If you want to keep your couch looking good and smelling fresh, then you should have it regularly cleaned by a professional. Not only will this prolong the life of your furniture, but it will also make it more comfortable to sit on.

You can remove many food stains and other minor imperfections from upholstery yourself with some DIY cleaning and everyday touchups. However, for a deep clean and to ensure that your furniture always looks its best, you’ll need to use professional upholstery cleaning services.

Most fabric furniture can be cleaned with a mixture of baking soda and other household products. Additionally, vacuuming and brushing are usually effective at removing dried stains. There are a few suggestions for cleaning upholstery on a daily basis, as well as some tips on when it’s necessary to hire professional cleaners. Professional cleaners not only clean furniture, but they also clean carpets, tile floors, and grout in bathrooms.

Upholstery Cleaning Method Tips

If you’re looking to clean your upholstery yourself, there are a few things you can try before calling in professional help. For surface stains, consider using a simple cleaning method like spot cleaning with a damp cloth. If the stain is more set in, you may need to use a stronger cleaning solution or even a steam cleaner. Ground-in dirt and other debris can be removed with a vacuum equipped with the appropriate attachment. As always, test any cleaning method on a small, hidden part of the fabric to see how it responds before proceeding.

• Start upholstery and couch cleaning with thorough vacuuming, using the fabric brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner hose or a handheld vacuum device. Ensure you get into the crevices of the furniture and spend time going over the stained area, to pull up as much debris as possible.
• Use a dry brush to scrape away as much residue as possible and to “fluff up” the fibers of the fabric. Your fabric will look cleaner and you’ll be able to reach set-in stains more readily once fibers are fully restored.
• For damp stains, blot the area with a clean, dry cloth, to pull up as much liquid and moisture as possible. Keep switching to a dry cloth or clean area of your cloth to ensure you remove as much residue as you can without pushing dirt and debris into the fabric.
• Once you’ve blotted as much excess moisture as possible, use a clean damp cloth and blot fresh water into the stain, rubbing in a gentle circular motion to pull up debris and residues. Be sure you use small circles so that you don’t actually spread the stain around the fabric!
• Baking soda is an excellent cleaning material for fabric furniture. Mix a small amount of baking soda and water in a bowl to create a paste and then gently push this paste into the stain with a clean, damp cloth. Rub the baking soda in a circular motion to pull up dirt and debris and then use a clean, damp cloth to remove as much of the baking soda as possible.
• The bubbling action of club soda also helps to lift trapped and locked stains so you can wipe up food residues and other debris. Pour just a small amount of club soda onto the stain and use a damp, clean cloth to wipe the area dry.
• Once you’ve followed all these steps, use your dry brush to wipe away any leftover residues, and then use a vacuum again to pull up dirt, dust, and water used for washing. Let the fabric furniture dry completely before you evaluate your upholstery cleaning attempts!

Should You Use an Upholstery Cleaning Machine?

You can find a lot of machines for cleaning upholstery and carpets in home improvement stores. They can be used for cleaning fabric couches, chairs, and other items, as well as spot cleaning rugs and carpeting. Note some vital tips about using upholstery cleaning machines at home:

• Using excessive amounts of rinse water with insufficient extraction leads to mold and mildew growth underneath furniture fibers and upholstery. Excessive rinse water also damages foam and other materials used for cushioning and backing.
• Some brushes on upholstery cleaning machines are overly stiff and damaging to delicate fabrics.
• Improper use of upholstery brushes might flatten the nap of furniture fabrics or grind stains into the furniture rather than pulling them up.
• Leaving a self-cleaning machine on top of furniture so that brushes can rotate for several minutes might also damage the fabric and pull on loose threads. Manual upholstery cleaning allows you to monitor your work as you go so that you avoid the risk of fabric damage.
• Some upholstery cleaning machines offer no more cleaning than what you might accomplish with a clean cloth and stiff brush! It’s often good to save your money on these machines and try DIY couch cleaning or professional upholstery cleaning services when needed.

How to Keep Upholstery Clean

In between professional upholstery cleaning services, note some tips for ensuring your home’s furniture is always in tiptop shape:

• Install an air filter in the home, to trap and lock airborne dirt and dust and keep it from settling onto fabric furniture.
• Change the home’s furnace filter at least twice throughout the year, as this will also trap and lock dust, dirt, pet hair and dander, dust mites, and other debris that would otherwise land on your home’s furniture.
• Have the home’s ductwork cleaned every few years, or as often as recommended by your AC repair person.
• If you must smoke in the home, invest in an ashtray that captures cigarette smoke rather than allowing it to waft into the air.
• Keep pets off the furniture, or invest in a slipcover or pet pad you put over fabric furniture. Ensure you brush your pets often, to remove loose hairs and dander and keep it from settling onto the upholstery of your home’s pieces.
• Use exhaust fans in the kitchen, to remove food odors and keep them from being absorbed by fabric furniture.
• Clean stains and especially pet messes right away, so they don’t have time to settle into furniture fabric.

Steps for Cleaning and Restoring Old Wood Furniture

Wood furniture is popular with homeowners because it is beautiful and elegant and can last for many years if it is properly cared for. Another advantage of wood furniture is that it will never go out of style. You can use wood furniture in any type of interior decoration and it will always look good.

Wood furniture is known for its durability, so many people keep wood pieces even if they don’t have space for them, intending to use them later. However, wood furniture left in storage or unused will collect dust, dirt, and stains that can alter its appearance. To clean and polish wood furniture so that it looks new again, effective dusting, cleaning, and polishing methods are necessary.

Dusting Old Wood Furniture

start with dusting

When dusting your wood furniture, it is important to remove the dust rather than pushing it around. If you push the dust around, it will scatter into the air and eventually settle back down onto the surface of your furniture. You should also avoid using silicon dust sprays on wood furniture.

The following tools will remove the dust from the furniture:

• Feather duster: Feather dusters remove dust without scratching wood surfaces.
• Treated cloths: These lint-free cloths catch and hold dust and debris.
• Lamb’s wool duster: Dust clings to these dusters because they contain lanolin which attracts dust. These tools are effective for curved areas that cannot be dusted easily with a cloth. 
• Microfiber cloths: These lint-free cloths can be used to capture and remove dust. They work best when they are slightly damp.

How to Clean Old Wood Furniture

Dusting your wood furniture is usually all that is necessary. If there is still dirt and grime on the wood after dusting, then it needs to be cleaned. Be careful when cleaning wood furniture because it is delicate and can be damaged easily. Avoid using all-purpose spray cleaners since they can ruin the wood.

The best strategy for cleaning wood furniture is to use the weakest cleaning product first and then move on to stronger cleaning products if the furniture doesn’t come clean.

Dish Soap

You can clean wood furniture with a mixture of water and dish soap, as dish soap is a mild household cleaner. However, it is possible for dish soap to damage the finish on some wood furniture. To test this, put one drop of dish soap on a cotton ball and wipe it on a hidden part of the furniture. If the cotton ball damages the finish, don’t use dish soap to clean the furniture.

To clean your furniture with dish soap, mix it with water in a bucket and use a sponge to lightly scrub the surface. Be careful not to soak the wood or leave the solution on for too long, as wood is porous and can absorb water, causing watermarks, swelling, and other damage.

If there is still grime left over after cleaning the furniture with this solution, you can try a cleaning solution that contains a higher concentration of the active ingredient.

Mineral Spirits

Mineral spirits are cleaners typically used as paint thinners, and they can be effective in removing tough dirt and grime from wood furniture. These cleaners are often odorless, but it is still recommended that they be used in a well-ventilated area. Always follow the printed instructions when using a mineral spirit cleaner.

Test the mineral spirits on a hidden spot of your furniture before using it to clean. If it does not damage the finish, dampen a clean rag with the spirits and use circular motions to buff away dirt and grime. Buff the wood with a dry cloth afterwards to restore shine.

Polishing Wood Furniture

ensure your furniture’s longevity, you should regularly polish it with either an oil polish or paste/liquid wax. This will help protect the finish and prevent surface damage, like scratches.

Oil Polishes

Oil polishes help to keep wood furniture looking shiny and new by creating a slippery surface that repels dirt and dust. You can buy oil polishes in spray form to make treating your furniture easier, or you can make your own oil polish at home by mixing together equal parts olive oil, gum turpentine, denatured alcohol, and strained lemon juice. To apply oil polish to your furniture, simply use a soft cloth to rub it in, then buff the surface with a clean cloth to bring out the shine.

There are some disadvantages to using oil polishes instead of waxes. Oil polishes do not harden, so furniture treated with them will show fingerprints more easily. They can also make it more difficult to refinish the furniture.

Furniture Waxes

Paste wax and liquid wax furniture polishes are better than oil polishes because they provide a long-lasting, hard finish that protects better. Paste wax can last for up to two years, while liquid waxes may need to be reapplied more often because they leave a thinner coating. When applying a wax polish, you need to make sure you apply it correctly, or it could cause streaks on the surface. No matter which type of wax you are using, apply it in light coats and rub it in the direction of the wood grain.

These tips will help you apply furniture wax:

• Put a spoonful of wax on a cotton cloth and knead the wax with the cloth until it is soft.
• Rub the cloth on the surface of the furniture until the surface becomes dull.
• Use a soft, clean cloth to wipe off excess wax.
• Repeat these steps until you have waxed the entire piece.
• If there is a streak, wipe away the excess wax until the streak disappears.
• Apply a second coat for a deeper shine.

One thing to remember when polishing furniture is to never use liquid or aerosol furniture polishes or dust spray, as these can dissolve the wax. Instead, dust waxed furniture with a lamb’s wool duster.

Cleaning Old Wood Furniture

When cleaning old wood furniture, you need to take a more delicate approach to avoid damaging it or affecting its appearance.  These steps will help you clean old or antique wooden furniture:

• Get a commercial cleaning product and #0000 steel wool and follow the directions to apply the cleaner. Make sure you wipe the cleaner with the grain.
• You can restore the finish with a commercial finish restoring product and #0000 steel wool. Choose a restoring project that is as close to the wood stain as possible and apply it to a small section at a time using light to moderate pressure and working with the wood grain.  Use a clean, lint-free cloth to wipe the furniture clean after application.
• Apply a wax-based conditioner monthly to protect against drying and cracking.