You buy expensive upholstery which gives a charm to your place. Maintaining the upholstery for a longer time span also becomes a difficult task.
Hiring a professional upholstery cleaning service is one of the best options to clean and maintain your upholstery.
But if you are cleaning it by yourself, here is the blog where you can know about how to keep upholstery clean.
Five Tips to Keep your Upholstery Clean
1. Vacuum Regularly
Upholstery holds a lot of dirt, debris, and allergens. Dirt not only affects the appearance of your furniture, but it can also wear away fabric fibers, and the allergens might affect your health.
To keep your upholstery clean, use a vacuum cleaner that will thoroughly remove all the dirt and grime from your upholstery. Vacuum the upholstery moving from top to bottom. Another upholstery trick is to use a dry brush to remove the residue.
This is also an easy way to “fluff” the fabric fibers to make your furniture look that much cleaner. Fluffing the fibers of the fabric also makes it easier to reach stains that have had a chance to set in.
2. Look After Codes
You should clean or get the upholstery cleaned by referring to the manufacturer’s instructions and cleaning codes. Most pieces of furniture come with a label that has cleaning codes on it so that you can use the right products on it.
The labels are often stapled out of sight onto the bottom of the furniture.
The codes mentioned might be anyone among W, S, W/S, or X.
If the code is –
- W, then then you can use only water to clean
- S, then only solvent-based upholstery cleaner
- W/S, then you can use water, solvent or both
- X, then vacuum or a dry brush only. Do not use water/solvent-based cleaners.
Choosing the right cleaner will assist to keep your upholstery clean and last much longer so that you can enjoy it.
3. Clean Accidental Spills Fast
Clean out the stains as soon as there are accidental spills. If you let the spills go dry, then it becomes very hard to remove. Spills are inevitable on most pieces of furniture that are used regularly without protection.
If you don’t want those spills to turn into stains that will ruin your furniture, cleaning them fast is the key to your success and the survival of your furniture. If it is a dry spill, you can vacuum up the mess and be sure that you pick up everything that spilled.
For a wet spill, blot the stain with a dry cloth and apply a damp cloth to blot fresh water into the stain. Use baking or club soda to remove the stain. Finish up the cleaning process and let the furniture dry.
4. Turn Cushions and Clean their Covers
To keep your upholstery looking like new, clean the furniture cushions with a damp cloth and wipe down any spills to avoid stains and make them look bright and clean.
To protect your fabric so it retains its color for as long as possible, use a dry or slightly wet sponge to remove dust from an area before using water on that same surface. Make sure you have something beneath these surfaces when cleaning them in order not to cause damage.
Turn the cushions around to reduce the advent of being worn down. One of the easiest ways to extend the life of your upholstered furniture is to routinely rotate the cushions. Flipping and moving the cushions about once a month will help to distribute the weight and prevent cushions from flattening.
5. Deep Clean or Professional Cleaning
To properly deep clean a sofa, you will want cleaning cloths, a stiff brush, baking soda, and a vacuum cleaner with a broom attachment.
For synthetic upholstery, use a combination of one cup of warm water, half a cup of vinegar, and half a tablespoon of dish-cleaning soap.
Consider professional cleaning for high-traffic areas or if you have pets around the house to avoid unwanted pet hair on surfaces, which is difficult to remove without help from an expert!
Using a professional cleaner will also save you time and reduce the risk of potential harm to your skin and upholstery.
Summary
With any of these methods, first, give a test in an inconspicuous area to make sure colors won’t bleed or fade.
Be sure to avoid getting water or cleaning agents on the wood or metal portions of your upholstery, as this could rust, corrode, or cause discoloration of the same. Use the cleaning methods on natural or synthetic woven fabrics.
But it’s best to have professionally cleaned upholstered furniture once a year. Professional deep upholstery cleaning will help to remove deep-down soil and odors as well as help to brighten colors and keep your upholstery clean.
