Real case: two light fabric chairs, before and after
Some furniture keeps the story of a home without saying a word. These two chairs, in light fabric with wooden legs, kept it on the seat: small dark stains scattered where people sit, rest their hands, spill their coffee. From a distance they looked just «a little worn». Up close, it was another story.
What light fabric shows
Light fabric is beautiful precisely because it is honest: it shows everything. Grease from hands, drips, dust that clings to moisture. It shows mostly on the seat and the front of the arms, where there is contact; hardly anyone touches the back, so it stays light for years. That is exactly what these photos show: a clean back, a marked seat.
The most common mistake at this stage is scrubbing with water and washing-up liquid. The stain spreads, the filling gets wet underneath and, once dry, a ring appears around it, harder to remove than the original stain. If the stain is fresh, first see how to remove upholstery stains, which works for chairs too.
How the cleaning went
The process is the same for every fabric chair. Deep vacuuming, to lift loose dust from the seams. Pre-treatment of the marked areas with a professional, eco-friendly, hypoallergenic product. Then the injection-extraction machine, which injects the solution into the fibres and sucks it straight back out along with the dissolved dirt. That extraction is what makes the difference: the fabric is left damp, not soaked, and the dirt comes out instead of being pushed into the filling. Anti-mite treatment is included, and drying usually takes 2 to 6 hours.
What it costs and when it is worth it
Each chair or armchair costs €20, guide price: a pair is €40, six dining chairs €120. The minimum order for interior work is €35, so a single chair comes to €35 with travel, and it pays to add the chairs to the sofa or mattress on the same booking. The full table is on prices.
It is worth it when the stains no longer come off with a damp cloth, when the seat has gone darker than the back, or before having people over. Chair and armchair cleaning at home is available in Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Maia and Gondomar. Calculate the price in 60 seconds and book with no prepayment.