How To Clean Upholstered Furniture?

How To Clean Upholstered Furniture: Dos And Don’ts For Cleaning And Maintaining Upholstered Furniture

Do you have upholstered items in your home and are not quite sure how to clean upholstered furniture? Don’t worry as this blog will help you figure out the do’s and don’ts of cleaning upholstery. Upholstered furniture really makes your home look beautiful and proper cleaning can extend the lifespan of your furniture. The most perfect way of having neat and clean upholstery furniture all year is to let professional upholstery cleaning experts clean it well. Although you can also take some steps that can help you clean the upholstery furniture well. Here are a few do’s and don’ts that will surely guide you in your upholstery cleaning.

Please note that you must know the fabric or cloth that is used in your upholstery furniture. There are different ways to clean different fabrics. If you use one single cleaning method for all, there is a very high chance that you will end up damaging the upholstery item.

Do’s For Cleaning Upholstered Furniture

1. Have A Checklist

You must have a proper list of the things that you need to clean your upholstery item. The things you must have are a dry microfiber cloth, a wet clean cloth, liquid detergent power, some white vinegar, and some alcohol for cleaning. You can also have a vacuum cleaner for cleaning the upholstery item before cleaning it. This was the most important thing you need to keep in mind while cleaning your upholstery item.

2. Vacuum Cleaning And Wipe Off

The easiest and one of the most efficient ways to clean your upholstery furniture is to vacuum it well. Vacuum cleaning can get rid of the dirt and dust on the upholstery item and provide you with clean and comfortable furniture. You just need to vacuum clean it once every two weeks and your upholstery item will be as good as new. If you have pets in your home, there is a very high chance that there is hair on the upholstery item. It is very difficult to clean by hand and also makes the furniture look bad. You can clean it off easily with a vacuum cleaner. Please note that you may need to vacuum your upholstery item more than once every two weeks if you live near a construction site. 

The hair follicles are the most difficult to clean. Vacuum cleaning loosens the hair follicles and cleans them but sometimes a few of them remain. Thus, you need to wipe them off. You can use a pair of rubber gloves that are available easily in the market. You just need to wear those and wipe the upholstery item. This will collect all the loose hair follicles and your upholstery item will be as clean as before. This was one of the different ways how to clean upholstered furniture.

3. DIY Cleaning

There are a few DIY techniques that you can take up to clean your upholstery furniture. These ways come in handy and are very easy to perform. These ways also have very little risk to damage your upholstery furniture if you applied it correctly. If your upholstery furniture is of fabric material you must take one-fourth cup of vinegar and three fourth cup of water. Then you must mix it in a spray bottle after adding one tablespoon of dishwashing soap to it. Mix it well and apply it to the affected area. Then you need to wait for a few minutes and then scrub it well using a microfiber cloth till the stain vanishes. Make sure you dry the upholstery item well before using it again. 

For any leather upholstery, you must use half a cup of olive oil and one-fourth cup of vinegar. Mix it well and spray it on the upholstery furniture. Then clean it well with a cotton cloth. This was one of the ways how to clean upholstered furniture by yourself.

4. Take Professional Help

One of the most efficient ways of having a clean upholstery item is to take professional help for cleaning it. There is always a high of accidentally damaging the fabric or the cloth of the upholstery item while cleaning it yourself. As common men are not skilled for the job and most of them do not have the complete knowledge and the techniques required to clean it properly. Expert upholstery cleaning professionals in your town undertake several ways to clean your upholstery item. The expert ways may include steam cleaning, hot water extraction, dry cleaning, chemical cleaning, foam cleaning, carbonation cleaning, shampoo cleaning, and many more. 

Two of the most commonly used ways of upholstery cleaning are dry cleaning and steam cleaning. In dry cleaning, professional upholstery cleaning experts concentrate on the stain and clean it off using different environmentally friendly chemicals and solutions. In steam cleaning, the professionals clean the upholstery furniture by passing very hot water in the upholstery furniture. This loosens the dirt and dust and then the experts clean it off easily. Professional cleaning increases the life span of the upholstery furniture and it looks good for a very long time. This was one of the many ways of how to clean upholstered furniture.

Don’ts For Cleaning Upholstery Furniture

1. Do Not Scrub Too Hard

This is one of the most important points you need to keep in mind while cleaning your upholstery furniture. Do not scrub them roughly while cleaning. This will easily damage the cloth or fibre of the upholstery furniture and it will no longer look good. You must give much attention to the fibre type while cleaning it. Scrubbing your upholstery furniture will result in the tearing of the fibre. Too much scrubbing can also affect the bright colours on your furniture.  Take a simple microfiber cloth and rub gently while cleaning. This will help you get rid of the dirt and dust on your upholstery furniture. You can also use a lint roller to get rid of all the hair follicles and dust off your upholstery furniture. This was one of the ways you must pay attention to how to clean upholstered furniture.

2. Do Not Add The Wrong Amounts

It is very important that you add the correct amount of every element that you are adding on the couch. Some of the things you need to keep in mind are if your detergent is very strong or not. A very strong detergent can affect the colour and texture of your couch in a negative way. You must also look for the amount of vinegar you use. Excessive or very fewer amounts of vinegar will either turn that area white or will leave the stain as it is. You must also ensure that you do not add more water to that area. Thus, make sure you have the right amount before starting with your cleaning.

3. Do Not Dry It Too Soon

You must give some time for the couch to dry. You must let the solution dry for about 20 mins to 1 hour. This will let the mixture (vinegar and detergent or alcohol solution) clean the stain more effectively. If you try any artificial way of drying such as using a hair blower on the solution, it will make the stain tougher to clean. The only thing you can try to make it dry quicker is to let the upholstery furniture sit outside for some time but that too not under direct sunlight. This was one of the most important don’ts in your ways of how to clean upholstery furniture.

4. Do Not Wash The Entire Furniture

You must keep in mind that you do not wash the entire furniture. You must wash or apply the solution on the affected region, directly on the stain. You must not wash the entire furniture. This can lead to damage to the fabric or couch cloth and the loss of the bright colour of your couch. Moreover, washing the entire upholstery furniture is very difficult and not necessary.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned ways are a few of the several ways how to clean upholstery furniture easily. You can take guidance from the steps above and keep your upholstery clean for years. Although upholstery cleaning is a very tiring job, you can take help from professional upholstery cleaning experts on how to clean upholstered furniture better and more effectively.