Upholstered furniture is a comfortable and beautiful part of your home decor, unfortunately upholstery cleaning can be a tricky part of maintaining your home. No matter how careful you are with your furniture, spills and dirt are inevitably going to find their way onto it.
Cleaning upholstery can seem really confusing because unlike with clothing, you can’t just throw it in the washing machine. Upholstered furniture is meant to last a long time, so you will definitely want to find some good techniques for cleaning it.
For those of you who may be looking for the best way that you can clean upholstery, we have put together this helpful guide with six tips from the professionals at Next Day Cleaning. You can use these techniques to maintain your upholstered furniture so that it can last a long time looking clean and smelling fresh.
Regular Vacuuming
If you are serious about cleaning and maintaining your upholstery, you need to invest in a good vacuum with the right attachments for cleaning upholstery. The upholstery cleaning attachment looks like a smaller version of the big vacuum, with a brush that rotates to lift up dirt and stains.
You also need to actually use your vacuum on your upholstery at least once a week so that you are not just cleaning it when it is dirty, but preventing it from getting dirty. If you let dirt and other messes sit on you furniture for too long, it will set deeper into the fibers of the upholstery and could start to be abrasive on the fiber and they could be ruined.
If you vacuum every week, dirt won’t have the chance to damage your upholstery and it will last much longer. It can be hard to keep up this maintenance schedule, but it will really add years to the life of your furniture.
To start you want to vacuum in one direction, then when you have covered an entire section, vacuum again in the other direction. Always try to be delicate with you vacuum and don’t press too hard onto the furniture.
Read the Care Label
All upholstered furniture should have a care label sewn into a seam or attached to the bottom of it. It will have a code on it, where a “W” means it is safe to use water based cleaners, an “S” means only use solvent based cleaners, “W,S” means you can use water or solvent and an “X” means to vacuum only.
Follow these guidelines and you will not accidentally ruined your upholstery by using the wrong upholstery cleaning product. When you first try a cleaning product on your furniture you should test a patch in a spot that is not too noticeable to make sure that it is not staining or damaging your furniture.
Upholstery cleaning services will always read the label before starting work on any piece of furniture and you should too. You can also contact the manufacturer to inquire about which products they recommend for your furniture.
By not following the care label, you also run the risk of voiding your warranty, which can be a big problem if a manufacturing defect does arise in the future.
Use Moisture Sparingly
It is important to be careful about not using too much wet cleaning products when cleaning your upholstery. Use the minimum amount you can to get the stain out and make sure it has a good opportunity to dry completely.
If you use too much cleaner and it soaks deep into the furniture padding, it can start to be a breeding ground for bacteria or it can damage the padding. Especially solvent cleaners should be used sparingly as they can really deteriorate the padding if let sitting too long without drying. Avoid these upholstery cleaning mistakes from professionals.
A good technique is to spray just a little bit of cleaner onto the furniture and then immediately blot it up with a clean cloth, so that almost none of the cleaner has time to soak in. Do this until the spot or stain is gone and you won’t have any problems.
Clean Spills Immediately
If you see a spill happen on your upholstered furniture, be quick to clean it up before it starts to absorb into the fabric. Use a clean, dry cloth to clean the area of the spill.
Try to blot up the spill with your cloth, absorbing as much of the liquid as possible. Do not rub on the spill, this can actually make the liquid go further into the upholstery material.
Be gentle when blotting up the spill, you don’t want to press too hard and end up pushing the spill into the fabric. Also you can try vacuuming any spills as this will take up the material without rubbing it in.
DIY Upholstery Cleaners
You don’t have to spend a whole lot of money on pre-made upholstery cleaners or a rug cleaner, it can be just as effective to use products you may already have in your home.
For blood stains, use some hydrogen peroxide. Spray a little bit on the spot and then let it sit a few minutes, then blot it up and it should take care of the stain.
For oil or grease stains, sprinkle some salt on it and let it absorb the oil for a few minutes, then you can vacuum it up.
For coffee stains, diluted vinegar with a drop of dish soap should take it away.
For red wine stains, put salt on it, then try some hydrogen peroxide and then some water.
Hire an Upholstery Cleaning Service
Having a professional upholstery cleaning every year or so will keep your furniture looking like new for many years. They have all of the tools and techniques to maintain your furniture the right way.
A couch cleaning service will come to your house and do all of the work so that you can enjoy your time and not worry about cleaning. Your furniture is a very important investment, and you should be taking all the steps necessary to keep it clean and well maintained.
For a reasonable rate, we can seamlessly help you with your move in and move out cleaning needs. Call us now for free estimates or check us on Houzz!
