*This post is brought to you by Tesco.
The sofa is the mainstay of many people’s living space. A piece of furniture that we sit, lie and loll on. There are spills, pets, children and house guests to contend with, who will all bring dirt and grime into contact with the classic design and clean lines of your precious furniture.
Cleaning sofas is not always easy. A vacuum cleaner is your most useful tool for the task. Giving a sofa a daily, or even weekly, once-over with a vacuum cleaner should keep the dust and grime from building up too much. Make sure that you use the additional heads and extensions of the cleaner so that all the nooks and crannies are cleaned. Simply running the vacuum cleaner’s largest head over the furniture will not be particularly effective.
If you have loose sofa covers, then it is also possible to remove them from the furniture and clean them. Some covers are made from fabrics which can go in the washing machine like clothes. Others will need to be dry cleaned. You need to check this before washing them, as it could end in disaster if you get it wrong.
For fixed sofa covers, you will need to improvise slightly, if there are stains and dirt which the vacuum cleaner will not remove. Make a mild solution of laundry wash powder or soap and water. Always test the solution on a small, hidden area of the furniture first, though, to make sure that it causes no damage.
Wait to see how it dries before using it. If there are no problems with the test, you can wash the whole sofa with the solution, using a cloth. Dry the sofa as quickly as possible, though, opening windows, putting the heating on, and even using a hairdryer. For more persistent stains, a solution of white vinegar can work well, but specialist cleaning chemicals may be more successful.
Leather upholstered furniture is perhaps the most straightforward to keep looking good. A simply once over with the vacuum cleaner will keep dust levels down. Leather sofa can also be wiped off with a damp cloth to maintain condition.
Frequent and regular cleaning of your sofa, whatever fabric it is upholstered with, will keep it looking good, and ensure that you get years of use from it.
Editor’s note (Tracy, here!): My sofas are easy to clean with just soap and water. I think the fabric is microfiber. Only once, I think, have I used an upholstery scrubber. I usually just use soap, water, rags and a LOT of elbow grease 😉 . *That sofa pictured above is one of ours.
