Skip to the content
The Professionals Guide On How To Clean and Maintain The Different Types of Upholstery
Houses are meant to be lived in, they are not sterile environments, and anyone with a young family will have experienced on many occasions a spilt drink or melted chocolate on their beautiful armchair or sofa. The first thing to do when this happens is to keep calm and act as quickly as possible. The longer you leave a liquid, sweet or chocolate on your upholstery, the more it will sink in and the more of a challenge it will be to remove it.
At Queen of Clean, we regularly are tasked with upholstery cleaning on Isle of Man. We always aim to restore its former beauty, and in the process, we have learned and discovered a range of tips that deliver outstanding results. The type of material used in your upholstery is critical to the cleaning decisions you make, so we have put together this guide to help visitors to our site benefit from our knowledge and experience.
There are some general tips that will apply across the board regardless of materials. The most important thing to do is regularly hoover your furniture, with the aim of preventing dust from embedding itself in your fabric and stuffing.
Synthetic Upholstery
An increasing number of sofas and chairs are made from synthetic upholstery. Synthetic essentially means fabrics such as acrylic, nylon or polyester. Part of the reason for their popularity is how easy they are to clean.
Check to see if the covers are removable as in this situation, you can put them in your washing machine, and they should come out looking brand new.
If the covers are not removable, use a water-based cleaning product to attack the stain. It is always a good idea to check your furniture labels before a disaster happens. Read the labels and make sure you know any specific recommendations the manufacturer makes.
Before using any upholstery cleaning product, spot clean a small inconspicuous area to ensure there is no unexpected reaction before tackling the main areas. The main issues to look out for are shrinking and discolouration.
Natural Upholstery
Natural Fibres are another popular product used in the upholstery manufacturing process. This would include 100 per cent natural products such as cotton or wool, silk or even velvet. The important factor to take into consideration with natural products is they are like a sponge and absorb water rapidly. This means that wet cleaning is not advisable, although, in certain situations, steam cleaning might be an option. Use a water-based cleaning product sparingly, as too much water can cause either a shrinking of the material or the phenomenon known as “water rings”.
Combined Upholstery
Some manufacturers use a combination of natural and man-made fibres, such as cotton or wool, mixed 50/50 with synthetic materials. If you own this type of furniture, our advice would be to hire a professional upholstery cleaner. Because of the complexities of cleaning two different types of material, there is an increased risk of damage being caused, which is why it is best to leave it to the professionals. The only exception to this rule is if the label on the furniture says that it is suitable for home cleaning.
Leather Furniture
Leather is one of the most frequently used products in upholstery and has been for many years. In most cases, the only cleaning or maintenance that is required is wiping the dust or dirt with a damp cloth. It is worthwhile adding some leather cream to it over time to keep it elastic and smooth. In the unlikely event that you get a permanent stain on it, such as grease or marker pen, then a professional company will normally have the specialist equipment to remove it.
Microfibre Upholstery
Microfibre furniture, much like leather, is beautiful, very durable and extremely easy to keep clean. As the name suggests, Microfibre furniture is made up of thousands of small fibres, which, apart from looking beautiful, has the added benefit of preventing dirt from penetrating deeply into the fabric. Our advice would be to buy a soft brush to use on the material and then suck up any crumbs or debris with a hoover.
The final tip that we would give is perhaps one of the most important. The majority of the cleaning products made specifically for upholstery are water-based. Take extra care when using them to ensure the cleaning products remain on the upholstery and do not land on the frames, legs or arms of the furniture you are cleaning. Water left on wood or metal can cause it to rot, discolour or rust, so bear this in mind when cleaning.
If you have any other cleaning questions or are looking for a professional, reliable IOM upholstery cleaning company then call Queen of Clean today on (07624) 237333
