Cleaning Upholstery 101

When it is time to clean your home, there are a few things that everyone knows to tackle.  Your bathroom sink, the kitchen counters, your sheets.  You’ll always break out the vacuum to clean your floors, hardwood or carpet.  However, there is a major area that many people overlook when it comes to cleaning day: your upholstery.  You would clean your sheets and clothes on a regular basis, so why would your upholstery be any different? Let’s look at some of the best techniques, and reasons why cleaning your upholstery is so important.

Why do you need to clean it?

The reason you clean your sheets is obvious to most people: you sleep in your bed every night, sweating on your sheets for a few hours, and this obviously dirties them quite quickly.  However, sitting on the couch often isn’t much different.  In fact, in addition to the fact that you may sweat on your furniture, you could also be dragging in outside dirt, bacteria, and moisture from your clothing and depositing it onto your furniture.  Leaving those pollutants and allowing them to mix on your upholstery can cause a host of problems, including mildew, dust, mold, or even just a bad odor.  If you find that your allergies are acting up in the middle of the winter and can’t figure out why to consider giving your upholstery a cleaning.

Techniques for Cleaning Upholstery

When cleaning your upholstery, the first step you should take is vacuuming any dirt from the cushion that you can.  After that’s done, it’s time to tackle any set-in stains.  While you may be able to remove some stains with water, it is important not to soak the cushions, because it can be hard to remove moisture form upholstery, and this can cause mold.  Oftentimes, it is better to try steam cleaning the fabric, which loosens stains but doesn’t leave the fabric as wet.  If steam cleaning doesn’t work, you can try breaking out solvent cleaner.  When using chemical cleaners, always be sure to spot test it on an area that isn’t easily visible first to ensure that it won’t stain your material. If the solvent doesn’t stain, apply some to your stain and scrub it clean!

For more information about us and our available upholstery cleaning services, contact us today!