Upholstery Cleaning Tips

UPHOLSTERY CLEANING & CARE

With the appropriate care, your upholstered living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture can provide many years of splendid use. By carefully following the upholstery maintenance, cleaning, and stain removal information provided below, you can greatly extend the lasting beauty of your home living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture.

GENERAL UPHOLSTERY CLEANING & CARE GUIDELINES

Follow the simple guidelines below to keep all your upholstered furniture looking like new.

• To avoid fading, keep upholstered home furniture away from direct sunlight.
• Vacuum upholstered furniture as often as possible. Even if your home furniture has seen little use, the abrasive action of dirt and dust particles can wear the fibers of your upholstery fabric. For high-use furniture, it's a good idea to frequently beat the cushions and then vacuum and rotate them.
• Damp-dust arms and headrest areas with a cleaning solution to prevent body oil accumulation on the upholstery fabric (be sure to follow the manufacturer's recommendation as to the type of upholstery cleaning solution to use)
• Avoid placing newspapers directly on home furniture upholstery fabric, since ink will accumulate and is difficult to remove.
• Never cover your upholstered home furniture with dark-colored blankets, sheets, etc., because the dyes can rub off onto fabric when dry or bleed when wet.
• Avoid the use of dyes, paints, inks, nail polishes, and Mercurochrome around your upholstery fabric, since these substances alter color and will stain.
• Never remove cushion covers for dry cleaning or machine washing, even though they have zippers.
• Periodic professional cleaning will keep soil accumulation from marring the beauty of the upholstery of your home living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture.

UPHOLSTERY CLEANING - FIRST AID

You've just spilled a glass of wine on your living room sofa-what do you do now? It's important to act promptly but not to panic. Follow these guidelines to control a spill and prevent a stain.

Act quickly before a spill spreads or dries.

• For liquid spills:
  Blot lightly with a dry paper towel to start. Increase pressure and use a fresh paper towel until no more liquid is absorbed. DO NOT RUB! If residue remains, see the stain removal guide below.
• For solid or semi-solid spills (such as foods):
  Gently lift the substance from the upholstery with a spoon or dull knife, scraping carefully toward the center of the spill. Treat any wet residue as a liquid spill. If residue remains, see the stain removal guide below.
• For dry spills (such as ashes or dry cosmetics):
  Adding any liquid to a normally dry substance, such as ashes, may cause a permanent stain. Vacuum, beat the area with a ruler or similar implement, vacuum again, then use the adhesive side of masking tape to remove any residue. If residue remains, see the stain removal guide below.

Check the manufacturer's label for any cleaning instructions and/or fabric cleaning code.

The following are the standard fabric cleaning codes used by furniture manufacturers. Use these codes to determine what types of cleaning methods are appropriate for your fabric:

• Always test water or a cleaning agent by applying to the same upholstery fabric on a hidden area of the upholstered piece. Allow to dry completely, then check its effect on the fabric.
• Apply water or a cleaning agent (as recommended in the stain removal guide) in small doses to avoid spreading the stain or causing a ring. Be patient; apply several times, blotting firmly with a dry paper towel to soak up the liquid after each application.
• Never rub a fabric; rubbing could result in damage to the nap, loss of color, or spreading of the stain.
• Restore the nap on velvet by brushing gently before it dries.
• To avoid water spotting, use a fan or cool blow dryer (on a cool setting) to accelerate drying. Dry from the outer edge of the affected area toward the center.
• If the stain persists, seek professional cleaning assistance.

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