How to clean the sofa from the fabric at home: get rid of dirt, dust, stains and unpleasant odors

Attractiveness, convenience and the ability to create a cozy atmosphere are the main advantages of furniture with a fabric surface. Unfortunately, such products have an obvious drawback - an increased degree of marchiness, and clean up the upholstery of capricious and often brittle matter is not so simple. It is necessary to take into account the density of the fabric, the length of its pile, the stability of color, the response to the effects of chemical reagents. Cleaning of overall furniture from severe pollution in the home is not the best way to solve the problem, it's better to trust professionals. But this approach is convenient only in the case of working with removable covers. If there is no possibility to use dry cleaning services, you can try to make the necessary manipulations yourself. Observance of a number of rules will allow to obtain an optimal result and prevent damage to matter.

General rules for the care of furniture with fabric upholstery

Many housewives like to clean the upholstered furniture with a vacuum cleaner during dry cleaning, believing that this is quite enough, especially with a regular approach. In fact, nothing so collects dust and dirt, provoking the multiplication of microbes, like a favorite chair or a large family sofa. Ideally, these items need to be cleaned every 3-4 months, and you will have to act not only superficially.

In order to clean the chosen product at home with high quality tools, it is necessary to perform the following actions:

1. Nobody canceled vacuum cleaning, just need to improve the efficiency of the approach. The nozzle of the device is wrapped with gauze soaked in a saline solution( a tablespoon of salt is taken per liter of water) and pass through all surfaces, not forgetting about the cracks. This allows you not only to clean the fabric, but also to refresh its color.
   

   Tip: In the case of velvet and velvet from the flat nozzle of the vacuum cleaner is better to refuse, it will take pile and spoil the appearance of the product. In this way, you can only process cracks and hard-to-reach places.

2. Approach with a vacuum cleaner is better to replace an older, but effective at home method. Take the sheet, wet it in a saline solution with vinegar( per liter of water, a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of vinegar), carefully squeeze. Cover the sofa with a cloth or an armchair and start gently knocking out the surface, clapping it with the palms of your hands. If necessary, change the sheet and continue until the matter is clean after exposure.
3. If there are greasy marks on the fabric, prepare a mild soap solution. In it, we moisten the cotton cloth and begin to clean the problem area, performing movements in one direction.
4. For those who do not want to take risks with folk remedies, there is a wide range of specialized products, for example, in the form of foam. The product is applied to the entire sofa and is waiting for it to soak or dry. Then the site needs to be cleaned with a vacuum cleaner.
5. It is often necessary to use several preparations to eliminate persistent contaminants. In this case, between stages, you need to wait at least two hours, otherwise there is a risk of developing unexpected chemical reactions.

During the processing of the fabric, care must be taken to prevent moisture from being absorbed into the surface, which is fraught with divorce. You need to stock up on paper towels in advance to soak up the puddles.

Specificity of working with fabrics of different types

Before you begin to clean a soft sofa with a fabric surface at home, you need to understand the features of materials, most often acting as upholstery:

• Dermatitis. It is cleaned such a surface without problems, but you can not allow a strong moistening of the tissue. The stained spots can be removed with the help of egg white. It simply whipped into a thick foam and applied to the contamination. After a few minutes, wipe the surface, it should become cleaner and shine.
• Velor. It must be cleaned with a microfiber cloth soaked in vinegar( a teaspoon of vinegar per liter of water).In this case, you can not put pressure on the nap, all movements are performed only in its direction. Complex stains at home can not be taken out from the velor, it is necessary to use dry cleaning services. Suede or nubuck. In this case, you need to stock up a special brush with a soft stubble. Fat formations are easily eliminated with the aid of an eraser or an alcohol solution. A sofa or an armchair covered with chamois is recommended to be treated regularly with dirt-repellent impregnations.
• Tapestry. A capricious and demanding surface, which is good only for dry vacuum treatment. The use of cleaning agents leads to a rapid wear of the coating and a change in its color. If the stains are to be cleaned in a moist way, then only foam is applied to the contamination, with a minimum amount of moisture.
• Vinyl. Take three drops of any foaming cleanser and dilute in a glass of water. With the resulting solution, we process the problem areas. Velvet and silk. For these tissues, powder cleaning preparations have been developed.

Regardless of how the sofa was cleaned at home, you need to make sure that it is thoroughly dried. If the fabric absorbs moisture, and it stays inside the upholstery, mold will soon bloom between the fibers. To perform drying, you can use a fan, hair dryer or an abundance of fresh air.

Optimal options for dealing with stains of different origins

Components that leave unattractive marks on the upholstery of furniture react differently to chemical effects. Therefore, each problem must be solved individually:

• Juice. It is necessary to prepare a solution of ammonia and vinegar, drugs are taken in equal proportions. The resulting composition is applied strictly on the stain and wait until it dries( no need to heat).Then the treated area should be cleaned with a damp cloth.
• Coffee and tea. They will get rid of ordinary soap. Fresh stain rubbed with a piece of soap without adding water. Then take a wet rag and wipe the area. The old pollution is treated with soap foam.
• Chewing gum. Before cleaning the problem zone with chemicals, you need to take a piece of ice, wrap it in polyethylene and attach it to the product. When the composition freezes, clean it with a plastic spatula. The remaining fatty trace is treated with alcohol.
• Blood. It is easily removed by water, but you only have to make sure that all used moisture evaporates during the drying process.
• Fat. Clean the greasy sofa will help baking soda. It should be poured into a problem place and wait until the grains are absorbed by the fatty layer. Then just remove the composition with a soft sponge.

All these methods can get rid of unpleasant odors. If this did not happen and the smell remained, this indicates a poor quality of manipulation. In this case, you should clean the problem zone again at home or entrust the process to professionals.