Submitted by The Furniture Works
Upholstery furniture cleaning helps preserve your investment. Relying on an expert will ensure that the upholstery in your home receives the care and maintenance it deserves. Next to your home and your car, buying furniture is one of the biggest investments you’ll make. Buying quality furniture is important, but it’s only one part of the equation. The other? Upholstery furniture cleaning that will safeguard your investment.
Fabric Selection
The furniture cleaning process starts with proper fabric selection, care, and maintenance. Whether you’re buying a new piece of furniture or having an existing piece of furniture reupholstered, it’s important to select a fabric that is a good match for the use it will receive. If you have a family with small children, for example, it’s probably not a good idea to choose satin or brocade for the family room since the surface of the fabric is likely to wear with heavy use. It’s a much better bet to select a tightly woven fabric that will withstand the dust, grime, and friction of daily use. For well-used pieces, it’s also a good idea to add a stain-resistant treatment to the fabric. While this treatment won’t make the pieces waterproof, it will increase the longevity of the furniture.
Furniture Care
You can increase the longevity of your upholstered furniture by following a few simple guidelines. First,
- Wipe up any spills as soon as they occur. This prevents stains from setting in to the piece. Dab a dry microfiber cloth on the spill to soak up most of the moisture. Do not rub or scrub the stain, this will only embed the stain deeper. If the spill has already begun to stain, mix a table spoon of baking soda with ¼ cup vinegar. Soak your cloth in the mixture and dab gently on the stain.
- Remember to vacuum or brush your upholstery at least once a week. Doing this weekly prevents grime and dirt from building up between the fibers and will extend the life and quality of the fabric.
- Flip over your cushions once every two weeks to prevent them from becoming misshapen or worn. Ultraviolet rays also cause premature deterioration, so try to keep your pieces out of direct sunlight.
Furniture Maintenance
The third prong of safeguarding the investment you make in your upholstered furniture is making sure to have it professionally cleaned once each year. Although it may be tempting to try upholstery cleaning yourself, resist the urge. Fabrics are generally labeled with “cleanability codes,” namely W, S, WS, and X. These codes relay information about the type of cleaning products that can be used on the fabric.
The caveat about relying on professional upholstery cleaners especially holds true if your sofa is covered in a microfiber or leather. If that’s the case, you should leave maintenance to a microfiber sofa cleaning or leather furniture cleaning expert.
Finding Expert Furniture Cleaners
Because your furniture represents a major investment, be wary of upholstery cleaners who clutter your mailbox with offers for cheap cleaning. Instead, depend upon a company that prides itself on its network of furniture cleaning experts. You should be able to go online and find a directory of trained experts in your area who will provide you with quality, affordable upholstery furniture cleaning.
When you do, you can expect that the technician will come to your home and inspect your furniture for potentially permanent stains or damage. He or she will typically first vacuum the furniture to be cleaned, and then pre-treat potential stains. Following that, he or she will perform the upholstery cleaning according to the fabric care specifications, and perhaps even speed drying time with a blow dryer. At the end of the process, the technician will talk to you about the cleaning and allow you to inspect his or her work.
Remember, upholstery furniture cleaning helps preserve your investment. Relying on an expert will ensure that the upholstery in your home receives the care and maintenance it deserves.
