Having your furniture professionally cleaned can be pretty expensive, but when it comes to removing small stains and refreshing the surfaces you may be able to handle things yourself. Follow these four quick steps.
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Vacuum the Surface
Your first task is to remove any surface dust and dirt from the fabric. Use the upholstery attachment on your vacuum and work the soft bristles of the brush from left to right and from top to bottom over the surfaces of your furniture to suck up the dirt and dust particles. If you’re cleaning a silk piece be sure to turn the suction to a low setting. Use the crevice attachment to capture dirt that has collected in corners and cracks.
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Spot Clean
Add a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid to a bowl of warm water. Next, use an electric hand mixer to whip the solution until suds form soft peaks. Apply the suds to the stain using a soft-bristle brush, and gently rub them into the fabric until the stain begins to lift. Use a spatula to remove the dirty foam—a spatula helps you remove the dirt without rubbing it back into the fabric. Wipe away the remaining foam using a moistened white cloth—a white cloth prevents color from bleeding onto your upholstery, and lets you see the amount of dirt that’s removed. If some of the stain remains repeat the process.
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Clean All Surfaces
Following a spot clean use the soft-bristled brush to apply suds to the surface of your entire piece, and gently work them in. Use a spatula to remove the dirty foam, and a damp white cloth to clean away the remaining foam. Be sure not to wet your furniture too much, though. Use this technique only on upholstery with label codes of W or WS, which stand for wet and wet/solvent, respectively. W means you can use water-based cleaning agents on the fabric, and W/S means you can use a combination of water-based cleaners, and dry cleaning solvents. If your furniture is labelled S perform only vacuuming and spot cleaning. If you have a piece that’s labelled X, vacuum only and call in pros for the rest.
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Allow It to Dry
It’s important to allow your pieces to properly dry because they can develop mildew if they don’t. Open windows to let in a breeze, or turn on the heat if it’s chilly outside. Consider cleaning your upholstery on a warm day and letting it dry outdoors.
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