When it comes to furniture care, we often think of ways on how we can avoid stains and other wear offs from touching the furniture, especially if it is upholstered furniture. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a nightmare to see an upholstered piece of furniture you have been taking care of, incur unwanted stains. But what you should be focusing on is what you will need to do when a stain or sudden wear off hits your furniture. Because let’s face it, no furniture is ever safe from spill stains, pet hairs, and wear offs. It is just a matter of regularly maintaining your furniture, so it doesn’t lose its quality and last for years. 

In this article, we will be listing down ways to help you clean your upholstered furniture. 

1. Use Microfiber Cloth to Blot Out Stains

By all means, don’t ever scrub your upholstered furniture using a bristle brush to remove stains. Doing this can damage the fabric of the furniture. Even if the stain might seem tough to remove, just gently wipe it down or blot it out using a microfiber cloth and let the stain remover have its way on the stain. Microfiber cloths are soft and absorbent, that’s why it is better to use it for blotting out stains since the material itself is not harsh.

2. Vacuum Often to Remove Dirt

Dirt comes in without you even knowing and it stays on your furniture — making it prone to easily wear off. This is why if you want to maintain a clean upholstered furniture, you have to vacuum it often to remove dirt. For effective and thorough cleaning, you can use the crevice tool to get the dirt out of unreachable areas on the furniture.

3. Use Baby Wipes for Spot-Cleaning

If you want something to help quickly remove sudden spills and prevent them from becoming stains, then use baby wipes. It is very much helpful for spot-cleaning. These wipes are good to use for cotton, leather, and even polyester fabrics. But to avoid any damage, you can try testing the wipes on areas that are not visible to check if it is safe to use on your upholstered furniture.

4. Use Rubber Gloves to Remove Pet Hair

If you have pets at home, you know that it is always likely that pet hair lands on the floor and every furniture you have. It is unavoidable and you just have to take measures to ensure that your furniture is still well-maintained and clean. To help remove pet hair on your upholstered furniture, you can use rubber gloves and wipe it over the furniture. The rubber gloves will help pull the hair off the furniture and serve as a DIY pet hair vacuum. You can also opt to use a hand vacuum specifically designed to remove pet hair if you would prefer that. 

Tip: You can also use water mixed with just the right amount of fabric softener and spray it on the upholstery as you gently wipe it over with rubber gloves.

5. Pay Attention to Upholstery Cleaning Codes

Aside from knowing how you can clean your upholstered furniture, you also have to know what substances are safe to use for cleaning your upholstery. Every upholstered furniture has cleaning codes. These cleaning codes are W, S, W/S, and X. You can find them on the tag or label that is attached to the furniture. The tag is usually under the cushion, at the armrest, or beneath the furniture frame. But if you can’t find any tags, you can try looking for guides to help you properly clean the type of upholstery fabric your furniture has. 

• W – Water. This means that you can use water to clean the upholstery.
• S – Solvent. If you see this code, it means it is safe to use solvent on the upholstery fabric, like alcohol. 
• W/S – Water/Solvent. You can use either water or solvent to clean the upholstery. 
• X – For vacuum only. You can only use a vacuum to clean the upholstery and other things are not safe to use. At times, you will see D, which stands for dry clean. 

Upholstered pieces of furniture may seem hard to maintain at first because they are prone to stains, but once you know what to do to quickly act on such furniture mishaps, it will be easy. With proper care and cleaning habits, you will be able to keep your upholstered furniture in good condition for a long time.

We hope that this article will be helpful as you clean your upholstered furniture!

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