Couches and cushioned chairs are always the first choice in places to sit in any home. Every couch is soft and comfortable, providing a perfect favorite place to relax and enjoy your favorite home activities. Because the surface of most upholstery is soft, it is a little more difficult to clean spots and stains that appear on them. If you want to make sure your upholstery lasts for a long time, it’s important to clean up any spills that could cause stains right away. Thankfully, there is a great way to clean up the stains right away.

Vacuum or remove solids

Making sure any solids are out of the way makes it easier to clean up the spot. Not only that, if you try removing the stain with any leftover solids, they will scrape against the fibers of the upholstery. This wears it down faster and could tear up your upholstery. If the spot is wet, it will be better to remove the solids yourself rather than using a vacuum to avoid a clog in your vacuum. 

Check the tag

Every piece of upholstery has a tag that labels the fabric according to how you are able to clean it. The tag itself should be inside the couch, attached to one of the cushions, or in a manual that comes with the furniture. If you have removed the tag, the information should be available online. There are four different labels: W, WS, S, and X fabrics. If you are able to remove the fabric from the furniture, it will most likely be able to wash in your washer and dryer.

W Fabrics

The ‘W’ tag stands for water. Water-based cleaners use acids to pick up and clean any spots on your furniture. You can use warm water, soap, steam, or other water-based solutions to clean the spot on your upholstery. Furniture with this tag is often cleaned with dish soap as a quick solution. Steam cleaning is a common way to deep clean upholstery as well, so it is an effective way of removing spots and stains. Most all-purpose cleaners are water-based solutions that can also help clean up spots on your upholstery.

S Fabrics

The ‘S’ tag stands for solvent. A solvent cleaner is a type of cleaner that can be traced back to the chemical that dissolves the spots and stains. Chemical cleaners are often used in more intense spills and are able to break down thick oils and grease. It is unwise to use solvent-based cleaners on fabrics recommended to use water-based cleaners because solvents can break down the fabric along with the stain. The most common type of solvent-based cleaners use alcohols as the main cleaning ingredient. 

WS Fabrics

Using the last two types of cleaners, this fabric label means you can use either water-based or solvent-based cleaning solutions. If you like having options, this kind of fabric for your furniture. 

X Fabrics

The ‘X’ doesn’t stand for a specific word. In this case, it means don’t try to clean it. These fabrics should only be cleaned by vacuuming or professional carpet cleaners with specialized equipment. If these get spots or stains, clean it right away and schedule regular upholstery cleaning to keep your furniture in good condition.

Dab lightly and wipe non-fabric areas

After knowing how you can spot clean your upholstery, you can now clean the area. If the spill just happened, scrubbing the area will deepen the stain further in your upholstery. Use a cloth or towel to dab the area, removing some of the stain. Once the area is more dry, use the cleaner to lightly dab and rub the area to pull up the stain. Leave the cleaner for five minutes after applying it to give it a chance to pick up the stain.

Dry

To dry off the area, tab lightly with clean towels. If you use water-based cleaners, it is a good idea to use a damp cloth to pick up any leftover soaps. Then, let it air dry. You can use a fan to help speed up the process, but the cleaner will need to evaporate to completely lift up the stain. 

No matter what kind of material your couch or cushioned chairs are made from, professional upholstery cleaning can always get the stains out. Cleaning your upholstery is important to staying healthy and having a long lasting couch. Give us a call if you would like your upholstery to look brand new all over again.