Taking Care of your Upholstery

Since your upholstered furniture generally cost money, they can be considered as great investments that add to a household. Like any other investment, they should be taken cared of, since they will only remain beautiful as long as we do our part in making sure that they remain beautiful.

Here are tips to make sure that your upholstery remains clean and beautiful:
1. Prevention is always the best maintenance for anything, and that includes upholstery! Keep it safe from any spills or sharp objects. When you are sitting or lying down on your upholstered furniture, remember to refrain from doing any motion that can stretch the fabric, such as sudden stretching or kicking.
2. Protect your upholstery from discoloration. There are certain items or practices that may seem innocent to you, but these can seriously affect your upholstery over time. Keep newspapers or powder printed materials away from your upholstery, since these can pass its ink to the upholstery which will accumulate and stain over time. Also, keep dark colored blankets and sheets away from upholstery, especially when they are wet. These contain dyes that can also rub off on upholstery and stain over time.
3. Move your upholstery away from direct sunlight and to places where it is not too hot. Direct sunlight and heat can fade your upholstery over time. Of course, we cannot truly prevent fading, but at the very least, we can lengthen the beauty of the upholstery.
4. It is important to check the furniture tags on your upholstery to ascertain the right type of stain removing products to use. These are the standard tags used by upholstery companies:
   
        W - use a water based solution or a mild detergent solution.
        S - use solvent only, and be sure to do it in a room with good ventilation.
        SW - you can use either solvent or water based cleaners
        X - vacuum only
   
        When cleaning the fabric, do not rub too vigorously, as this may cause the fabric to pill.
5. To evenly distribute the wear, it is advisable to turn over loose cushions and throw pillows every few weeks.
6. Vacuum your upholstery regularly to remove dust. It is important to note that you should only use vacuum cleaners that have special upholstery attachments, since those without upholstery attachments may cause abrasions. If your vacuum cleaner tends to snag on the fabric of the upholstery, you can put a non-metallic window screen between the vacuum nozzle and the upholstery.
7. For any slipcovers, they should always be dry cleaned. You should not attempt to wash them unless they are specifically labeled as "machine washable".
8. In event of a spill, use a towel or a dry piece of clot to blot the area immediately. As long as you take care of the spill right away, there is a lesser chance that it will stain.
9. For grease or caramelized sugar spills, you can use a solution made of fifty percent water and fifty percent white vinegar to spot clean the area.
10. For odor problems, you can sprinkle baking soda on the upholstery and leave it overnight, then vacuum it the next morning.
11. It is very important to choose the right cleaning products for your upholstery. Wrong formulations and inferior products can do more harm than good, causing irreparable damage over time. Ask the store attendants for the right cleaning product for your upholstery type.

Other Suggested Readings

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