Elegant furniture and upholstery enhance the ambience of our house. A sofa incurs substantial investment, making our guests feel comfortable and welcome their presence. Spending time with kids, pets, and family can inevitably result in the sofa getting stained or spilled. Unsightly stains can smear your sofa if pets and kids are not handled properly. If we observe a few precautions we can protect our sofa from accidental skills. For instance:
- Be caution, choose the correct fabric
Fabrics can come from a natural fiber or synthetic fiber. Cotton, silk, wool, flax are natural fibers. Whereas nylon, polyester, spandex are synthetic. Natural fibers do not have the stain resistant quality. Synthetic fibers are soft, water-resistant, and stain-resistant. It is wise to use fabric made out of synthetic fibres. So that there are not spills to leave any permanent stain on your sofa. Natural fibres are soft and comfy. If you go for natural fibre, then do go for covers, or protectors of synthetic fabric. This gives protection to your sofa from accidental spills.
- Try to avoid leather, but only if possible
Leather attracts stains at a faster rate from your spill. Stains from tea, coffee, and alcohol – these are very hard to remove. Also, there is a higher chance of wear and tear from scratches.
- Use stain guards
Whether you are using fabric or material, a stain guard will help you protect your sofa from spills. It prevents your sofa from getting soiled. In the event of accidental spills, the guard will facilitate the removal easily. There are many stain guards in the market which can protect your sofa without changing the quality or feel of the upholstery.
- Be quick to clean the spill
Don’t wait for the guests to leave to clean the spill. It should be cleaned immediately when it happens. Do not scrub the surface as this helps the spill to seep into the sofa fabric. Remove the spill by gently wiping it off the surface. Subsequently, use warm water and detergent to get rid of stains from the surface.
For non-oil based stains, mix a small amount of non-toilet soap with warm water, apply to the stained area. Gently rub the solution in and then blot dry with a clean towel. Apply cool water onto the area and then blot dry gently. With a hair dryer, dry the area to prevent any water rings from forming.
For oil based stains, follow the same steps above. Apply a brand solvent based cleaner rather than spot cleaning the stained area.
- Make a precautionary checklist
Prevention is better than cure, have a checklist to avoid accidental spills like:
- Avoid having food and drink on your sofa
- Restrict pets and kids from playing. Check out our guide on how to clean the house when you have a dog
- Avoid keeping items nearby which spill easily
- Ensure the stain guards are on before having a social gathering
- Use a sofa brush to get rid of dirt
Together with debris, dirt can scratch leather when you are doing wet cleaning. This leads to imperfections, giving the microbes a chance to grow. To prevent this, we recommend wiping the furniture regularly with a dry cloth or soft brush. This will not ruin the leather of the sofa.
- Condition your sofa regularly
If you have a leather sofa, you can look for the tags on it as it will have instructions on how to properly condition leather. If you can’t find anything, you can ask for an expert’s advice on what kind of conditioners or polishes are perfect for your leather.
- Keep your sofa away from direct sunlight
If your sofas are exposed to direct sunlight for a long time, it will dry out the leather in your sofa. This results in cracks and discolourations. Do not place your leather sofas in areas exposed to direct sunlight for a long time.
Get Beck and Call Professional Sofa Cleaning Service to revitalize your sofa today. Simply call or Whatsapp 8921 6118
