Rare is the couch or sofa that doesn’t get a lot of sitting time. With a lot of sitting time comes spills and the build-up of dirt and dust. Since your living room serves as the centerpiece of your home, it’s incumbent on you to make sure your couch or sofa regularly gets a good cleaning.
When it comes to couch cleaning, you’ll need to decide if you want to do it on your own or hire a professional Los Angeles house cleaning company like MaidThis. We’ll talk more about the second option below. If you are going to do it yourself, you’ll want to make sure you do it correctly to prevent fabric or upholstery damage. With that in mind, we would like to offer you the “ultimate guide” to couch and sofa cleaning.
How to Clean a Couch – The Process
When cleaning a couch or sofa, it’s important to make a plan and follow it closely. If you have never cleaned a couch or sofa before, websites from house-cleaning companies like MaidThis can be very helpful. The things you will need to focus on in order of importance are:
- The type of fabric with which you are dealing
- Having the proper cleaning tools and supplies
- Following a process
- Tips on how to keep couches and sofas clean between cleanings
1. Determine the type of fabric or upholstery with which you are dealing
The cleaning process you will follow will ultimately be determined by the type of fabric or upholstery with which you are dealing. Popular couch and sofa coverings include:
- Cotton cloth
- Linen cloth
- Wool
- Velvet or satin
- Chenille
- Leather
- Polyester
- Nylon
- Microfiber
If you are unsure of what fabric or upholstery is covering your couch or sofa, look for the manufacturer’s tag. If you can’t find a tag, we would suggest that you find your couch online. The material matters because certain cleaning products could damage certain materials and not others. Hint: Labels will usually include much-needed cleaning instructions.
Some of the codes you might encounter are:
X = use vacuum cleaner only
W = Can be washed with water
S = Use dry cleaner detergent only
WS = any combination of mild detergent, steam cleaning, and dry cleaning detergent
2. Gather the proper cleaning tools and supplies
It’s important that you use the proper cleaning tools and supplies. It will help ensure that you don’t cause any unnecessary damage to the fabric.
The tools you might need include micro-fiber cloths, an upholstery steamer/extractor, upholstery dry cleaner, pet hair removal tools, and or a vacuum cleaner.
Things get a little trickier when it comes to choosing cleaning products or chemicals. Caution is warranted here to prevent fabric or upholstery damage. Read your labels or check the manufacturer’s website. The list of typical cleaning products or chemicals for couches looks like this:
- Professional stain remover
- Odor remover
- Leather cleaner
- Olive oil & vinegar for leather
- Vinegar, dish soap & warm water for fabrics and synthetics
- Dry cleaning chemicals for fabrics
- Fabric shampooing for upholstery shampooing
- Baking soda to remove odors
3. Follow this step-by-step couch cleaning process
We thought it would be prudent to guide you through the couch cleaning process the way we professionals do it. Indeed, our top cleaning professionals know a thing or two about how to clean couch fabrics. Here’s the step-by-step process our maids prefer:
Step #1: Vacuum the couch or sofa with a hand vacuum, using a brush attachment to remove dirt, lint, and debris.
Step #2: Clean the frame (wood & metal). This would include dusting, wiping, and polishing as needed.
Step #3: Treat to remove odors. Baking soda is an affordable and effective product for removing odors from fabrics.
Step #4: Remove stains. You can remove stains with cleaning chemicals, dish soap, warm water, and a soft brush or microfiber cloth. Be careful to make sure you are not using chemicals that will damage fabric. Removing stains from velvet and satin can be particularly precarious. Steam cleaners can also effectively remove stains if your couch’s fabric can withstand hot water (stream).
Step #5: Clean the rest of the fabric or upholstery using the method recommended by the manufacturer.
Step #6: Let the fabric ot upholstery dry. This could take hours, so you might want to absorb as much moisture as possible by dabbing with a dry towel or cloth. You can also speed the drying process up by pointing a fan at the couch or sofa.
12 Tips on How to Keep Couches and Sofas Clean Between Cleanings
It’s true that an “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” If you want to improve the longevity of your couch’s upholstery, there are things you can do to keep it clean in between house cleanings. With that in mind, here are some tips you can follow to keep your couch or sofa’s upholstery fresh and looking good:
- Use leather soap and warm water to keep leather fresh
- Monthly, treat your leather couch with an approved leather oil product
- Toothpaste is an interesting hack for cleaning some leathers
- Vacuum regularly
- Blot spills immediately with a warm, moist cloth; Do not rub
- Apply Scotchguard or a fabric protection product
- Rotate and fluff sofa cushions at least once a month
- Deep clean the couch or sofa quarterly
- Keep fabrics away from direct sunlight
- Use slipcovers to prevent fabric or upholster wear and tear
- Keep pets off of your furniture
- Read cleaning product labels carefully and use them properly
Let a Professional Maid Clean for You
If you’re busy or unsure about tackling deep cleaning yourself, hiring a professional cleaning service can be a great solution. At MaidThis, our professionally trained cleaners have a lot of experience with a wide variety of couches, sofas, and fabrics. By hiring us to handle any of your housekeeping responsibilities, including couch cleaning, you get these benefits:
- Cleaners are bonded and insured for your protection
- Automated scheduling system makes appointment scheduling easy
- Our prices are affordable and competitive
- Serves are always 100% guaranteed
- Last minute cancellations allowed without penalty
There are just a few reasons you want to make MaidThis your go-to cleaning company. Call now! Why wait?
