How to Freshen Up Your Upholstery

With many of us still working from home and our furnishings get maximum use. Fabric is porous so it holds dust and allergens. Cleaning these regularly should be a part of your homecare routine but we promise it sounds a lot harder than it is! Here the TD team shares their favorite tips on different ways to clean upholstery from  light dusting to deep cleaning. ​

General Dust Cleaning

This can be done in a few ways. Call us old fashioned but the first thing we like to do is take what we can outside and smack it with a broomhandle. This makes your cushions fluffier and gets a lot of dust and allergens off outside your home. After that, bring out the vacuum and clean up under the cushions. Once you have pocketed the change and thrown away any trash, attach the brush attachment to your vacuum hose. Most of them look like what is pictured below. Starting at the top of your couch vacuum top to bottom. 

Expert Tip: If your couch has a bit of a smell to it all you need to do is add a few drops of essential oils (make sure they are pet/kid safe) to a bowl of warm water. Put a clean sponge in and gently wipe the sides and cushions of the couch. It should be damp, not wet. Your sofa will smell fresh as a daisy!

How To Spot Clean

For small things use vinegar and a microfiber cloth. Gently wipe away at the stain until it is clean. 

If this is not sufficient you can whip up a teaspoon of dish soap into a bowl of warm water and with an electric mixer or whisk until you have foam that forms a soft peak. Scoop out some of it and put it on the stain and gently scrub with a soft bristle toothbrush until you see the dirt coming off. Then scrape up remaining foam and wipe away remaining suds with a damp towel.
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Expert Tip: The key is to not get the upholstery too wet, which is why the soap suds need to be dry and foamy. In fact, you should use this method only on upholstery with a label code of W or WS; if the label says S, perform only the vacuuming and spot-cleaning steps, and if the label has the letter X, vacuum the piece but leave everything else to the professionals.

Professional Cleaning

Anything more than small spot cleaning you should leave to a professional. We love supporting small businesses like Appleby’s Cleaning which specializes in upholstery and rug cleaning. They are trusted professionals that have been in the business since 1955! 

Do you have any other upholstery cleaning tips? Let us know in the comments below and share with a friend!