Sofas are expensive, so if you really want the best bang for your buck, make sure you take care of your couch & extend its longevity. Please don’t go so far so as to cover your couch with plastic; it’s really not the most comfortable option, even if it keeps smudges and spills away. There are plenty of other options available to you like ensuring that your sofas have loose sofa covers – easy to slip on and off!
For those of us who don’t have sofa covers, there’s still a chance to keep things stainless! Keep your couches clean and living long by doing this every month:
1) Vacuum the sofa, including cushions and pillows
Take advantage of the attachments of your vacuum, or use a handheld vac such as those recommended by SpotlessVacuum.co.uk, and try to get all the spilled crumbs and bits from the sofa’s crevices. Clean the arm rests and back and anything you can reach with the vacuum.
2) Dust the wood areas
Any wood pieces that you can reach should be dusted with a cloth.
3) Read the manual/guide that came with the sofa
It should state how to best clean the couch and which cleaning supplies you can use safely, or look on a tag underneath the couch cushion. Identify the type of fabric over your couch. Different fabrics need to be taken care of differently. Locate the tag to determine what material the sofa is made up of. Couch manufacturers may use letter codes to detail how to best clean the furniture.
These are the code letters and the best way to clean the fabric:
| Code Letter | Best way to clean the fabric |
| W | Water-based detergent |
| S | Dry cleaned or cleaned with water-free detergent |
| WS | Water-based or water-free detergent |
| X | Only clean by vacuuming or hiring a professional to dry clean it |
| O | Organic material should be washed in cold water |
5) Purchase cleaner for your couch as advised above
Cleaners at the supermarket should clearly delineate what they are for: i.e. “water-based upholstery detergent’, “leather cleaner”, etc.
For detailed instructions on how to use each type of detergent and clean different materials, check out this great source here.
OMGosh, thanks for sharing this information!! I will pass the word along!
thnx! will give it a try 🙂
That before and after photo is extreme! I’ll try this out very soon! My couch could use a MAJOR cleaning!
Wow that is an amazing before/after!!! My couches need help – I will need to do this!
This is a great list. We have a leather sofa and the cushions don’t come off (how crazy is that??). For some reason we didn’t notice that feature when we purchased it, but we sure notice it now. 😉
This is such a great list, thank you! With kids our couch is so yucky!
Great tips! What a difference!
I vacuum my couch whenever I vacuum the floor. When we bought our couch, we bought the easiest fabric to clean. We also got a color and pattern that hides stains better.
Thanks for reminding me…I actually need to do this :). Thanks for sharing the codes also I would’ve never known what those meant.
These cleaning tips were helpful. Thank you.