The sofa is the most important piece of furniture in the house, the most favorite place to relax, watch TV, lie down with a book, just sit with a cup of tea. For children, it is an entertainment item. It is great to jump on it, run, sometimes with your favorite pets, eat your favorite treats. Pets also do not mind lounging on the sofa, and no matter how much you scold them, they will not pay attention to your strict taboo.
A favorite place for guests, who also like to sit on the sofa at the set table. In the end, various stains appear on the furniture, some of which are difficult to remove. How to get rid of them, how to restore the original appearance, what should be used so as not to spoil the upholstery?
It seems like an impossible task. If you approach the cleaning process correctly, everything will be much easier than you thought. It all depends on the sofa's surface and the origin of the stain.
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What are the most common types of contaminants?
The upholstery undergoes a lot during the use of the sofa. Even if you are clean, the furniture will still have dust from clothes, traces of sweat and skin fat. You have become accustomed to having a snack while sitting on the sofa watching your favorite show or series. And if there is no place to seat guests in the room, they will, of course, sit on the sofa. After their "invasion", there will certainly be stains from pizza, fat, beer, wine, tea or coffee, jam.
Small children are a separate topic. They can smear the sofa with anything - smear plasticine, paint with paints, markers, chalk, some like to stick chewing gum, grab it with chocolate hands or, if they didn’t manage to run to the toilet, just pee on it. Urine, penetrating the fabric, leaves not only stains, but also a persistent smell. It can be difficult to get rid of. Cats and dogs simply adore sitting on the sofa, leaving fur, drool and traces of unwashed paws. Dogs like to lie down on the sofa right after a walk.
If the sofa is leather
How to clean a sofa at home? It all depends on what kind of upholstery fabric it is covered with. It is unacceptable to clean leather and fabric with the same product. It is important to remember some tricks, then you will easily cope with difficult to remove stains. Let's see how to properly clean a sofa if it has leather upholstery.
It is better to clean such furniture with a damp cloth, it is advisable not to wet the covering too much. You can clean it with wipes designed specifically for leather. Folk method: egg white will help to add shine and mask cracks. It needs to be beaten and applied to the surface with gauze. Milk can be used for the same purpose. Traces of wine, marker or pen, remove them with an alcohol wipe or soaked in vodka or alcohol.
You can use a soap solution, water, preferably warm, and a fiber cloth. Wipe the sofa with the solution and rinse thoroughly. Then apply conditioner to the surface. This procedure will help add gloss and give a renewed look. To avoid streaks, wipe with a fiber cloth.
A grease stain, still fresh, can be easily removed with starch. Blood can only be washed off with ice water. Light-colored leather upholstery can be cleaned with regular dishwashing detergent.
More problems are caused by mold that appears on leather furniture due to humidity in the room, or liquid that was not removed in time remains on the surface. The favorite place for mold to appear is the folds of the sofa. Do not let it go, you need to immediately treat it with a vinegar solution. Wipe the affected area and wipe it off. When the mold has become ingrained enough, it is almost impossible to get rid of it at home. It is advisable to contact specialists.
If the upholstery is fabric
Nowadays, professional sofa cleaning services are not cheap. But at home, you can get rid of the most difficult stains for almost no money.
Before you start cleaning a fabric sofa, there are a few rules you need to know.
- The products you are going to use to clean fabric upholstery should be tested on an inconspicuous area to avoid spoiling the appearance.
- It is not recommended to clean flock coatings with products containing alcohol.
- Only dry cleaning is suitable for microfiber upholstery. Wet cleaning is used only in exceptional cases.
- Light surfaces are cleaned with white cloths. If you use colored ones, the surface of the sofa may become stained due to the action of cleaning agents.
- Do not use undiluted vinegar or bleach for cleaning.
Before you start cleaning, you need to remove accumulated dust, crumbs, and hair left behind by pets. Use a vacuum cleaner with a special attachment for furniture to go through all the corners and joints.
Velour upholstery is cleaned with a fiber cloth and vinegar solution (1 teaspoon per liter of liquid). All movements are made in the direction of the pile. To remove difficult stains, it is better to contact professionals.
For suede, use a brush with soft bristles. Greasy marks can be easily removed with alcohol or an eraser.
Tapestry does not tolerate wet cleaning, only vacuum cleaning is suitable, since due to cleaning agents the coating does not last long, wears out in a short time and changes color. If you can't do without wet cleaning, then the stain is covered with foam.
We clean stains on the velour covering with a foaming agent - a small amount should be diluted in 250 ml of water and applied to the stain.
For silk and velvet, cleaning with powder products is acceptable.
Removing different types of stains
If stains appear on the furniture, it is better to try to remove them immediately, do not delay. Then they will be absorbed into the upholstery and dry. You need to put napkins or gauze on a fresh stain, as they absorb liquid very well. Stains are removed, moving from the edges to the center.
| Plasticine smeared on the sofa, cream, remains of fatty food | We remove all this with some hard object, then add salt – it will absorb the fat. |
| Drinks | For stains from coffee, tea, beer, you need to put napkins, then clean with a soap solution, to which you add vinegar - about 2 tablespoons per liter of liquid. For stains from wine, put a napkin, then sprinkle with salt and wipe.
Stains from juices and fruits are cleaned with ammonia and vinegar, mixed 1:1, applied to the stain, allowed to dry and washed with water. |
| Products | Traces of condensed milk, jam, and chocolate are first dried so as not to smear them, removed from the surface, and cleaned with a soap solution.
You need to put something cold on the gum left by children on the sofa upholstery - a bag of ice, a freeze. Afterwards it will be very easy to remove it with a knife.
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| Blood, urine | Blood is washed off with cold water only. You can add aspirin (1 tablet per 250 ml) or salt (1 tbsp. per liter of water). Urine is removed with a napkin, then carpet cleaner or liquid soap is applied.
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When traces remain after the initial cleaning, they are easily removed with Vanish.
How to get rid of odors?
Upholstered furniture, as is known, absorbs odors perfectly. It is present in everything – from the filler to the wood. This is fixable.
Vinegar easily copes not only with beer, but also with other various drinks. Take an unnecessary sheet, soak it in a weak vinegar solution, squeeze it out and put it on the sofa. Press it firmly to the surface. Do this several times. Both the smell and the stains are removed.
A soap solution with 1 tbsp of ammonia added will help remove the "aroma" from the leather upholstery. Apply to the upholstery with a sponge, wipe with a damp cloth and a dry rag.
The child peed on the sofa, iodine will help to eliminate the smell. For a liter of water, take 15-20 drops and wipe the "crime scene". It is worth remembering that this product is used only on a dark surface! Light surfaces are cleaned with potassium permanganate, citric acid or lemon juice, a vinegar solution. If the smell has already eaten into the sofa, it is better to use laundry soap. The surface must be moistened with water and rubbed with soap. Let it stand for 20 minutes. Then rinse with a vinegar solution, wipe with water and dry.
If the urine is not a child’s, but an elderly person’s, first apply vodka or ammonia to the sofa and let it sit for half an hour.
To deal with pet "odors" this way: apply a vinegar solution (1:3), remove moisture with a napkin, sprinkle with soda, and then apply a solution of hydrogen peroxide and dishwashing detergent. Let it sit for about two hours, then wipe with a damp napkin and a paper towel.
You can remove odors with cleaning products or a pet odor absorber. It is necessary to test the product in a hidden place first, so as not to spoil the appearance of the furniture.
So, as you can see, the problem is solvable.
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