The sofa in your living room is a place you undoubtedly spend a lot of time. Or perhaps you have an armchair that you love to spend hours reading in. Whatever your preference, if this sofa or chair is upholstered, you’ve probably run into problems when it comes to keeping it clean. Upholstered surfaces are notoriously difficult to keep spotless, and you can’t afford a professional upholstery cleaner to visit every month.
Luckily, there are quite a few things you can do to protect your upholstered sofas and chairs to keep them looking their best for longer. In this article, we'll walk you through some of the best tips we've learned in over 45 years of professional upholstery cleaning, and set the record straight on several pervasive myths.
Our Top Tips on How to Maintain Upholstered Sofas and Chairs
None of the tips you read below is a replacement for deep upholstery cleaning, but they will help to prolong the period between upholstered sofa or chair cleaning services. Professional cleanings will also extend the lifespan of upholstered items.
TIP #1: Make Sure You Regularly Vacuum
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that vacuums are only meant for carpet or rug cleaning. Most vacuum cleaners these days come with a whole host of attachments that quickly and easily convert them into upholstery cleaners.
If you eat as many snacks as I do while sitting on the sofa, it's inevitable that there will be quite a few crumbs nestled below the cushions. Over time, as these crumbs and food remains get squashed, they can create some ugly-looking stains. Don't give them this chance. Put your vacuum cleaner to work on it every week, and make sure you get into every crack and crevice.
TIP #2: Schedule Regular Professional Upholstery Cleaning Sessions
As I mentioned earlier, it’s unrealistic to do this every week or even every month, but once per year, you should schedule an upholstery cleaning session with a local professional.
They will have access to much more heavy-duty equipment than you likely have at home, and this equipment will be able to pull stains and marks out that you wouldn't be able to touch.
But that doesn't mean to say that you should only schedule one of these sessions when you can visibly see dirt. Having them done regularly will help to keep the upholstered material in the best condition possible and extend its lifespan.
TIP #3: Apply a Stain-Resistant Coating
There are lots of products available that can be applied for upholstered chair and sofa cleaning that will help to repel substances that would otherwise cause a nasty stain. Not all of these products will be suitable for your particular use case though, so it is important to do your research and find a suitable one.
If you talk to a member of our upholstery cleaning team and explain your situation, we'd be glad to help you find a suitable product. The additional layer that these sprays add to sofas and chairs often provides additional protection against damage from UV rays too.
TIP #4: Change Your Habits
As we mentioned earlier, many stains on upholstered furniture result from having food and drink white sat on said furniture. So it’s only logical that if you remove this food and drink from the equation, you’ll drastically lower the probability of the furniture getting dirty.
This may require significant changes in your habits, but they will pay off if you can master them. If you’re routine has always been to eat on the sofa while watching the TV, buy a table and place it somewhere where the TV is visible. Or better yet, make mealtimes a social thing. Catch up with your loved ones or family members and ask them what has happened during their day.
Soon enough you’ll wonder why on earth you used to spend every mealtime glued to the sofa!
TIP #5: Use Throws and Blankets on the Sofa
Adding throws and blankets over your sofa or chair provides another added layer of protection. Any spills or accidents will affect these layers before they stain the surface of your sofa or chair. And it’s much easier to wash them – you just stick them in the washing machine!
These throws and blankets can have the added benefit of adding a touch of color to a more neutral-colored piece of furniture too.
TIP #6: Act Fast If You Do Spill Something
There’s no getting away from the fact that accidents do happen. A moment will arrive when you knock a glass over or miss your mouth and juice or ice cream goes all over your sofa. But there’s no need to worry. The key is to act quickly. Do that and the chances of it becoming a permanent stain diminish significantly.
Take some paper towels from the kitchen and blot the stain. Get off as much as you can in this way. Once you've done that, get some warm water and gently massage the affected area, but don’t scrub. If this doesn't remove the stain completely, you may need to use a stain-removing solution. If you're not sure which one to use, we can help advise you.
Don’t Buy Into These Upholstery Cleaning Myths
Most homeowners in Colorado are diligent when it comes to having their carpets and air ducts cleaned. A growing number are also becoming aware of the importance of dryer vent cleaning. And that is a very good thing that will ultimately lead to fewer house fires. But one area where local diligence is sometimes lacking is upholstery cleaning. Sometimes, people simply don't realize just how dirty upholstery can get. In other cases, the homeowner is reluctant to have the upholstery cleaned because they have heard and perhaps bought into some of the many persistent myths circulating about upholstery cleaning. In this post, we're going to look at some of those myths.
Those of us at Steve’s Carpet Care have been providing professional cleaning services for nearly five decades to Colorado residents and business owners. In that time, we’ve dealt with all kinds of furniture, fabrics, and stains. Our service team has also heard many persistent upholstery cleaning myths. We're here to set the record straight on five of the most common myths we encounter.
MYTH #1: The sun will clean it for you
This one is a doozy and we encounter it more often than we’d care to admit. Somehow the myth developed that if you really want to get your upholstery clean all you need to do is drag your chair out into the sunlight and let it sit for an hour or so. Hard to know where to begin when debunking this one. So let’s start by saying “not true”.
While sunlight may kill some bacteria hiding in the fabric it will do nothing to actually clean your upholstered furniture. That is, remove dirt and stains from it. Nothing. Also, exposing upholstery to direct, intense sunlight is going to bleach any colors. In addition, leaving it outside means all manner of airborne dirt, dust, debris, and other pollutants are going to settle onto it. The end result i that your upholstery will be much dirtier by the time you drag the chair back inside.
MYTH #2: Dry cleaning is the best way to clean your upholstery
We often encounter clients who mention that they’ve been dry cleaning their upholstery for some time but stopped because it seemed to be causing damage. When we ask them why they were dry cleaning their upholstery they typically respond that they thought they were supposed to.
So let’s start this list by saying that, while dry cleaning may be recommended in a few isolated circumstances, it is not recommended in most cases. Dry cleaning can damage the appearance and feel of some fabrics and can cause the color to run in others. The best way to proceed is to call Steve’s and let our pros determine the right way to clean your upholstery.
MYTH #3: You can’t hurt it if it’s not organic
Many mistakenly believe that using improper methods for synthetic fabric cleaning can't cause damage. Unfortunately, this myth has forced lots of homeowners to have their furniture reupholstered or to discard beloved items. The fact is that any type of fabric is susceptible to bleeding if cleaned improperly. Some synthetics can also have their texture damaged if the wrong cleaning method is used.
They wind up with crimps and waves across the surface that won’t straighten back out no matter what you do. The bottom line is that nylon and some other synthetics are very durable and do a decent job standing up to different fabric cleaners and cleaning methods. But even they have limits on how far you can push them before they start to manifest damage.
MYTH #4: Hot water is always best
And the hotter the better according to this myth. The idea that you should always use scalding hot water is a myth with uncertain origins. But it’s been around a long time and has resulted in lots of ruined upholstery. The truth is that certain synthetic fabrics like olefin will indeed respond best to very hot water. Others will be best served by our steam cleaning service.
Some types, however, need to be cleaned with solvents only. These include many organic fabrics like cotton, silk, and denim. Other fabrics can be cleaned with water but hot water isn’t always the right answer. The best way to protect your upholstery is to schedule cleaning services from professionals with lots of experience - like Steve's Carpet Care & Restoration.
MYTH #5: The cleaning tag is the law
We’re trained to look at the tag on things to discern the best method for cleaning them. And this is just as true for upholstery as it is for suits and dresses. However, the tag on the upholstery is not usually there to provide specific instructions. Its role is really more about informing you of potential problems and indicating how you may head off compromising the colors involved.
They almost never say "Do this". Instead, they say something like "avoid this type of cleaner", or they'll just indicate what isn’t safe to use. The best way to determine exactly which method of cleaning is best for your upholstery is to let the pros from Steve’s Carpet Care have a look at it. We’ll tell you exactly what the potential issues are and precisely which method should be used to clean it.
Final Thoughts on Upholstery Cleaning
You wouldn’t think so much misinformation would surround the practice of upholstery cleaning. Unfortunately, the myths we've outlined above have persisted for decades, costing plenty of homeowners plenty of money and heartache over the loss of treasured furniture. The best way to safely clean upholstery is to turn the work over to seasoned professionals.
Invest in Upholstery Cleaning from Experienced Professionals
If you are looking for a company with a spotless reputation for outstanding work at competitive prices there’s no need to search for “upholstery cleaning services near me". Steve's Carpet Care's professional team has spent 45 years dealing with every imaginable type of fabric in Boulder, Westminster, Broomfield, and nearby Colorado communities. We know exactly how to treat your upholstered items for a deep, long-lasting clean. If you’d like us to take a look at a piece of your furniture, simply call us at (303) 530-4900 or contact our team online for a free upholstery cleaning estimate today.