How to Clean Upholstery from Stains at Home

Our Upholstery at Home

We are all well aware of the fact that upholstery is one of the most difficult things for cleaning at our homes. The problem lies in the fact that textile is really delicate and fragile. And as it is according to Murphy’s law for sure there will be a situation in our daily life that will end up in having a stain on the textile. Stains are so many and different – beer, wine, juice, chocolate, coffee and even chewing gum. And the methods for cleaning them are just a few.

So, what should we do? The qualities of a housewife appear to be judged according to the fact how clean her home is – then stains are completely unacceptable, but how can we remove them? The truth about it is that we do not need many methods and means to deal with the stains on upholstery. Even one can do a great job as long as it is the right one. And in this article, you are going to learn exactly the right way. The colleagues from cleaning upholstery department of Xtraordinary Carpet Care did their best in systematizing the basic and most commonly met stains on upholstery and kindly shared with us a few clever tricks that you can use.

As a start, it is good to know that every stain could be cleaned. Such information should make you feel calmer and give you hope that nothing is lost. Stop feeling angry and upset. Just read the following rows and when the next stain appears, take a deep breath and follow our advice. And here they are:

The first advice that we can give you is: “Do not let the stain get dry!” This is the biggest mistake. The more time goes after spilling something, the deeper it goes into the fibers.

And another thing is that you should never (never!) apply the product directly on the upholstery stain. In most of the cases there is bleach in the products, as well as other strong chemicals and not only they could change the color of your upholstery, but they could also damage it permanently. You should use a thin cotton cloth for padding.

It is good to know that mixing different products is not a good idea at all. We understand your desire to achieve quicker and better result, but this is not the way to get to this aim.

After you are done with cleaning the upholstery, wipe the problematic area with a cotton cloth. Do not use hair dryer in your desire to ‘help’ the stain getting dry faster. Just leave it to dry by itself.

Many housewives use a vacuum cleaner over the upholstery in their desire to keep it cleaner, but you should have something in mind if doing this. In such a way, especially if you do it quite often, this type of furniture loses its softness and flexibility. Together with the dust the cleaning device also vacuums the small particles of the upholstery cloth. Therefore, with time, upholstery gets damaged and loses its charm.

Let’s talk about cleaning the stains now

Unfortunately, there is no universal product and there is no universal method for cleaning the stains. Each spill is treated according to the substance type, the time it has spent spilt on the furniture and according to the upholstery itself.

Coffee

Do not panic if you spill your cup of coffee in the morning on the sofa. You will clean it quickly and easily with the help of soap. After you apply some soap on the upholstery, you should swipe it with a cotton cloth and leave it to get dry.

Juice

It is harder to be cleaned but it is not impossible. Make a solution of vinegar and ammonia. Stir it well until you achieve a homogenous mixture – one small, but important detail. When you are ready, you should apply it on the affected area and leave the mixture do its job, because your job is finished.

Beer

Just like with coffee stains, it is cleaned in the same way with the help of some soap. If the stains are old you can apply another method – prepare a solution of 1 tablespoon of vinegar and half a liter of water. Apply on the stain, wait for a couple of minutes and rinse it with clean cool water, then leave it to dry.

Red wine

“It removes even the hardest stains” – this is the widely spread opinion. The practice of Xtraordinary Carpet Care in cleaning upholstery says something else. It appears that it is not as complicate as we think. Just powder the stain with some slat and let it soak. When the upholstery is dry, you can beat the salt out of the furniture or you can clean it with a vacuum cleaner.

If you have stains of blood on the upholstery, you should clean it before it gets dry. Take a cotton cloth and gently wet it with cold water. After that you should carefully swipe the stain and leave it to dry.

Jam or marmalade

If there is jam or marmalade on the furniture, you should treat the stain with a solution of soap and vinegar. After the treated area is dry, you should wash the upholstery with a cotton cloth, soaked in warm water and let it dry again.

Chocolate

Make a solution of soap and warm water. Rinse the stain and let it get dry naturally.

Tea or cocoa

Such types of stains are fast and easy to be cleaned with the help of a solution of water, vinegar and some washing-up liquid. After you apply the solution on the stain, you should let it get dry and after that you will see that there will be no sign of it.

Gum

Well, this is the worst that could happen to your furniture. But the good news is that there is a solution even for it. The easiest way to remove gum is by putting a package of ice on it. After it hardens you can scratch it with the help of a blunt object. Yes, the sticky substance is not there, but your work is not done. If you want to finish with the cleaning, you should rub some methyl alcohol on the spot where the gum was.