This article is written by professional carpet cleaners in Whitechapel and is about different upholstered furniture, ways of cleaning and maintaining it without risk of damage.
Your living-room won’t be complete if you don’t have a nice sofa, after all are you going to sit on the floor while watching television? Well in fact you can if you have a soft fluffy carpet, but it requires a lot of attention and professional cleaning services. So back to the couch, there are many different types and as much upholstery fabrics, but which is the best? This is not an easy question to answer, because each has different qualities and demand individual cleaning methods.
The Proper Maintenance
There are of course some basic things you should do if you want to extend the useful lifespan of any upholstered piece of furniture. The most important is not to allow dust to build up and damage the fabric. On order to accomplish that you should vacuum as often as you can, most people do it once a week, but I personally recommend at least twice. If you have pets daily vacuuming is in order because of the fur, it won’t take more than ten minutes and you’ll have a clean couch.
Before attempting to clean a stain on your upholstery check the label to see of the fabric is sensitive to moisture. Most of the fabrics allow the usage of water based detergents, but if you’re not sure better consult with a cleaning specialist. Otherwise you risk damaging the upholstery, also check for recommended detergents, because some couches are covered with protective coating which can react with the chemicals in the cleaning solution.
In most cases you can use soapy water, baking soda, salt, wet wipes and vinegar to remove stains. For example when you have vinyl furniture you can use soapy water or diluted white vinegar. Remember to rinse the area once you’ve removed the stain, be careful not to saturate it too much and always work from the outside towards the centre. That way the stain won’t become bigger, allow to dry naturally because applying heat can cause the stain to reappear.
Microfiber is basically two types liquid tolerant and moisture sensitive – for the first one you can use gentle liquid soap mixed with warm water. Prepare the solution and use clean white cloth or a sponge to apply little amount onto the stain. Gently blot the area, because scrubbing can force the stain deep into the fibers. As for the second type use a dry detergent and soft brush to agitate the compound, you’ll also need a vacuum cleaner to remove the cleaning solution.
The other preferred material for upholstering sofas and chairs is leather, because it is easy to clean and maintain. You can choose from faux and genuine leather as the quality varies – the more you are willing to pay the higher it will be. Except for suede all types can be cleaned with wet wipes and saddle soap. Some homeowners use vinegar, but I don’t recommend it, because the acid can dry the leather. In order to keep it in good shape the leather couch requires regular conditioning.
Regardless of the type of upholstery you should always look for green Eco-friendly cleaning solutions, because they contain less or no chemicals at all. If you don’t want to trouble with the thorough cleaning or don’t have time there are plenty of cleaning companies offering great services.
