How To Clean Upholstery Fabric: 5 Easy Cleaning Methods

Just find the type of stain and control the moisture, cleaning the sofa fabric takes less than 10 minutes. Master these 5 tricks-dry brush method, low moisture foam method, biological enzyme decomposition, alcohol spray and baking soda dry application, and you can handle 90% of daily stains in your home. Don’t wash the sofa cushion with soapy water! Too much water will only seep dirty things into the bottom of the sponge, and eventually become a smell and stubborn water stains that can never be washed away. Today we will teach you how to easily decontaminate the sofa with the daily necessities at hand.

F.A.S.T. First Aid Cleaning Rules

Before handling any liquid spills, please be sure to strictly follow the following steps to avoid irreversible damage to the fabric. This process is summarized by our Elite Sofa Fabric textile laboratory after carrying out extreme tests on hundreds of fabric samples.

F-Fiber Check: Open the label at the bottom of the sofa cushion. (W = Washable, S = Dry Cleaning Solvents Only, WS = Washable Dry Cleaning, X = Vacuum Cleaner Only).

A- Absorb: Take a dry white microfiber cloth and press it directly on the stain. Don’t wipe back and forth! Rubbing back and forth will not only destroy the texture of the fabric, but also make the grease smudge bigger.

S-Surface-level treat: detergent can only be used in the most surface of the fabric, be sure to ensure that the sponge is dry.

T-Tamp dry: wrap the heavy object with a dry towel, press hard on the wet place, and force the water out.

Fabric Cleaning Codes

Fabric Code	Meaning	Safe Cleaning Method
W	Water-based cleaners only	Method 1
S	Solvent-based (water-free) cleaners only	Method 2
WS	Water or solvent-based cleaners	Method 3
X	No liquid cleaners permitted	Method 4 / Method 5

5 Simple And Practical Sofa Fabric Cleaning Method

Different stains have to use different strokes. According to your current actual situation, choose a symptomatic method from the following.

Method 1: Dry Brush + Vacuuming Method

Before the moisture solidifies the dirt in the fabric fiber, the dry brush can pick out pet hair, dry mud and dander stuck in it first. Find a bristled horsetail brush, or a special rubber scraper, and comb the sofa cushion in the same direction. Brush out of the dirt, immediately use the vacuum cleaner sofa suction head to suck away. It is recommended to do it once a week to effectively prevent fabric wear caused by friction.

Method 2: Dry Bubble Cleaning Method

The liquid will seep down, but the foam will float to the surface. If you encounter sticky residue or slight food stains, you will not get the sofa wet by washing it with some dry bubbles. Pour a little warm water in a bowl, drop a few drops of clear detergent, and quickly stir out a thick foam. Use a soft sponge to skim only the upper layer of bubbles, gently rub the sofa fabric in a circle, and finally wipe it clean with a slightly damp white towel.

Method 3: Biological Enzyme Site Removal Method

Want to completely destroy biological stains from the molecular level, you have to rely on biological enzymes. Especially with pet urine, vomit or spilled milk, this works best. The sofa special biological enzyme cleaner thin spray in the dirty place, let stand for 15 minutes, let the living bacteria fully devour organic matter, and then the excess water completely dry. Ordinary soap can only mask the smell, and uric acid crystals will still remain in your sofa.

Method 4: Alcohol Micro-Spray Method

Water is the dead spot of microfiber and S-type polyester blended fabrics, leaving marks on touch. Medical alcohol volatile fast, can dissolve ink, grease and dirt, and will not leave water stains. Pour 70% isopropyl alcohol into a fine mist watering can, spray gently on the stain a few times, and wipe it quickly with a white or light colored sponge. After the alcohol volatilizes and dries, the fabric may feel a little stiff. Use a clean dry brush to smooth it and it will restore softness.

Method 5: Baking Soda Dry Application Method

Baking soda is simply a “pump” for absorbing fat and odor from heavy fabrics. When you encounter oil stains that haven’t dried yet, grab a handful of dry baking soda and cover it thickly, and leave it there for 3 to 4 hours without moving it. Baking soda will agglomerate after sucking up the oil. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck these agglomerates away. We have just done internal tests on Elite Sofa Fabric’s high-performance blended fabric: this dry application method can handle 95% of fresh edible oil stains without worrying about color fading caused by chemicals.

How To Avoid The “Water Stain Circle” Trap

Novice in the local cleaning of the sofa, the most likely to leave a black “halo”, that is, water ring. This is because the dirty water is pushed to the edge of the wet area by you, leaving marks when it dries.

Stop staring at the center of the stain and rub it hard! You should use a technique called “inward click. Beat the cleaner on the outside edge of the stain and slowly gather it toward the center to clean it up. Stains off, immediately use the hair dryer “cold wind” from the outside to the inside quickly blow dry. Fast drying can prevent moisture from sucking dirt back to the surface of the sofa cushion.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Only water can wash fabric sofa?

Pure water only works on stains that have just been made on W fabrics without oil. Tap water contains minerals, which are easy to leave 1 circles of white marks on dark fabrics after drying. It is recommended to use distilled water for local cleaning, which can effectively avoid mineral residues.

How to clean the sofa with S-code by yourself?

Must use anhydrous dry cleaning solvent or medical alcohol. The correct approach is to pour the solvent on the white cloth first, and then click the stain. Never pour the liquid solvent directly on the surface of the sofa.

The sofa is wet, how to dry the fastest?

First, spread a thick dry towel in a wet place, and people step on it directly and squeeze out the excess water with their weight. Then take a big wind electric fan and blow it against the sofa cushion. Remember to use only cold air, because the hot air of the hair dryer will make some synthetic fibers shrink and deform.

white vinegar will make sofa fabric fade?

White vinegar is very acidic. If it is not neutralized, it will indeed wash off the dyes of natural fibers such as cotton and linen. Be sure to dilute with water at a ratio of 1:1, and try it in invisible dead corners such as zippers first, and then use the front of the sofa.

How to get to the old old water stains on the fabric?

To get rid of the old water stain, you have to slightly re-wet the entire edge of the old water stain with distilled water. Use a microfiber cloth to gently blend the wet edges with the dry area, then immediately apply a fan to the area and force dry it.