Upholstered furniture, especially those that are used intensively by you and your family members, will inevitably become stained sooner or later. For example, children may eat while sitting on the sofa and accidentally drop a piece of food on the upholstery, or you may spill strong coffee on soft pillows. In general, be that as it may, the sofa will have to be cleaned, especially if it has light upholstery. Of course, in some cases it can simply be removed and washed, however, not every piece of furniture discussed is equipped with removable covers, which, moreover, will not lose their appearance when machine washed. Therefore, you need to know which sofa cleaner you can use and keep the upholstery fresh for many years.
Sofa cleaner
Preventive measures
It is quite difficult to get rid of any dirt on upholstered furniture. In addition, it is not always possible to achieve the desired result.
To avoid stains, it is recommended to follow several preventive measures:
- If there are small children or pets in the house, then cover the upholstered furniture with a blanket or cover (modern factories offer a wide selection of beautiful models). This should be done before every feast. Firstly, the cape is easy to remove and machine wash. Secondly, if the stain does not wash off, then it is easier to replace it with a new one than the upholstery.
- If dirt does appear, wash it off immediately, since ingrained stains are much more difficult to deal with.
Upholstered furniture creates coziness and comfort in the room. It’s so nice to relax on it after a hard day or enjoy a family dinner. To prevent the upholstery from losing its aesthetic appearance, it is enough to vacuum it from time to time, and if random stains appear, special household or folk remedies will help.
Why do you need to clean your sofa?
There are at least several reasons why your sofa upholstery needs to be cleaned. Let's look at them further.
Reason #1 – Keeping your furniture looking neat
As we said above, the sofa is constantly “attacked” by some kind of dirt. So, they bring it:
- small children who just play or like to dine where they shouldn't;
- animals, to whom it is sometimes impossible to explain that you would like to lie on the sofa, preferably a clean one;
- you yourself, when you have lunch or drink coffee on the sofa, just like your naughty children;
- guests carelessly touching light-colored upholstery with dirty hands, etc.
Dirty sofas look incredibly untidy, they are unpleasant to use, and you don’t even want to touch them, let alone sit down
Reason No. 2 – protecting yourself and family members from various ailments
In addition, absolutely without outside help, the surface of the sofa becomes contaminated with a suspension of dust and dirt, which rises into the air when moving around the apartment or house constantly, whether you want it or not. This suspension will form even in housing that is equipped with:
- humidifiers;
- air purifiers.
Over time, the upholstery and soft segments of the internal filling of the sofa absorb a huge amount of various dust, which becomes the most favorable environment for the development of pathogenic microorganisms
Neither regular cleaning nor frequent ventilation will help, since the presence of such dust is absolutely natural, because you do not live in a vacuum.
So, this suspension will settle in the sofa, penetrating deeper into the layers of the upholstery fabric, and create the most favorable conditions for development:
- dust mites;
- pathogenic bacterial flora;
- other micro pests.
Dust mites
In addition, dust itself can cause allergies in people predisposed to them, and gradually destroy the health of people who do not suffer from such predispositions.
Dust mites, for example, can provoke diseases more serious than allergies, for example:
- sinusitis;
- scabies.
In general, a dirty sofa poses a real threat to your health, so cleaning it will protect you first and foremost. In addition, “unwashed” furniture gives off such an odor that your eyes hurt and your nose itches. Another benefit of regular cleaning is the removal of unpleasant odors.
By cleaning your sofa, you will remove not only dirt and dust from it, but also mites, bacteria, unpleasant odors, etc.
Reason No. 3 – extending the life of the sofa
Another reason why it is very important to promptly and regularly clean the sofa from various dirt is the desire to extend the life of the sofa to the maximum.
The more thoroughly you clean your sofa, the longer it will last you.
Prices for the range of washing vacuum cleaners
Washing vacuum cleaner
So, if the furniture upholstery constantly accumulates dirt, its fabric will wear out faster, and, as a result, after a short period of use it will need to be replaced. But replacing upholstery, as you know, costs a lot. In addition, not only the fabric can deteriorate, but also the internal filling of the pillows, seats and armrests of the piece of furniture in question. Replacing them in most cases is unprofitable and pointless, therefore, it is better for you to immediately attend to timely cleaning of the furniture.
A clean sofa is synonymous with peace of mind and balance of mind.
So, we’ve figured out the reasons, we’ve studied the rules for choosing household-type cleaners, which means it’s time to move on to considering the types of possible products that are suitable for cleaning sofas.
Do-it-yourself or professional disinfection of upholstered furniture?
Timely disinfection allows you to get rid of dangerous microorganisms and significantly reduce the likelihood of infection. But in most cases, they think about carrying out this event only when a specific threat appears. And people simply don’t have the skills to do the relevant work.
If you need to disinfect upholstered furniture in Vladivostok, we recommend contacting our company and ordering the appropriate service. Experienced cleaners will clean and disinfect furniture using the most reliable (and most importantly, suitable) products. And you will get high-quality results with a modest financial investment.
Folk remedies for cleaning furniture upholstery
So, now let’s look at effective means for cleaning upholstery, which cost a very small amount of money, since in order to save money they were invented by people themselves. At the same time, their effectiveness is practically not inferior to industrially produced household products. Let's look at the most effective recipes.
The effectiveness of folk remedies sometimes even exceeds that of household chemicals
Recipe No. 1 - a powerful cleaning product with a simple composition
So, to clean furniture upholstery for fabric, you can prepare a special composition, which will include
- a teaspoon of Feri or other dishwashing liquid;
- a spoonful of vinegar essence;
- a cup of heated water;
- a teaspoon of ordinary soda.
Mix all the ingredients in a larger container so that the foam has room to release.
That's all. You will need to work with this composition using a clean sponge (to apply the product), as well as an absorbent cotton towel (to remove any remaining product).
Please note: you need to mix all of the listed products in a basin, and immediately shortly before using the homemade composition, since when soda and vinegar essence come into contact, a powerful release of carbon dioxide will occur, and the accompanying formation of foam, which is what we need to use for work with stains on the upholstery.
We need to use this rich cleansing foam to remove dirt.
Recipe No. 2 – salt water
A very effective way to remove tea and coffee stains is salt water. It's simple to prepare: take a bowl of water and generously salt it until the solution becomes very salty indeed. You will need to treat the sofa in the area of contamination with this liquid, and after the wetted area has dried, vacuum the upholstery.
Salt water is a good upholstery cleaner, and most importantly, it’s natural.
Please note: salt, by itself, also works extremely effectively as a stain remover, however, it only shows a clear result on fresh stains. So, for example, if you spill wine on the upholstery, you can immediately pour a thick layer of salt on it, and it will absorb all the liquid, leaving only minor traces on the sofa that you can remove by other means.
In its pure form, salt works well to remove red wine from fabric surfaces.
Recipe No. 3 - alcohol solution
Another effective remedy is an alcohol solution. It can be prepared by mixing:
- 5 tablespoons of pure alcohol;
- 200 milliliters of water.
You will need to moisten a sponge in this liquid and treat the stains with it.
Alcohol or vodka with water perfectly cleans stains that are ingrained into the upholstery.
Please note: since alcohol has not been sold in its pure form for a long time, if you, of course, do not have any reserves left, replace the required element in the recipe with vodka. However, you need to take into account that vodka is also an already diluted liquid, so the proportions will change somewhat, that is, you will need to take more vodka and less water.
Types of sofa cleaning products
Household chemicals
First, let's look at the category that is the most popular. We are talking about widely used products – household chemicals, the advantages of which include:
- affordable price;
- sufficient efficiency;
- quick results.
You can find a wide variety of cleaning products on store shelves.
Of course, there are a huge number of products in the world that are actually capable of cleaning a sofa from dirt as quickly and efficiently as possible, however, we will present you with a selection of only those that occupy the first positions in the rating compiled by our compatriots. So let's get started.
"The bugs are quiet"
This upholstery cleaner comes in spray form. In many online ratings compiled from reviews of network users submitted by ordinary people, this tool ranks almost first among all available options.
The features of this spray include:
- effective removal of stubborn stains;
- complete removal of traces of biological fluid of people and animals (blood, urine, feces, pus, etc.);
- Possibility of use on the entire surface of the upholstery at the same time;
- restoration of fabric color;
- complete removal of unpleasant odors;
- destruction of bacterial microflora and other harmful microorganisms.
A very effective, but very expensive Israeli product for cleaning sofa upholstery
Another advantage of this spray is its neutral effect on the non-fabric elements of some sofas, that is:
- paintwork;
- rubber;
- wood;
- plastic, etc.
One cannot help but be pleased with one more positive performance characteristic of the product: it does not emit any pungent odors, and the subtle aroma emanating from it is even pleasant.
However, this Israeli product also has disadvantages. As you know, the more effectively a product works, the more likely it is to:
- more dangerous;
- expensive.
You can buy this product in almost any store.
This statement is relevant for the spray in question, therefore, when buying it, prepare to empty your wallet, as well as to work in a full set of protective equipment.
"Vanish"
This stain remover is known to every housewife and every owner of their home, as it works really effectively, and has been one of the leaders in the domestic market for decades.
The required product equally effectively removes old stains from sofa upholstery:
- coffee;
- blood;
- ink, etc.
Vanish
Thanks to its special formula, due to oxygen saturation, contaminated surfaces are really quickly cleaned of stubborn pigment.
The advantages of this product also include the fact that it does not contain chlorine or other potent substances, and therefore it is practically harmless to humans.
Please note: this stain remover is not intended for cleaning delicate textiles such as:
- wool;
- silk;
- brocade;
- velvet.
But it copes with ordinary sofa upholstery with a bang.
The oxygen form “Vanish” allows you to quickly and effectively remove dirt from upholstered furniture
Prices for stain remover Vanish/h3>
Stain remover Vanish
How to clean a sofa with Vanish
So, let's look at how to properly use Vanish to clean a dirty sofa.
Step No. 1 – preparatory process
Before you start applying the product, you need to prepare the surface of the sofa for washing by vacuuming it thoroughly. The fact is that the dust that settles in the upholstery will form streaks when wet and will eat into the fabric even more strongly, therefore, it is better, of course, to remove it immediately.
Here you can use, for example:
- vacuum cleaner;
- a wet sheet placed on the sofa and a beater;
- other methods of dust removal known to you.
Having completed the preliminary cleaning, we proceed to the next stage.
First you need to prepare to apply the product and vacuum the sofa
Step No. 2 – use the product
Apply the product to the upholstery. Depending on the form in which you purchased it (spray, shampoo, foam), the application method will vary. Check the instructions and do everything as written inside it. Rub the application area with a sponge or a special upholstery brush.
After application, look at the instructions again. From it you will find out how long you will need to wait for the stains that have become embedded in the upholstery to come off.
Apply Vanish to the sofa and rub the stubborn stain
Step No. 3 - wash off the product
At the end of a certain period of time, wash the product off the surface of the sofa with a damp cloth, or remove any remaining residue in another way, also indicated in the instructions included with the product. Check if the cleaning has the expected effect. If the answer is positive, then remove the product, and if negative, then try re-cleaning.
When finished, remove the product with a special cloth.
"Tuba"
Tuba cleaning foam, made in Germany, not only costs quite reasonably (around 300 rubles), but also works very effectively. It was specially designed for quick and dry cleaning of upholstered furniture, as its manufacturer claims.
The main advantage of “Tube” is, of course, that it protects the surface of the sofa from getting wet, which entails the flow of dirt into its deeper layers.
This foam for cleaning sofa surfaces works effectively and is inexpensive
Tube foam is suitable for both synthetic and natural materials. By the way, with the help of this product you can safely remove hair left by a shedding dog or cat from the sofa.
