stain around or push it deeper into the upholstery.
One of the best things for spot treatment is a baby wipe, especially if you are tackling polyester, cotton, or leather upholstery. Before beginning with it, you should patch test. You can do it on the fabric’s section that is not easily visible from the front, back, or sides. Only after you are 100% certain that the baby wipes would in no way damage the fabric you can use them for the spot treatment. This is a helpful tip for the carpets as well.
Match the cleaner to the fabric
To successfully undertake upholstery cleaning, you need to acquire some professional knowledge. Almost every upholstery fabric that you find in the market comes with a label. On this label, you can find the cleaning instructions. See, if the label says W, it means that you can opt for the water-based cleaners.
In this case, you can either clean the upholstery with baby wipes or by adding a few liquid dish detergent in the bucket with lukewarm water. For this, you need to take a bucket. In it, make a concentrated solution of detergent in the ratio of 1:4. Zoe, an EduWorldUSA educator, says that she always shops for upholstery fabric with W written on them as they are relatively easier to maintain.
You can also find fabrics with S written on them. If the fabric says S, then it means that you have to use a solvent-based cleaner for your fabric. It is also called the dry-cleaning chemicals. We would honesty recommend you to take these fabrics to a professional for a thorough cleaning.
However, if that is not what you need, you can shop for these solvents used in the home dry cleaning kit at home. Do bear in mind the safety precautions for substance use, including skin sensitivity and proper ventilation.
Further, some fabrics come with W-S written on the label. It means that you can clean them with water-based or solvent-based cleaners, as may be convenient for you.
Lastly, if the fabric says X, it means that no cleaning agent must be used. So, in this case, you will either have to take the fabric to the professional or vacuum it; however, if you use a cleaning agent despite the mention of X, it can lead to staining or shrinking the fabric.
