How to clean a sofa?

Have you got crumbs all over the sofa? Got guests staying over? Just want to have a good old-fashioned spring clean? Want to start by cleaning your sofa but have no idea what to do? We are here to help and give you tips and advice on have to clean your sofa from messy to spotless.

Step 1: Vacuum All Over

Before actually starting to vacuum the sofa to get it clean, we need to remove anything large and anything that might get stuck in the vacuum pipe. This includes coins, pens, paperclips, crayons or keys from the sofa. this is going to help us in getting this sofa spotless.

Now that all the large debris is removed, we can start vacuuming all over and this includes everything such as the cushions. Don’t forget the cracks. Use the tiny attachments for this as we want to get this sofa spotless.

A tip we recommend is to use an old stocking or something similar and secure it to the vacuum pipe with a rubber band to stop anything big that might get sucked up and clog the vacuum pipe. Another tip we recommend is to use a lint roller all over as the vacuum doesn’t remove everything such as pet hair, lint or dust out of the sofa. Using a lint roller will give your sofa the appearance of being cleaner.

Step 2: Identify Your Fabric

When cleaning your sofa, you will want to identify what is the best way to clean your sofa as different sofa materials need to be handled differently. You can find this out by checking the tag on your sofa which is called the care tag. This gives instructions on how to clean your sofa and how not to clean your sofa bed without ruining it. the care tag should tell you what cleaning products you can use that will not damage your sofa.

As a general guide most tags will follow this:

“W”: It’s okay to use water to clean, or a water-based detergent if you’re using a steam vacuum

“S”: Use only a solvent-based cleaner or a dry-cleaning detergent

“SW or WS”: You can use either water or a solvent cleaner/dry-cleaning detergent

“O”: Indicates the material is ‘Organic’ (natural fibres) and should be washed with cold water

“X”: Only vacuum or use a brush to clean, get a professional upholstery cleaner if it needs shampooing

If your sofa has covers that can be removed you should if these can be removed. If the sofa covers can be removed check if they can be washed in the washing machine or if they need to be dry cleaned.

Step 3: Spot Sofa Cleaning

You’ve noticed stains on your sofa and need to clean them to get the sofa spotless.to clean the stains you will need to get warm water mixed with some dishwashing liquid to remove the stains.to make sure that this is safe for your sofa use the mixture on a small section somewhere that won’t be noticeable like the corners and test if it is safe.

Get a clean cloth and apply this mixture onto the stains and blot the stain and leave it to dry. Now with a bristle brush gently break up cakey dirt. Doing this gently will prevent damage to the sofa.

Get to know your stains and what type of cleaning solution you need to use to remove them effectively without damaging your sofa material.

Step 4: Use Baking Soda for Sofa Cleaning

Baking soda is a cleaning super tool as it helps break up stains as well as remove any bad smells that may be lingering. start by sprinkling your sofa with a good amount of baking soda evenly. let the baking soda sit on the sofa for 20 to 60 minutes. now that the time is up get your vacuum and attach the brush attachment and vacuum all the baking soda off.

These steps should aid you when cleaning your sofa and help you get your sofa spotless.

• Step 1: Vacuum All Over
• Step 2: Identify Your Fabric
• Step 3: Spot Sofa Cleaning
• Step 4: Use Baking Soda for Sofa Cleaning