Introduction

Clean looking furniture is the essence of your room or office. It is one of the most crucial components that enhances the look and, as GenZ would say, brings the vibe to even the most dull rooms.

Furniture like upholstery furniture is not a short term purchase. You buy them after a well thought out plan of what your room should look like for another 5-10 years, maybe more, maybe less.

The look of your room might get changed within this period but the furniture almost remains the same. So it is bought for long term purposes for at least almost half a century.

So when something has such a long-term use, its maintenance becomes mandatory. Thus, keeping your upholstered furniture clean and fresh is important to keep your room looking clean and fresh.

Upholstery Cleaning

Upholstery cleaning is the process of removing not just dust, dirt and stains but also bacteria and different germs from the surface of your upholstered furniture. It is a deep cleaning process that gives a wonderful transformation to your years old furniture.

It not only cleans it but enhances the color and the fabric of the furniture making it look almost as good as new.

With the holiday season just around the corner, and family and friends gathering being planned, one of the first few things on top of your to-do list right now should be upholstery cleaning.

You might be thinking, is it even that important that I start my holiday season preparation with this? We tell you yes, it is!

Why is Upholstery Important?

Regular or before events upholstery cleaning can prove to be advantageous in many obvious and not very obvious ways. The deep cleaning process proves beneficial for health, the environment of the room and for retaining furnitures value in the following ways:

➔   Maintaining Hygienic Ambiance

• Eliminating Allergens: If someone at your home is allergic to dust and debris they know the pain of dusty furniture! However, its not only about being allergic to dust, the mere presence of allergens like dust mites, pet danders and mold can make anyone sneeze or even sick. Upholstering cleaning ensures these allergens are cleaned off to provide a risk free environment.
• Killing off germs: Years old upholstered furniture is the most easy and convenient home for harmful microorganisms like bacteria and various other germs from pets or people. It is important to get upholstering regularly to make sure that these unseen germs do not attack you or your family and cause serious health issues.
• Air Quality: Removing allergens and killing off germs through upholstery cleaning does not only clean the furniture but improves the overall air quality as well.

➔   Keeping the Vibe Alive

• Enhances the colors: Cleaning the old furniture brings vibrancy to its colors. No matter if it is some bright or pastel color, the detailed cleaning makes it look aesthetically pleasing.
• Removes Odors: Pet owners or toddler parents know the pain of odoring furniture very well! Sometimes it’s the spilled food or vomit by a baby or accidental urine by a sick or mischievous pet. These things can ruin a furniture’s good looks by giving off pathetic smells. Upholstering cleaning fights that problem too and gives a soft smell to your furniture
• Refreshing atmosphere: Vibrant colors, fresh smelling furniture and fresh air quality all together create a refreshing and relaxing environment in the room. And that one particular furniture would become your favorite spot after a long tiring day.

➔   Retaining the Value

• Longer Lifespan: Upholstering cleaning can give a longer life span to your furniture by making it look new but also by strengthening and preserving the quality of fabric through its deep cleaning process.
• Durability/ longevity: The deep cleaning also ensures the durability of the furniture is prolonged by cleaning off the dust and dirt from the surface.
• No quick replacement: when the lifespan and the durability of the product increases it means it doesn’t need exchanging or replacement. Similarly, upholstering would ensure you don’t have to spend a large amount on replacing your sofa incase of an accident but it helps you renew the present one.

Steps in Upholstering Cleaning

Assessment

The first step to upholstery cleaning is assessing the furniture and its Fabric. A professional cleaner assesses the upholstered material to determine the best method to employ, suitable product to use and the most effective way to make your furniture look as clean as new.

Pre-Treatment

The second step involves using a pH-balanced formula to loosen up the fibers for further deep cleaning. The experts use an emulsifier and let it sit for a few minutes to fight the difficult stains and dirt and prepare the fabric for further extraction.

Spot and Stain Treatment

In the third step the cleaners try to tackle the more stubborn and spotty areas. This is the part of upholstering cleaning where you get rid of the stains that have been sitting on your furniture for too long.

Hot Water Extraction (Steam Cleaning)

Finally, experts use steaming equipment that allow better cleaning. They use hot water, pressure, and steam to penetrate deep within the fibers to extract dirt, and harmful allergens. This method is specially recommended by carpet and upholstery manufacturers.

Final Touches

Now that the cleaning process is completed, the cleaner gives finishing to his work. Every cleaner has their own routine for final touches like some remove the solvents from fabric after cleaning, some apply drying agents and others apply fabric protectors or sanitizers to retain the tidiness.

Do’s and Don’ts of Upholstering Cleaning

Do’s

• Do your own research on the type of fabric your upholster is made and then let the cleaner start the cleaning process
• Look for the manufacturer’s code to determine which type of cleaning solution is good for your furniture’s fabric. Those labels are:
• W: water-based cleaner should use.
• S: solvent-based cleaner should use.
• WS: Either water or solvent-based cleaner is suitable.
• X: Professional cleaning only.
• Before starting the cleaning process, ask the cleaner to test the product on the hidden side of the sofa to test its result on the fabric, also called spot test.
• Give your furniture upholstering cleaning after every 12-15 months
• For people with pets and children or high traffic usage, the gap can be reduced to 6-8 months.
• After upholstering cleaning, regular vacuuming should do to maintain the cleanliness.

Don’ts

• Don’t start cleaning without spot testing
• When there is a spill or stain, don’t clean by rubbing a cloth try gentle blotting. This improves the chances of lifting the stain
• Don’t place the upholster directly in the sunlight coming through windows to avoid color fading or shrinking. It’s advisable to use window protection in that case.
• Don’t overdo the use of cleaners, sanitizers or DIY products as their overuse can compromise the material of the upholster.

Bonus Tips to Maintain Upholstering Cleaning for Longer

• Use fabric protectors to increase the longevity of your upholster against wears and tears
• Use Sanitizer and Deodorizer to get rid of odor or potential allergens. This add on leaves the area sanitized and smelling fresh.
• Apply Stain Shielding which are also call Scotch Guarding. It adds a protective layer to the upholstered fabric as it repels water based spills.
• Apply window screens to minimize UV exposure of upholster
• Regular cushion rotation can be a very good trick to reduce tearing or dust accumulation
• Keep the furniture in a well ventilated area to avoid molding or odor.

Why hire an upholstery cleaning service?

• They are better experts and more experienced in the matter regarding deep cleaning
• They are more knowledgeable on the subject of suitable cleansers for different fabrics. The types of solutions that should use for each fabric type.
• Deep cleaning at home is a long and time consuming job, hiring experts will make it happen quicker
• High tech equipment used by professionals improves the overall air quality and eliminates the potential health risks in the room.

Hire help today…

Upholstery cleaning is a task almost everyone, at least, thinks about before the holiday season starts. So rather than just delaying the job thinking you’ll do it tomorrow, hire professional help today to make your upholstery look vibrant and to make it allergens and germs free.

Spot and stain treatment, hot water extraction and application of fabric protectors and sanitizers can provide an overall healthy environment, good aesthetics and can save you the cost of replacing your upholstery furniture.