You have been maintaining your home long enough to know that furniture and carpets get dirty really fast without proper care. And you need to put a lot of effort to keep everything in a good shape. Your beloved couch is getting a huge amount of dirt every singe day. Dust, wear and occasional spills are unavoidable.
Calling professional upholstery cleaners at least once a year is highly recommended if you want to prolong your sofa’s lifespan. And yet, sometimes upholstered furniture tends to get scruffy and stained long before spring-cleaning time when you usually call your local cleaners and this expense is not really planned in your budget. If you end up with dirty or stained sofa, don’t panic, but read this easy guide for home sofa cleaning and do the job yourself!
Vacuum Your Sofa Thoroughly
Your couch is the most used piece of furniture in your living room. You probably vacuum it every now and then and clean any spills and food crumbs the moment they occur. But if you want your sofa to be immaculately cleaned you should start the job with a thorough vacuuming before all. Upholstered furniture accumulates a lot of dirt and dust but vacuuming will extract most of it from the fabric. This way there won’t be a risk to blot trapped dirt when you continue with further procedures.
Washing Time
Washing your sofa yourself is not recommended due to high risk of damaging the upholstery. However there are some tricks you can use to avoid real washing procedure. Make a solution from hot water and a few drops of appropriate cleaning detergent. Take clean sponge or cloth and damp it in the mixture. Then squeeze until it is almost dry and carefully start wiping your sofa’s surface. This should refresh upholstery’s fabric and deodorize it.
If you have any doubts that the fabric is moisture sensitive or the detergent is not suitable, skip this step. After all, you want to clean your sofa, not ruin it. If the upholstery stands water well but your detergent is too strong you can replace it with laundry soap.
Remove the Stains
Probably the most difficult thing when cleaning upholstery on your own is to remove spots and stains with no trace. In certain cases this task can be done with specialised stain removal. But there are fabrics that are more delicate and strong detergent could damage them. In this case you can check the Internet for homemade stain cleaning recipes. Most of these usually include salt, vinegar, and baking soda – ingredients, which can be found in every household.
Let the Sofa Dry
If you want to prevent quick re-soiling as well as molding you should get sure that you sofa is completely dry before sitting on it again. If weather allows it let the windows opened. This will help your furniture to dry faster. If the weather is cold or humid it is better to leave heating or air conditioner running and leave your sofa undisturbed until it’s completely dry..
