Sometimes, just by refreshing the upholstery, you can make your beloved piece of furniture shine again!
If you are afraid that you cannot cope with this task, you have to read this guide. You will learn how to effectively and safely wash furniture upholstery.
Leather is quite a demanding material, which does not mean that washing it is difficult. Before performing the task, it is necessary to provide yourself with a soft cloth and a special lubricant for leather
Such material does not like too long soaking, so a steam cleaner is not an option. Under the influence of moisture and heat the leather may wrinkle and crack. A slightly damp cloth will be a solution. Beforehand, of course, vacuum the sofa or chairs with leather upholstery using a soft bristle nozzle. This way, you will not scratch the delicate surface of the furniture.
The best and the most delicate leather cleaning agent available is washing-up liquid mixed with plenty of lukewarm water. It can wash off even large stains. Wipe the furniture with a cloth soaked in it. Then, when it is dry, apply a special leather preservative. It lubricates the leather and protects it from UV radiation.
Just like leather, upholstered chairs and sofas can be cleaned with water and washing-up liquid. Washing powder will also work well and will lighten the color of the fabric a bit. Heavy dirt can be removed with water mixed with baking soda.
Upholstered furniture should be washed with long, circular movements. Do not soak the fabric too much because the moisture will penetrate too deep inside and the fabric will not be able to dry
You can also use special water vacuums to wash upholstered furniture. These initially disperse a special washing agent that contains a pH suitable for the type of fabric. The types of washing agents are selected according to the thickness of the upholstery and its composition. In the second stage, dirt and remaining moisture is drawn into a vacuum cleaner with very high suction power.
If we are unable to rent or purchase such equipment, we can only wash the furniture manually.
Velour upholstery may turn out to be a small problem. It has a special arrangement of bristle, which gives furniture a beautiful shine. To avoid damaging it, use a mixture of water and ammonia. Wipe the fabric with a soft brush, following the direction of the hair. You can also wash the fabric with a cloth and only then brush through it. Finally, dry the fabric with a hair dryer on a medium setting.
These quite bothersome stains will surely disappear very quickly if you use citric acid mixed with water – for this purpose, use a solution of 5-10% citric acid to 90% water. Apply it on the stain and after waiting a few minutes, wash it using water and washing powder.
Bleach with a small amount of chlorine also works very well on such stains. However, be careful with the amount of bleach so that you don’t get a light discoloration on the upholstery. To clean the stain, you can also use a mixture of baking soda and gray soap. Dissolve both ingredients in water and then wipe the upholstery with the mixture.
This term may seem quite exotic and distant, but it will make the stains and dirt on your furniture disappear forever. This is a method that involves applying laundry detergent to the dirt and then covering it with a microfiber cloth.
In this way, the stain does not penetrate the upholstery, which makes it difficult to clean, but it is transferred to the cloth. After several minutes, wipe the stain off with a single movement and then remove the cleaning agent residue with a second cloth dampened in water.
Not everyone has access to professional washing agents, so if the stains on the material are very visible, it is necessary to hire professionals. The situation is similar when the upholstery has already been washed manually, but cleaning did not bring the expected results. Using strong bleach can cause permanent damage in the upholstery, so a proper company with a washing vacuum cleaner will deal with our problem much better.
Main photo: Nathan Fertig/unsplash.com
