Our furniture upholstery is made of different fabrics like cotton, linen, velvet, suede, leather, microfibre, chenille, nylon, polyester and other materials. Each type of fabric requires special care while cleaning. Each type of fabric has its own peculiarities which means you have to exercise special care while cleaning them. When you use harsh chemicals and cleaning agents, this can permanently damage the upholstery fabric
Just as we do DIY cleaning of our household and its different aspects, upholstery cleaning is one of the most important cleaning jobs around our household. Keeping our upholstery clean is the right and healthy thing to do. Cleaning your upholstery regularly provides different benefits like dust cleaning, improved air quality, removing pathogens and elimination of dust and grime.
There are different schools of opinion about how frequently you should get your upholstery cleaned. The frequency of cleaning should vary anywhere between twice a year to once a year. Using your local professional cleaner like Deluxe Upholstery Cleaning Melbourne helps to eliminate all the contaminants and germs in your house. If you rub a soft white cloth along the arms of your sofa or couch and you see the dirt come, then it is definitely time to call in the expert cleaners.
Different Methods of Upholstery Cleaning
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Steam Cleaning:
You can steam clean your furniture upholstery using the steam upholstery cleaner or the steam carpet cleaner. This is a safe, effective and easy-to-use method of cleaning your furniture upholstery. It helps to keep your sofa upholstery spotless. But you must exercise great care while using the steam cleaner. Always wear protection facemasks and eyeglasses while using the steam cleaner as the temperatures can reach very high levels. The hot steam from the steam cleaner can even scald or burn you.
Steam cleaners work on the principle of using heat and steam to clean and sterilize all the upholstery surfaces. It is also an eco-friendly method which uses no abrasive chemicals or cleaning agents. It is an efficient method of cleaning as your furniture upholstery dries very quickly when you use a steam cleaner. It is also very good for cleaning hard-to-reach surfaces and difficult–to–clean crevices and hidden recesses. Steam is also useful in dissolving glue or gum that your children may have stuck on your upholstery surface without damaging the fabric.
At the end of the steam cleaning process, make sure that you wipe the surface to remove the wet dirt and debris. Also note that there are two types of steam cleaners available in the market, wet and dry steam cleaners. So, choose the appropriate one required for your type of cleaning. It is better to avoid steam cleaning delicate fabrics like silks etc.
As steam cleaning is a complicated process, it is better to call in expert cleaners like Sofa Cleaning Melbourne to avoid damage to your furniture and also to yourself.
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Dry Cleaning:
Dry Cleaning is one the safest methods of cleaning your furniture upholstery. You must be careful in the use of dry cleaning methods as the solvents used can damage latex-back coatings or adhesives. Dry cleaning avoids complications such as colour bleeding or fading of the upholstery fabric. Dry Cleaning should be used only for fabrics marked with S in the manufacturer’s manual or the care instructions tag.
Normally dry cleaning is used for delicate fabrics like silks or non-colour fast fabrics where water-based cleaning agents can cause the colour to bleed or fade.
You can spread the dry cleaning solvents into areas with an accumulation of grease and oils. After spreading it with a brush, allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes. Make sure that you do not heat the solvents, as they will ignite at high temperatures. Avoid heating sources, and smoking around solvents due to the above-mentioned dangers. Please note that solvents usually consist of non-water, hydrocarbon–based compounds. If your valuable sofa upholstery is made of such delicate fabrics, call in your local cleaner like Couch Cleaning Melbourne to expertly dry clean your upholstery fabrics.
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Chemical treatments:
This method involves mixing up chemicals to chemically treat your upholstery fabric. This also includes Scotch guard treatments which offer stain protection to your upholstery fabric. It is one of the most well-known and most-used sprays which protect your sofa, couches and other furniture from liquid spills. This chemical spray creates a chemical barrier through which any liquid spill cannot penetrate. The accidental wine or coffee spill will just sit on the top of your upholstery fabrics as if by magic.
You can simply wipe off such stains and spills. You must note however that Scotch guard is a man-made chemical protection which does not break down easily. You should explore to find sustainable stain protection fibres or chemical barriers which do not damage your sofa upholstery in the long run. There are also new textile fibres which are stain repellent naturally. Call in professional cleaners like Upholstery Cleaning Melbourne to do a thorough job of applying Scotchguard to your sofa upholstery fabric.
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Vacuuming and
scrubbing and soaking:
You must be familiar with these commonly used cleaning methods which are often used in DIY Cleaning. Make sure that you vacuum both the surfaces and the hidden services while vacuuming. Also while scrubbing and soaking the fabric, make sure that you clean thoroughly without drenching the fabric in water as this can damage the upholstery.
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Drying:
This is of course the last step in the process of Upholstery Cleaning. The upholstery fabric no matter what material must be dried thoroughly to prevent mould and other fungi from growing on them.
Conclusion:
The above is a short summary of the different methods of upholstery cleaning which must be used appropriately according to the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions and after taking appropriate care. The easiest and most convenient way is to call in your expert, local cleaner like Upholstery Cleaning Melbourne.
Deluxe Upholstery Cleaning Melbourne is the top choice among the local residents of Melbourne when it comes to superior upholstery cleaning. We work 24X7, all 365 days a year. You can conveniently schedule same-day and emergency appointments with us at your convenience.
