How to Clean Upholstered Furniture

Cleaning upholstery does not have to be a difficult task. Most upholstered furniture can be cleaned if you follow the proper steps. You can use these steps on anything that is upholstered: your favorite recliner, your seat in you car, and your sofa. Use the same technique for a small spot to a larger stain on furniture. Before you get started with cleaning, make sure if you are using a commercial cleaner that you put the cleaner in a small inconspicuous spot on the furniture first to make sure that the product will not cause damage or make the color run. If after several minutes, the cleaner is okay on the spot, you can continue to use the cleaner on the stain. Another tip before you start cleaning the upholstery is to make sure you are using a plain white cleaning cloth. If you use anything that has color on it to clean the upholstery you run the risk of the color bleeding onto the upholstery and causing a bigger mess. Lastly, make sure that the type of upholstery that you are trying to clean can be cleaned with the commercial cleaner you are using. There are several different types of upholstery and not all of them can be cleaned with certain chemicals. Also, check your upholstered furniture for any tags that state how to clean the item and follow those directions specifically.

Once you have done all of the above precautions, you are ready to actually clean the item.

You first want to take a brush or dry sponge and wipe off any loose dirt or particles from the stained area. If you do not have a brush or sponge, use your vacuum to suck up any loose fragments of dirt from the furniture. You can also use the vacuum even after you have used the brush also.

Read all the directions on the upholstery cleaner that you are using. If you need to mix it with water, do so. Make sure that you do not put boiling or really hot water on the upholstery as this will ruin the item. Spray the cleaner on the stained area or use a sponge to apply the cleaner according to the directions on the bottle.

Wait the allowed time that the cleaner needs to penetrate into the stain on the upholstery.

Blot the area with a damp white cloth to remove the stain from the area. Do not rub the area, as you may just spread the stain deeper into the fabric. Keep blotting the stained area until it appears almost dry.

Allow the upholstery to dry all the way and it necessary repeat the process over again to fully get rid of the stain.

Here are some commercial cleaners that I recommend for cleaning upholstered furniture:

1. Woolite Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner Foam with Fibrapure Odor Eliminator – can be bought at www.woolite.com

2. Hoover Deep Cleaning Carpet/Upholstery Cleaner – can be bought at Target and Home depot stores as well as online