June 26, 2024 in Helpful Articles, Resource Section by Carpet

Furniture Cleaning

Cleaning your upholstered furniture will cause it to last longer and continue to look beautiful as long as you continue to take proper care of it. Here are a few ways to care for and clean your furniture upholstery so that it continues to remain clean and look beautiful.

Spill prevention is of course the best way to care for your upholstered furniture, but spills do happen, just do your best to keep them to a minimum. When they do happen the best action is to clean the spill as soon as possible.

When a spill occurs cleaning your upholstered furniture quickly is the best approach. Use a towel, sponge or pourous cloth soaked in hot water to blot the area immediately. The sooner you take care of the spill, the less chance that it will stain.

If that doesn’t cure the stain use a home made water based mild detergent solution. Always use hot water as it loosens the stain better.

When cleaning the fabric, rub it gently. Avoid scrubbing too vigorously, as this may cause the fabric to pill.To evenly distribute the wear, it is best to flip over loose cushions and pillows every couple months.

Special stains will require specific cleaning solutions. It is important to choose the right cleaning products for your upholstery. Wrong formulas and inferior products can do more harm than good, causing damage to the fabric.

Grease or caramelized sugar spills, will release useing a solution made of fifty percent water and fifty percent white vinegar to spot clean the area.

These stains can also be removed using undiluted isopropyl alcohol. Blot the area and then wash with the homemade carpet cleaning formula. If that doesn’t get it all, apply a few drops of fresh hydrogen peroxide and wash again with the homemade carpet cleaning formula.

To treat odors, you can sprinkle baking soda on the upholstery and leave it overnight, then vacuum it the next day.

Routine care also includes vacuuming your upholstery regularly to remove dust. Use a vacuum cleaner that has the special upholstery attachments, since those without upholstery attachments may cause abrasions.

If your vacuum cleaner tends to snag on the fabric of the upholstery, you can put a non-metallic window screen such as cloth between the vacuum nozzle and the upholstery.

Slipcovers can be dry cleaned once a year. You should not attempt to wash them unless they are specifically labeled as “machine washable,” most are not.

Keep your upholstery away from direct sunlight and away from areas where it is hot. Direct sunlight and heat can fade your upholstery over time. We can’t completely prevent fading, but we can extend the beauty of the upholstery.