You may have invested a significant amount of money in buying furniture that creates a warm and inviting environment in your home. You might also have taken just as much care and money to invest in the right furniture upholstery fabric to add color to your furniture, while making it last longer too.
However, upholstered furniture can attract lots of dirt, fade due to regular exposure to heat or sunlight, and begin to wrinkle with the prolonged use. The fabric may eventually change color and will lose its initial appeal and shine.
If you are beginning to worry that all your money’s is going to waste, then don’t despair. Because maintaining upholstered furniture is completely something you can do, and you can do it easily by following our daily, weekly, and yearly maintenance plans below.
The Importance of Cleaning Upholstered Furniture:
Before you get started with your maintenance plan, we have listed here the benefits of looking after your upholstery to help you understand why regular maintenance of your upholstered furniture is necessary.
- To stay looking good
As a homeowner, it’s nice to have furniture that looks clean and fresh all the time. Not only will maintaining your upholstery make your furniture look good but you may also receive compliments from your visitors.
- For long-lasting furniture
The main purpose of upholstering is to protect the material used for making the furniture. It protects the inner fabric and cushioning from stains, gathering dust and getting dirty. So, regularly cleaning the upholstery fabric means you are increasing the longevity of this fabric and the furniture as a whole.
- Healthy environment
A clean home is a healthy home. When you vacuum the furniture, you are removing dust, dirt, mould, food crumbs and other things from your furniture. Vacuuming also removes any moisture which can be responsible for mould growth.
- Clean and fresh smells
From spills to pets and sweat, furniture can begin to emit different odors if you ignore cleaning it. Regular maintenance helps the fabric to stay clean and not emit unpleasant smells. Altogether, you will feel more comfortable using your furniture.
Now, let’s see what you can do to maintain your upholstered furniture:
- Every day or so
For retaining its shape: To retain the shape of sofa cushions, plump the surface, turn and rearrange cushions so that the shape is uniform with no sagging. Also, make sure that you don’t sit in one spot every time to maintain an even appearance.
For discoloration: Fabrics tend to change color if exposed to high amounts of heat. For this, you can draw the blinds when the sun is at its peak. Additionally, install your heaters far away so that the heat emitted does not affect the fabric.
For protecting fabric threads: Be careful in your daily life to avoid snagging on fabric with parts of your clothing, like buckles and studs, as well as rings. Make sure pet claws don’t snag it either. To avoid this, you can use furniture covers like arm caps.
Minimize accidents: While you may take care not to spill anything while you eat or drink, the same cannot be said for your kids and pets. They may accidentally stain the fabric which could become difficult or frustrating to clean regularly. To avoid this, you can have separate furniture for your kids and pets.
Clean stains immediately: Whenever there is any spill, without any delay, dab the area with a dry cloth so that the stain doesn’t get absorbed into the fabric.
- Weekly
Vacuuming: Vacuum with an upholstery brush attachment. This will remove the build-up of dust and dirt, mould and any other nasties. While vacuuming, make sure to focus on the nooks and crannies.
Remove pet hair: Hair, whether yours or your pet’s, is difficult to remove with your bare hand. So, you can use a lint remover or cloth brush to remove the hair strands without damaging the fabric threads.
Remove bad odors: Cushions absorb sweat and other bad odors and begin to smell if you ignore them for a long time. To avoid such bad smells, sprinkle bicarbonate soda in the evening and vacuum the entire area in the morning. The bicarbonate soda sucks up the smells and vacuuming removes the absorbed powder, removing the bad odors effectively.
- Yearly
Professional cleaning: Depending on the kind of fabric used to upholster your furniture and how extensively you use, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions and call in a professional for deep cleaning.
Cleaning is important now and for the future!
Presently, the situation around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic is drastic. Keeping ourselves and our surroundings clean is one of the ways you can help flatten the curve of the virus. Spending a lot of time at home means there will be heavy usage of furniture like sofas, chairs and surfaces. So, let’s not ignore cleaning them as it helps us to stay healthy and disease-free.
Also, read here Love Vintage Furniture? 10 Tips for Buying the Best
