No matter how much you care for your sofas or armchairs, accidents happen and make your upholstery dirty. Upholstered furniture can get dirty from regular use. Accumulated dust, dirt, and stains can make your furniture upholstery look worn out and scruffy.
Are you looking for the best ways to clean and maintain your furniture upholstery to keep it looking beautiful and well cared for? Then you are at the right place. In this guide, we’ve put together useful tips on cleaning different types of upholstery. So, read on to learn more about it!
How To Clean Different Furniture Upholstery Fabrics?
When it comes to cleaning furniture upholstery, there are some pretty common rules you need to take into account. To avoid dust and dirt setting deeply into the upholstery, regular vacuuming is a must. If you don’t want the spills to be turned into suborn stains, spot treatment is what you do. However, the similarities end here.
Not every type of upholstery fabric requires the same care and treatment. This is very important to know how to clean different fabrics.
Synthetic Upholstery
Synthetic upholstery fabrics such as nylon, polyester, olefin, or acrylic are very easy to clean. Since they can withstand moisture, they can be cleaned using any type of water-based cleaning product. You can even out your removable synthetic upholstery in a laundry machine. However, checking the manufacturer’s label before start cleaning your furniture upholstery is important. If there is no instruction label beneath your couch or sofa, just test the little amount of cleaning agent on a small, inconspicuous area of your upholstery fabric to check if there is discoloration or shrinkage. If any of these happens, do not use that cleaning agent.
Natural Upholstery
As natural upholstery fabrics retain a lot of water, it is not advisable to wet clean them. However, cleaning natural upholstery with steam cleaning can be appropriate. You can clean these fabrics with water-based products but be moderate when using them as too much water content can cause water rings or shrinkage.
Combined Upholstery
Sometimes, the upholstery fabrics are a combination of both natural and man-made fibers. Usually wool or cotton are blended 50/50 with synthetic threads. If you have blended fabrics, it is advisable not to clean them on your own. That’s because these fabrics require special cleaning treatments. Hire professional upholstery cleaners to clean blended upholstery fabrics.
Microfiber Upholstery
Microfiber is durable, beautiful, and easy-to-clean upholstery fabric. All you need is to scrub off the dirt with a brush and vacuum to remove the stain. For deep cleaning, check the manufacturer’s label beneath your upholstery.
Leather Upholstery
Leather upholstery is incredibly easy to clean. To keep it smooth and elastic, regular dusting and wiping are just enough.
Thus, you can easily clean different types of upholstery fabrics at home. Applying too much cleaning agent or liquid on the armrests, legs, or frames is what you need to be very careful about; as it causes the wooden and metal parts to rust, corrode, and damage.
