How to Clean a Couch, Including the Upholstery and More

In quite a few approaches, your couch is the coronary heart of your property. Consider about it this way: It truly is the place you and your liked kinds gather to total jigsaw puzzles, capture up after a long day’s do the job, and binge Netflix show immediately after Netflix demonstrate. Due to the fact of this, your sofa is also the capture-all location for chip crumbs, popcorn kernels, and occasional wine spills.

While vacuuming or wiping down your couch may perhaps deal with working day-to-day filth and pet hair, you should really bust out your material steamers and cleaners if you really want to get rid of established-in stains, spills, and oils from dirty palms and feet. Each 6 months or so, follow this move-by-stage manual on how to clear a sofa — no make any difference what sort of fabric it may perhaps be — by Carolyn Forte, Director of the Very good Housekeeping Institute Cleansing Lab, to make your dwelling area completely ready for yet another jam-packed weekend of film-observing.

Table of Contents

How to Thoroughly clean and Sanitize a Couch

Whether you’re making an attempt to tackle a specific stain on a cushion or want to give your whole sofa a biannual refresh, give this straightforward how-to a try out:

Use a handheld garment steamer or bursts from your steam iron to eliminate dust mites. Go above the whole sofa, allowing for just the steam to touch and penetrate the cloth. If you don’t have a steamer or iron, skip this step and go straight to vacuuming.
With your vacuum’s upholstery attachment, go above the total couch: back, arms, skirt and cushions. If the cushions are detachable, choose them off and vacuum the fabric underneath, likely as significantly below the back again and arms as your vacuum can reach. With the crevice software, go along the seams, all-around any buttons, and alongside the trim.
Get a seem at your couch’s care tag to see what’s safe and sound to use on the material:
- W is the least difficult to thoroughly clean and suggests water-centered cleaners are all right to use.
- W/S indicates that either drinking water- or solvent-based cleaners are risk-free.
- S indicates only solvent-based cleansing chemical substances need to be utilised.
- X signifies do very little more than vacuum or brush the fabric.
1. For materials that can properly be cleaned with h2o, treat food items and pet stains with an enzyme-containing components like Bissell Professional Pet Stain & Odor Remover. In a pinch, blend alongside one another moderate dish cleaning soap with warm h2o. Always take a look at the cleaner in a hidden region initially.
2. If your cushions have detachable addresses, unzip them and spot a paper towel concerning the material and filling to take up cleaner. Use the cleaner to a fabric and blot the stain cautiously, functioning from the exterior in. When the stain is taken out, dab the region with an additional moist cloth to rinse completely and blot dry. For “S” materials, remove stains with a solvent-centered merchandise in accordance to package directions.
3. Cleanse dingy arms and headrests with a moveable extraction cleaner like Bissell’s Little Environmentally friendly ProHeat Transportable Cleaner. Basically dispense the cleaner and water mixture by means of the hose, agitate the fabric with the brush nozzle, and vacuum up the grime into the tank. For solvent-only fabrics, it really is ideal to phone in a qualified for a safe and comprehensive cleansing.
4. At the time your sofa is cleanse and dry, eliminate any lingering germs and odors on h2o-protected upholstery with a fabric sanitizing spray like Tide Antibacterial Material Spray.