How to Remove Stains from Your Fabric Sofa
So the day has finally arrived. You’ve waited for 8 long weeks for your precious new purchase to arrive and finally your stunning new British sofa is sitting proudly in your sitting room. Sumptuous seat cushions are just waiting to be sat on but before you invite all your friends round to show off your new pride and joy, have you considered how to look after your sofa if the worst happens and a friend gets a bit jolly with that glass of red?
Here at Sofas and Stuff we are asked all the time how best to look after your fabric sofa or how to lovingly clean a leather sofa; from removing red wine stains to being asked how to remove chocolate from fabric. Tomato sauce, tea and coffee are also terrible offenders and more times than we can count we have been asked how to get muddy paw prints off of upholstery.
Day-to-Day Sofa Maintenance
We think that prevention is better than cure. Minimise the threat of accidental sofa damage with our Fabric Care Plan – your local showroom will be able to advise you on this service.
If the worst does happen, our best advice is to dab at a stain if the fabric allows for you to spot clean (best to check with the fabric manufacturer) never rub at a stain or this could drive marks into the fibres. A weekly hoover will ensure your sofa looks fresh and avoids a build-up of dirt that will dull your sofa fabric choice.
Your local showroom should also be able to point you in the direction of a professional upholstery cleaner for fabric sofa cleaning in situ. In fact, this may be a nice annual treat for your sofa to keep it looking spruce!
We would never recommend washing your sofa covers as this can lead to uneven fading and a certain amount of shrinkage.
How to Clean Velvet Sofas
Velvet sofa covers will need a little extra TLC to look after. Cotton velvets are particularly prone to pressure marks and love a steam every now and then to bring the pile back up. Cotton velvets will also suffer from water marks if you are unfortunate enough to spill something on your sofa covers. A specialist sofa cleaner will be the best solution to this.
A stain-resistant velvet would be our top-tip for high traffic areas, making your new sofa wipe cleanable and able to withstand a little more of what family life can throw at it.
How to Clean Leather Sofas
Leather sofas require extra special treatments and like to be gently rubbed with a little leather conditioner from time to time, this will help to keep your leather sofa in great condition. By nature, leather will come with marks, this all adds to its character, it is also worth bearing in mind that some leathers will mark with water spills and you will need to wet a whole panel to ensure it dries evenly without watermarks. We would always advise that you call your nearest showroom for specific advice if you have a spill or stain.
How to Clean Wool Sofas
Different fabrics react in different ways to accidents. For example, a Harris Tweed sofa cover will have some resistance to water based spills, allowing you time to grab a cloth and try to gently mop up the mark. Wool is an amazing fabric choice for many reasons, one of our favourites is that it is naturally stain resistant (note: not stain-proof!) and its hypoallergenic qualities make it the perfect choice for anyone with sensitive skin; no need for chemical treatment to keep it looking as good as new!
With literally thousands of fabrics to choose from, we couldn’t possibly give you specific details on caring for each of them. It is always best to ask the fabric manufacturer for details on how to clean your sofa as well as getting in touch with your nearest showroom for lots more advice.