How To Clean Furniture Stains

Stains and spots on furniture are often difficult to deal with successfully, because you cannot launder the fabric so the stain has to be cleaned in place.
To avoid making the stain worse or damaging the fabric you have to be treat the stain carefully and be patient to get good stain treatment results.
Here are some great tips that you can use to treat everyday stains on your furniture without damaging the fabric .

Things You Need Before You Start

2 Trigger Sprays— One with cleaning product + water and one with just water

Microfibre Cloths

BE GENTLE
Take care not to damage the upholstery fabric by rubbing or scrubbing the stain. Only blot or press the stain to clean it. The fabric fibres are more fragile when wet and if you distort the fabric it can’t be repaired.

TEST YOUR STAIN CLEANER BEFORE YOU START test your fabric for colourfastness before you treat the stain, if the colour in your upholstery fabric is not stable, even if you remove the stain you might be left with an unsightly light patch.Test your fabric cleaner on a hidden area of the fabric ( such as an inner seam ) Just moisten the fabric with cleaning agent – leave for a few minutes and then blot with a white towel or microfibre towel .If the colour doesn’t come off on to the towel it is safe to use the cleaning product.

PUT A TOWEL OR MICROFIBRE towel under the area you are treating if you can. The cleaning agent will dissolve the stain and the towels will absorb the stain away from the fabric and prevent it spreading. This is only possible if the stain is on one of the cushion areas of upholstery but not if the stain is on the arm rest or on the back of a sofa.

Safe Furniture Stain Removal – Key Steps

Remove most of the stain as quickly as you can – the longer it is allowed to sit the more difficult a stain is to remove. Blot up as much liquid as you can and remove any solids with the dull side of a knife or a spoon.
Use only a small amount of cleaning agent – less is definitely better in this instance – use a spray bottle to apply the cleaner and spray sparingly in short bursts.
Blot or tamp stains after you have applied the cleaner – don’t rub or brush the stained area. Blot firmly and move from the outside edge toward the stain center so that a ring will not form. It is better to do a little and repeat the process rather than do too much in one go.
Be very picky about the cleaning agent you use – do not use a cleaner with oxi or oxy in the title – these contain bleaching agents and may bleach the fabric if applied directly to the stain.
Let the treated area air-dry between treatments and assess the removal progress when it is dry – it is too difficult to tell if the stain is gone when the fabric is wet.
If the stain is on a flat area you can put a towel on the damp patch and put a heavy book on top – replace the towels as they absorb the moisture
BE PATIENT The most important thing is not to cause more damage. If in doubt the best strategy is to blot up the liquid and remove as much of the stain as possible and then to call an experienced professional upholstery cleaning service. The fabric on your Sofa or armchair is very visible and if you cause damage it is expensive to replace.