Accidents happen. Whether it’s cute little paw prints of your best friend or spillages of some more or less noble liquids, sooner or later you’ll probably need to give your sofa a good scrub. We’ve been here for quite some time now and I’ve received a few inquiries from our customers asking how to clean a sofa once it gets dirty.
I’ve decided to post all the necessary info here in case some sort of a misfortune happens at your home as well.
At Willow & Hall, we have a handful of different types of upholstery which all need a slightly different approach when it comes to cleaning a sofa. I’ll sort them into three main groups so it’s simple to find yours in the list should you ever need to.
Cleaning man-made upholstered sofas
Our fabrics: House Linen, Textured Linen, Matt Velvet, Crushed Velvet, Textured Chenille, Wool
Tools: Warm water, white clean cloth, mild detergent or neat white vinegar, hairdryer
Instructions: Most of our sofas fabrics are based on polyester, meaning they’re much more durable and easy to clean than the all-natural counterparts. When cleaning these fabrics, you should use a white cloth with just a little bit of warm water – after a few gentle circular motions, all the stains will come right off. If they’ve been there for some time though, you can always use a mild detergent or a dash of white vinegar as well. It’s quite important to get the upholstery dry as quickly as possible after cleaning the stains – any kind of hairdryer can certainly help you here.
It gets even better for cushion covers, as you can simply pop them into the washing machine on a cool wash and hang them out to dry.
Cleaning faux leather sofas
Our fabrics: House Leather
Tools: Warm water, clean cloth
Instructions: When it comes to cleaning a sofa, there’s hardly a better choice than our House Leather. Made from polyurethane and cotton, it can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth. Spillages and stains shouldn’t soak up through the fabric, so you won’t need any detergent – of course, the sooner you clean it up, the better.
Cleaning natural upholstered sofas
Our fabrics: Linen Cotton
Instructions: Our Linen Cotton fabric is based on viscose, thus it needs a more tender approach. Although very reliable and durable, viscose-based fabrics tend to be quite sensitive to water. That’s why I’d recommend dry-cleaning your sofa in this case. The same goes for cushion covers as well.
I hope you won't need my advice on cleaning your sofa too often. If you do though, our durable fabrics shouldn’t give you a hard time, so there’s really no need to be angry with your pooch for snuggling up on your favourite armchair!