The furniture in your house serves more of a purpose than merely providing storage and seating space. The furniture is in large part what the overall aesthetic quality of your house is determined by. For this reason, many homeowners are willing to invest time and money into the furnishing of their household.
As an online furniture store, the selling of home furnishings is our bread and butter. For this reason, we feel that it would be worthwhile to share our knowledge of proper furniture care with you. Learning how to keep your furniture clean and pristine is an easy way to maintain a beautiful household.
Choosing the right furniture is only half the battle; you still have to take care of your furniture to make sure it remains undamaged and functional for as long as possible. It is important to have an understanding of how to properly maintain and clean your furniture. Doing so will likely ensure that you are able to enjoy them for both the functional and aesthetic qualities for years to come.
We figured we’d start with couches. Couches are among the most common pieces of furniture found in homes worldwide. Furthermore, they are typically found in communal spaces such as the living room where they see regular use from both homeowners and guests. This high degree of activity leaves most couches dirtier than most other types of furniture found at home.
In this article, we are going to teach you how to give your couch a proper clean. We’ll be sharing some of the most reliable cleaning methods and products that you can use to make your couch look like new. We will also discuss how to go about treating your couch based on the specific fabric it is made with.
Getting Started
Most couches, like the ones sold on the website of our online furniture store, should have a cleaning tag attached to them somewhere (usually on the underside). That tag will provide you with important information that you need to understand before you begin cleaning your couch.
Here are the symbols that most commonly appear on the cleaning tags of couches:
S
This means that the material of your couch cannot be cleaned using water. You should instead make use of water-free cleaning solutions like solvent-based cleaners.
W
This means that it will be safe to clean the upholstery of your couch with water.
WS
This is basically a combination of the last two symbols. It means that your couch can be cleaned using either water or solvent-based cleaners. If necessary, you can even use both to clean your couch.
X
This means that your couch’s upholstery cannot be cleaned using water or solvent-based cleaners. If you would like to clean your couch, you are encouraged to use a vacuum instead.
If there is a mark stained into your couch, have a look at the tag and then follow these guidelines. Make sure that the proper solution is used to clean the couch and give it a good scrub. This should work for simple stains but bigger messes, such as those caused by pets, wine, and children, may require a more detailed approach when being cleaned.
We at the 5Star online furniture store are going to share our knowledge of how to effectively clean the specific upholsteries of some of the most common types of couches.
Microfiber Couches
Given their considerable popularity, our online furniture store retails many microfibers couch options. Microfiber couches earn their gleaming reputation from their ability to withstand regular usage and mess. The plastic materials used to construct microfiber upholstery provide couches with a durable surface that repels all sorts of dirt.
They can repel dust and shake off most kinds of spillage stains, making them a common choice among homeowners who have children or pets. We recommend that you browse the catalogue of our online furniture store for deals on microfiber couches if you are looking for furniture designed for a busy home.
Microfiber couches, as aforementioned, are made of synthetic fabrics. These may include any combination of nylon, polyester, and polyamide. As such, the symbol on a microfiber couch’s tag should read “S” for solvent-based cleaners.
This means that the best trick for dealing with a stain on these surfaces is the use of rubbing alcohol. Using a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol, you can test the effectiveness of the solution by working on a small portion of the couch first. Here’s another 5Star online furniture store pro tip: try testing your cleaning solution on a hard-to-see spot on the couch before committing to the rest.
If it looks like the alcohol is working, you can begin to spray it onto the stained areas of your couch and start scrubbing with a colour-free sponge. The sponge must be colourless otherwise you run the risk of the alcohol causing the colour to seep out and onto the couch. Experts suggest that your brush strokes should be circular in motion.
Once you have finished scrubbing, give the couch about half an hour the dry. In most weather conditions, the couch should dry fast since the alcohol will simply evaporate off its surface. The next thing you are going to do is grab your scrubbing brush and stroke the couch in circles. This will leave the fabric with a nice tufting afterwards.
Leather Couches
Leather couches exemplify the gold standard when it comes to product durability among lounge furniture. The material, typically made from cured and treated cowhides, is extremely resilient to tearing, puncturing, and burning. It is not immune to stains, however.
If you have a couch made of protected leather, we have just the solution for cleaning up any stains it may accumulate. Keep in mind, however, your couch needs to be made of protected leather. For the most part, the cleaning process of leather couches tends to differ a lot between different types of leather.
We are discussing protected leather couches because they seem to be the most common. If you have a different type of leather couch, what you should instead do is consult the cleaning tag. It s likely that whoever made your couch also has cleaning instructions available in their manuals or on their websites.
How to clean protected leather upholstery:
First things first, you want to get rid of any debris caught in your couch. We’re talking about sand, lint, dog hair, and so forth. You can do this either with a brush or a vacuum, although the latter stands to do a better job. Make sure to cover every corner and every fold of your couch before moving on to the next step.
For the next step, you will need a clean microfiber cloth. These are typically made using a mixture of nylon, polyester, and polyamide. They offer more surface area contact when cleaning, making them super useful with tough stains. Make sure your cloth is dry before giving every inch of your couch a wipe-down.
The next step involves a bit of physics. You are going to create a 1:1 mix of white vinegar and clean water (make sure to mix enough to cover your whole couch). Vinegar is not only an acetic acid that kills common germs such as E. coli and salmonella, but it can also be a very effective grease-buster.
Dampen your microfibre cloth in the mix and then get to work on the couch. Wipe down your whole couch but give special attention to the trouble spots where stains are the worst. You should also try to rinse out your cloth at frequent intervals. Here’s a 5Star online furniture store tip: once the couch has dried, be sure to give it a coat of leather conditioner (the price is well worth it).
Fabric Couches
You will need a brush with firm bristles to dislodge stains that have dried up on the surface of your couch first. After this, you want to pour baking soda over the whole couch. Leave the baking soda there for 30 minutes to an hour before using a vacuum to clean it off. Ideally, you should use a vacuum that has a brush nozzle as it would make this part of the process much easier.
Next, you are going to concoct a homemade couch cleaner out of vinegar, warm water, and dishwashing liquid. The formula is as follows:
- ¼ cups vinegar
- ¾ cups warm water
- 1 tbsp. of dishwashing liquid (this can be substituted with Castile soap)
You can take the mixture and place it in an empty and cleaned spray bottle. If you are tackling heavy stains, you can add an additional tablespoon of baking soda to the mix for a little extra oomph.
You then begin spraying and wiping down the couch in sections. The wiping should be done with a soft, colourless towel. Once you have gotten the stains off with the towel, take a second towel and dampen it with water before using it do wash off the soap left behind by the mixture. Lastly, use a clean towel to soak up the water.
Just like with the other couches, it is then time to let your couch sit and dry before use. Fabric couches typically require several hours to dry properly. One last online furniture store pro tip: the process of drying the couch after cleaning it can be expedited by choosing to clean your couch on a sunny day.
Daily Tips for Keeping Your Couch Clean
We at the 5Star online furniture store would like to conclude this article on couch cleaning tips with some additional advice for daily maintenance:
- Firstly, do not be shy to use the vacuum cleaner. It removes dust and mites and prevents either from accumulating if done regularly. It will also prevent debris such as sand from gathering in all your couch’s nooks and crannies.
- Fluffing and tufting the seats and cushions of your couch can help them retain their shape and rigidity. If you do not do this regularly, the materials inside these cushions will begin to accumulate in one spot, warping the shape of the couch.
- If you have cats or dogs, you should already own a lint roller. If not, buy one ASAP and start rolling the pet hairs off your couch once a day to prevent accumulation. This is especially important for people with allergies.
Buy Quality Couches on the Website of Our Accredited Online Furniture Store
We at 5Star have a reputation for selling reliable and comfortable furniture at cost-effective prices. If you are interested in putting your home’s interior space together at an affordable price, look no further than our online furniture store. You can browse our catalogue on our website and even make direct purchases here too.