How to clean a fabric sofa at home (and when it is not worth it)
A fabric sofa stays in good shape at home with three habits: vacuum it every week, deal with stains straight away and never soak the upholstery. What home cleaning cannot do is get the dirt out of the foam inside, and that is where dust mites and odours stay.
First of all: read the label
Under the cushions or on the base of the sofa there is almost always a label with a code. Broadly: W accepts water-based cleaning; S solvent only, no water; W/S accepts both; X vacuum only. Wetting an «S» fabric leaves water rings that are hard to remove afterwards.
What works at home
- Vacuum with the upholstery nozzle, including seams and under the cushions, once a week
- Fresh stain: blot with paper, do not rub, working from the outside in
- Warm water with a few drops of neutral detergent on a well-wrung cloth, only on «W» fabrics
- Always test first on a hidden spot, such as the back
- Let it dry with a window open, without sitting on it while damp
For specific wine, coffee or grease stains, the steps are in how to remove sofa stains; for urine odour, in urine smell on a sofa or mattress.
What ruins a sofa
- Scrubbing hard: it opens the weave and spreads the stain
- Bleach or «all-purpose» stain removers: they discolour and leave a lighter mark
- Soaking: water gets into the foam, which takes days to dry and can start to smell musty
- A very hot hair dryer: it can set the stain and shrink the fabric
When to call a professional
When the sofa has stains all over, an odour that keeps coming back, pets, or someone at home with allergies. Injection-extraction equipment injects the product and sucks it straight back out, removing dirt from inside the upholstery without soaking it; drying takes 2 to 6 hours. An example with photos is the real case of the corner sofa.
How much it costs
2-seat sofa €40, 3-seat €55, corner sofa €75, guide price. Full details in how much sofa cleaning costs in Porto, and booking on the sofa cleaning page. We work in Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Matosinhos, Maia and Gondomar.