Cleaning the upholstery of any sofa is a cumbersome task and requires a lot of effort especially if you take it up after a long day at work. Thankfully there are few tricks and tips that can make the task easier and yielding making your sofa appear (as well as smell) as good as new. There is a reason why we recommend taking up this job DIY without calling any professional help. Most of the items that you require to accomplish the task are already there in your kitchen. So, here we start!
Start with checking the label
Whenever you start off cleaning any upholstery item as a good rule of the thumb you should always check its label carefully. The manufacturer’s label is usually found on the underside of sofas. In case the label does not provide you with necessary clarity you should get in touch with the manufacturer without any delay and get your queries answered. A manufacturer may always have unique rules or recommendations for a given product and it is always better not to go on guesses. Moreover, there could be a specialised upholstery cleaning kit available for that particular product to make your task much easier.
You will always find a code on the label of any sofa and it tells you how you should clean the fabric without causing any damage to it. The following are the common upholstery cleaning codes found on the manufacturer’s label of any sofa.
- W – You can use water to clean this fabric or sofa upholstery
- S or P – You can use only solvent based cleaner to clean the fabric (in other words the upholstery is meant for dry cleaning)
- SW – You can clean the upholstery either using water or a solvent based cleaner and both the options are safe to use on the fabric
- X – It denotes the upholstery item can only be cleaned with the vacuum
In fact any sofa that is marked with X needs to be cleaned professionally. Your DIY efforts and enthusiasm will not cut much ice with it suggest professionals who provide the service of upholstery cleaning near me over the years.
Preparing for upholstery cleaning
Before you actually get down to cleaning your sofa upholstery cleaning there are a few steps that you need to accomplish to complete your preparation. First let us make a list of things that you need –
Resources you require
- A vacuum cleaner with the brush or crevice attachment
- Clean and damp pieces of cloth
- Baking soda and
- Carpet cleaner although this is optional
Preparation for sofa upholstery cleaning
Let us break this down into small steps for easier understanding –
- Step #1 – Start with removing throws or cushions and peel back the sides. This way you can come across lost credit cards, loose change, sweet wrappers and others.
- Step #2 – First make sure the sofa to be cleaned is completely clear. Then grab the vacuum cleaner and hook the brush attachment to the end. Make sure crumbs and dirt are sucked up and for that apply a gentle, sweeping motion. Make use of the crevice attachment to get down to the sides of the sofa. By the way it is important to mention that crevice attachment is the one that has a long oval tube. You have to use the crevice attachment and the brush along the seams and edges of the sofa for better results.
- Step #3 – At this stage you have to make use of the baking soda. An upholstery cleaning expert in London suggests even before applying baking soda for the first time on any sofa upholstery you should better do a patch test to be on the safer side.
- Step #4 – Once the upholstery passes the patch test with baking soda you have to sprinkle generous amount of baking soda across the entire surface area of it. Leave the set up as it is for about next half an hour and any stink or bad smell for your sofa will get automatically negated.
- Step #5 – First of all it is important to mention that this particular step is optional. To clean a fabric sofa thoroughly at home DIY you can prepare a solution by mixing baking soda with any carpet cleaner. Spread the solution over the sofa and wait for about 20 minutes. Then either you have ti vacuum up the baking soda from the sofa surface or mop it using a clean damp piece of cloth.
While cleaning fabric sofas you should make use of coloured sponges or towels to avoid transfer of dyes on your sofa upholstery.
Spot cleaning your sofas
Once you are satisfied that all the dirt and grime build-ups on your sofa surface are gone you should take a close look for identifying any spot or stain on the sofa. With a leather sofa, spot upholstery cleaning or stain removing is even easier; all you have to do is use a damp piece of clean cloth to clear out the spots and stains. On the other hand if you have a fabric sofa then you have to spot clean the marks individually explains a professional near me who is a specialist in upholstery cleaning.
Items that you need for upholstery cleaning
You need the following list of items to carry out the task smoothly –
- Warm water
- A brush with soft bristles
- Washing up liquid
- A spoon or spatula and
- Clean piece of cloth
Spot cleaning the upholstery of sofas
Let us breakdown the task into smaller steps to make it easier to understand.
- Step #1 – To start with take a measuring jug and fill one part of it with the washing up liquid and the remaining 4 parts with warm water.
- Step #2 – Beat the mixture so that it forms thick and spreadable foam.
- Step #3 – Rub the foam gently on the stain using a brush with soft bristles. As you keep rubbing you will notice the dirt as it gradually lifts into the foam.
- Step #4 – Now you have to get rid of the dirty foam and for that you have to make use of something that does not rub into the fabric, like a spatula or a spoon.
- Step #5 – Once you are done with all the removing get a clean and white piece of cloth and have it dampened a little to wipe away any leftover suds from the stain.
Professionally trained experts working at the VIP Carpet Cleaning London suggest to run a patch test before you start cleaning any sofa upholstery.
