How to Keep Your Upholstered Furniture Forever Young

Posted on 09/16/2011 in Special Items, View All ,

Topics: view all, furniture, furniture care

Furniture is never a cheap thing. Unless you risk bed bugs and buy all of your furnishings used, you can plan on spending a good chunk of money on chairs, sofas, tables, and headboards. With such costs, furniture is an investment to guard carefully, and upholstered furniture requires some of the most attention. Stains happen, dirt accumulates, odors set in, but before you attempt to clean anything, you need to know the codes.

All upholstered furniture has a unique code that directs owners on the proper methods of cleaning. Cleaning supply companies may market their product as multi-purpose, but different fabrics have different needs. Using the wrong product or method doesn’t just fail to clean a piece of furniture; it can destroy it beyond repair. Knowing these cleaning codes is essential to maintaining your upholstered furniture investment, so consult them whenever tackling a stain.

- S: Be spare when cleaning these fabrics. Colors fade easily, so use only a dry solvent—nothing water based.

- W: Water based solvents are fine for these fabrics; just don’t get them too wet. Mild detergents and a foam cleaner with a splash of water tend to work best.

- WS: These fabrics can be cleaned with both wet and dry solvents or shampoos—whichever you choose should depend on the stain.

- X: The best you can do with these fabrics is to brush or vacuum them to remove accumulated dirt and hair; the fabric is delicate, so any deeper clean can only be conducted by professionals.

Here are some products Stowers carries in-store to help with your furniture upkeep: