Furniture Upholstery Cleaning

Nitty Gritty

Furniture Upholstery Cleaning

Start your upholstery cleaning by getting rid of the big chunks. First, if there are any dry crusty chunks on or around the upholstery stains you are cleaning, carefully scrape them off using the edge of a spoon. If you are lucky enough to get to the stain quickly and whatever goo got spilled on it is still wet, use the edge of a rubber spatula to get as much of it off as you can. Be extra care not to rub it in.

Next, so that those dried chunks don’t get ground in later, grab the vacuum and go over the entire piece of furniture. Don’t be afraid to pull out a little of that OCD

 we all carry around with us because you want to get it all. Most vacuum cleaners come with a dusting brush attachment that connects to the hose. If you have it, use it. If you don’t, do what you can with what you’ve got or get yourself an old-school dusting brush. Any hardware store will have one. If you are dealing with a stain that’s still wet, skip this step and go to the next one. If your stain is on a removable cushion, remove that cushion before cleaning it.

It’s now time to make your very own natural upholstery cleaner. And I gotta tell ya; this truly is the fun part. Simple, too. First grab a ¼ cup measuring cup and fill it with your favorite natural/biodegradable dish detergent and pour it into a mixing bowl with 1 cup of warm water. Next—here comes the fun part—use a handheld or electric mixer to beat the soap and water into a nice thick meringue-like foam.

Bring on the suds! After you have thoroughly read, understood ,and probably disregarded the cleaning instructions suggested by the manufacturer (not that that’s what I’m telling you to do), it’s time to get down and foamy. Using a soft bristled brush, gently rub some of the foam into the stain and watch as the dirt and grime lifts out of the fabric and into the foam. Remove the soiled foam with a rubber spatula.

Rinse (wipe) away the suds. If you don’t have one, get yourself a clean white cloth and dampen it with fresh clean water. Rinse the spot you just cleaned by gently but thoroughly wiping away any leftover suds. Rinse the suds out of your rag at least once during the process. After everything is dry, examine the spot you cleaned to see if the process needs to be repeated.

Dry thoroughly before use. Now that your furniture is clean, you don’t want to mess it up even worse by allowing it to mildew. Keep all cushions and pillows separate for quicker drying. Once you are 174% positive that everything is completely dry, go ahead and put it all back together and enjoy. As always, make sure this entire process is first tried on an inconspicuous spot of your furniture so you can test for color fastness and shrinkage.