How to Clean Upholstered Furniture

You likely took great care when selecting the furniture for your home. Whether it’s couches or chairs, you probably tried to find a balance between something that’s comfortable and something that works aesthetically. In doing that, you’ve likely become familiar with upholstery.

A piece of furniture’s upholstery is critical to its look and feel, making upholstery cleaning that much more important. Part of being a diligent homeowner is keeping your furniture and its upholstery clean. You can do this by hiring a service to clean your furniture for you, or by using a commercial upholstery cleaner. Here’s how to clean upholstered furniture.

Check the furniture’s codes

Before you do anything, check the manufacturer’s tag on your couch or chair, as there will be a code consisting of a letter or two that designates what you can use to clean the upholstery:

• Code W: You can use water-based cleaning solvents.
• Code S: You can use dry-cleaning or water-free solvents for cleaning. Make sure to ventilate the room and avoid any open flames if you decide to clean it.
• Code W-S: You can apply water-based products or solvent-based products for cleaning.
• Code X: This code means you shouldn’t use any type of cleaning product. Instead, you should have professionals clean it, or simply use the vacuum on this type of furniture.

Vacuum your furniture

No matter the code on your furniture, you can and should use the vacuum on it from time to time. Depending on how deep you want to clean it, you can use anything from a simple handheld vacuum to a more advanced machine that has a HEPA filter, powerful suction and an ultraviolet light that kills microscopic organisms on your furniture. It’s recommended to vacuum your furniture weekly.

Stain removal

For furniture that allows for water-based upholstery cleaning, you’ll want to concoct a mixture to remove stains. For this type of upholstery cleaner, you’ll want to mix ¼ cup of clear dishwashing liquid (Dawn Ultra Pure Essentials would work) with one cup of warm water in a bowl. Use a whisk to mix it up and create some suds.

Next, dunk a sponge in the upholstery cleaner and rub the stain gently, rotating the sponge periodically to ensure you’re using a clean side as you go. When the stain is gone, take a sponge or microfiber cloth, dip it in water and blot the cleaning solution until it’s gone. This prevents dirt and debris from being attracted to the spot after you’ve cleaned it. Allow the spot to dry away from direct heat or sunlight.

Full upholstery cleaning

If you’d like to perform some upholstery cleaning on your entire couch or chair, you can use a method similar to the stain removal approach described above, but with a much more diluted cleaning solution. Use only one teaspoon of dishwashing liquid to one gallon of warm water. From there, using a damp sponge or microfiber cloth, wipe the upholstery gently. Make sure the cloth isn’t overly wet (only damp), and work slowly section by section. Rinse the furniture with a cloth or sponge dipped in plain water, and blot dry with a cloth. Use a circulating fan to help speed up the drying process.

Call for your upholstery cleaning today

Now that you know how to clean your furniture’s upholstery, if your furniture has an X code, give Valley Carpet Cleaning a call for the professional assistance you need. We’re the premier carpet cleaning experts in the San Fernando Valley, and our Angie’s List Super Service Award and A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau are proof positive of that. We look forward to assisting you soon.

Categorised in: Upholstery Cleaning

This post was written by Writer