How to clean a sofa at home?

Any sofa with constant use will inevitably become dirty. But this does not mean that every time you need to call for help from specialists or simply ignore the spot that has appeared. Accurate knowledge of problem solving methods will help you deal with any dirt yourself.

It is quite difficult to wash a sofa saturated with dust to the limit with folk remedies. It is more correct to use a conventional vacuum cleaner, and so that it copes with its task better - wrap the nozzle in a layer of gauze soaked in an aqueous solution of salt. Take 2 or 3 tablespoons of salt per liter of warm water, depending on how much pollution.

Such a step will help to remove dust and upholstery. It is undesirable to vacuum sofas with velvet or velor upholstery, this may disrupt the normal structure of the pile.

Without a vacuum cleaner, dust can also be handled. A liter of water at room temperature is put a couple teaspoons of salt and add 30 grams of vinegar. In the prepared composition, an unnecessary old sheet or other cloth is moistened, squeezed so that the surface is only slightly damp. Having spread the matter on the couch, they begin to knock it out, from time to time the fabric is rinsed in clean water.

Lint free coating with a soapy solution using a brush. If the soap does not help, try replacing it with dishwashing liquid. When you beat the foam, grease the spots with it for 5-10 minutes, then immediately rinse with warm water and dry with a absorbent cloth.

The upholstery with a pile is cleaned with a foam sponge, on which the same solutions are applied. Light furniture will have to be washed completely, only under this condition the occurrence of stains is excluded.

Much can be washed on your own with soda and vinegar, especially if you add detergent to them. A teaspoon of soda is put per liter of water, the same amount of detergent mixed with vinegar. The workpiece is mixed, and then brushed onto a dirty place. It is advisable to move the brush when cleaning one way onlyThis will reduce the risk of divorce.

When there is no desire to use powders or to prepare complex mixtures, many stains can be cleaned at home quickly with Vanish. The drug is dissolved in water (one part of the product in 9 parts of water), then gently and without excessive effort remove the dirt. Using Vanish Oxi Action, You can remove fresh dirt from various products, but this product has a bad effect on silk and skin.

The amount of solution specified in the instructions must be whipped and foam is obtained. Then, with the help of a brush, not only the stain itself is lubricated with this foam, but also the fabric adjacent to it. Within a few minutes, most of the pollution will turn pale, and after a quarter of an hour it will be impossible to notice them. Then it remains only to dry the sofa, and the problem is completely solved.

The sure way to get rid of the stain left by fruits or juices is to use ammonia. It is mixed with vinegar in equal proportions (both components take no more than 30 or 40 grams), after applying the solution to the stain, wait for drying and wash the problem area with warm water.

Ammonia can be dangerous, all manipulations are carried out with rubber gloves, be sure to wear a gauze bandage or a respirator on your face. If you experience dizziness or a burn, do not self-medicate.

The same ammonia can be used in another way: one part of the reagent is mixed with one part of water, a sweet spot is smeared and allowed to dry, after which the residue is washed with clean water. Older contaminants are also removable, but it will take 40 minutes to wait. Residual moisture from the upholstery is removed by pressing a dry towel for several seconds.

Hydrogen peroxide will remove fresh blood stains.; When cleaning, keep napkins ready to remove rising foam and prevent it from staining other places. Add peroxide until the stain disappears completely, when it disappears - wipe the problem area with a damp cloth and dry it.

Water copes with many contaminants, but it should be used only with full confidence in the final result. Stubborn stains, with rare exceptions, cannot be eliminated with water alone.

Using the steamer, you can not only cope with various types of dirt, but also refresh the sofa to its original state. The stream of heated gas will disinfect the furniture and will be able to drive out all unnecessary odors from it. But keep in mind that you can’t use the sofa, as usual, right away, it must first completely dry.

To clean a soft sofa at home should be careful, since many products will only do much harm if misused. And the drug that helped in one case, in another situation, is often powerless, in spite of any effort. First of all, three points should be clarified:

• what stain you are dealing with;
• it is fresh or already eaten;
• features of the upholstery of the product (depending on them, certain methods can sometimes not be used).

Whatever tool is chosen, it must be applied to the entire contaminated surface. It is advisable to use a soft brush, it will improve the contact between the drug and dirt. Whether it was possible to cope with fresh pollution, it becomes clear after 15 minutes, and old spots sometimes make you wait an entire hour. Until the cleaning agent saturates the stain 100%, it does not react with dirt, rinse it off prematurely.

The following recipes to help the hostesses:

• Effectively remove the greasy stain can baking soda. Fresh dirt is sprinkled with powder, which is distributed as evenly as possible. After about five minutes, the absorbed soda is collected with a brush, and the tissue itself is moistened and dried. Gum should be carefully peeled off (torn off, scraped off); if a stain remains after it, it is removed with liquid soap and acetone. There is another way: the gum is cooled with a bag of ice or something frozen, and then it is elementarily cleaned with a knife.
• Instead of a knife, you can take a nail file, a toothpick, a chisel. The last residues are cleaned with dry napkins or brushes with soft nap, if necessary, washed with cold water. Similar methods will help to remove paraffin peel. If you poured tea or coffee, then you need to use soap suds or prepare a solution based on vinegar and soda.
• Bloody traces are removed with laundry soap dissolved in water, and dried drops can be easily cleaned with a salt solution with an exposure for an hour. It can be replaced with aspirin (a tablet in a glass of water). Fresh blood stains are removed with a paste of talc and water, after the preparation dries, it is shaken off with a brush. If there is no talc, starch or cornmeal will serve as its replacement.

• From children's urine (and not only from children's) helps a concentrated solution of laundry soap in water. Another way: immediately blot the stain with a napkin, apply alcohol or weak citric acid to it. Or use any concentrated stain remover. Carpet detergents and liquid soap also help.
• An aqueous solution of dishwashing liquid, applied with a sponge, will get rid of dirt, and to remove the remnants of cosmetic cream, the same product must be mixed with soap.
• By dissolving a detergent in water and a couple of tablespoons of vinegar, you can easily cope with the traces left by beer. Vinegar will remove its smell. But red wine can be wiped off with a cloth soaked in a mixture of vodka and salt. As an option, it is immediately blotted, cleaned with a cloth soaked in salt water. White wine is perfectly cleaned with a cotton pad soaked in alcohol.

• The mold is removed first with a dry cotton pad moving from the borders to the middle. Then the lesion is treated with a solution of alcohol, rubbed with one drop of vegetable oil. After 1/3 hours, you will need to get his excess wet with a napkin.
• Chocolate is cleaned with toilet or liquid soap. Stains from it, as well as from jam, jam and condensed milk, it is advisable to slightly dry, so that the dirt does not spread. Then they remove the crust and wash the remaining trace with soap. Chalk, talcum powder or salt (with an exposure of two hours) will help to remove fat, then the sorbent is removed with a vacuum cleaner or napkin.
• Stains from juices are removed with an aqueous solution of ammonia or its mixture with an equal amount of vinegar. If there are no such substances in your home, they are easily replaced with nail polish remover, acetone and any type of alcohol. But do not forget about the safety of the selected drugs.

• Ink is easily removed with bleach and laundry soap. It is not difficult to do without divorces; only elementary caution is required; do not pour a lot of water, do not try to create a powerful foamy cap, clean the entire surface at once, and not just one stain on its own. Instead of bleach, you can use table salt, soda and citric acid.Pour a little salt into soapy water and wipe the affected part of the sofa with a solution, hold the stain under such a layer for about five hours. Then the salt is removed, swept away, and the area of ​​the stain immediately wiped with a dry cloth.
• If you use citric acid, after it will need to work with soapy water. Baking soda is used in the amount of a teaspoon per 500 grams of water.
• The ballpoint pen and gel paste also clean alcohol well, but rub it gently and without undue effort. Otherwise, instead of removing the stain, you simply smear it over a larger area. Try changing cotton swabs soaked with liquid more often.

• Marks can leave marks on the couch. Such stains remove alcohol, acetone, nail polish removers, hair sprays, window sprays. A small portion of the liquid is applied to a cotton swab, they get a stain soaked so as not to affect clean areas. After 40 minutes, dirt is rubbed off with brushes (hard sponges) that are moistened with water or (better) soap suds. Fresh traces left by the writing tools, including a marker, will help to remove the stationery eraser. But be careful not to wipe a hole in the upholstery!

• Plasticine is removed in the same way as chewing gum - that is, they are cleaned with a solid object. The remaining traces are sprinkled with salt, which absorbs part of the pollution. Then you can wash the stain with soapy water or stain remover. It is strongly discouraged to remove gouache with gasoline, kerosene or turpentine, as in the case of flooring. It is better to use household cleaning products or soap suds.
• Contaminations left by fried meat (fish) or mayonnaise should be sprinkled with soda for 1 hour, then sweep it, wipe with a cloth soaked in alcohol. If there is no soda, it is replaced by starch or even simple salt. Soapy water rubbed with a sponge will help to reduce dried fat traces; the solution is washed off, if necessary, repeat the procedure.
• If ointment gets on the upholstery, this problem is completely solvable; Most ointments are scrubbed in the same way as regular greasy stains. Beer and coffee are immediately blotted with a napkin, then the pollution is rubbed with a soap solution with the addition of vinegar.
• The drug Dr. Beckmann is able to destroy the most stubborn stains from juices and green grass, from cocoa and fatty foods.

Knowing these simple principles, you can remove 95% of all contaminants that may appear on the surface of the sofa with your own hands. But one must also take into account the properties of the upholstery itself so as not to use deliberately unsuitable and dangerous means of ignorance.

Cleaning Methods:

• Leatherette can only be cleaned with very soft brushes, but ideally it is worth being limited to a sponge. It is allowed to clean a velor sofa only with the most gentle substances; to apply them use a damp cloth or a special napkin. You need to move strictly along the pile, any excess moisture should be immediately removed.

• Jacquard sofa requires the most accurate work, do not forget that it needs to be dried with a foam sponge. If the fabric is not so capricious, it is allowed to get wet with paper towels. Unimax Ultra will reliably and safely clean stains of iodine and coffee, green tea and tea, and traces of contact with cosmetics from any upholstery. Amway for upholstery and carpets can be used, regardless of the length of the pile. He is "friendly" with synthetic materials, but is not suitable for processing velvet.
• Textile sofa vacuum in wet mode, using a soft brush and at medium power.
• Upholstery from velvet and plush Do not clean with soapy water or even clean water.It is allowed to apply one foam on it, it should be moved along the pile. From improvised means, you can still use alcohol or gasoline for lighters (in no case automobile)!
• Wash the upholstery from suede possible, but do it more carefully without wetting the fabric excessively. Tapestries do not tolerate wet cleaning at all, it is recommended to vacuum them dry. You can prepare a solution of shampoo, but only the foam itself is carefully selected from it.

• Nubuck and suede they are best cleaned with soft sponges; sometimes soft brushes can be used, but be careful. The eraser will help to wipe the spots of fat, they are also removed by rock salt and an aqueous solution of alcohol. It is advisable to apply hydrophobic impregnation, it will protect the suede upholstery from moisture and reduce the resistance of many contaminants.
• If your sofa is covered vinyl, the vacuum cleaner will also help, and you can use almost any cleaning composition. But do not mix them together. The leather sofa should be wiped with a damp cloth, any detergent is applied only in the form of a weak solution and immediately washed off after use. It is generally recommended to treat skin and leather substitute with a solution of soap and soda with a sponge, it is completely safe.
• Never wet the skin too much: if possible, buy special wipes to care for her. If the upholstery is covered with cracks and dull, beaten egg whites, which are applied with gauze or cotton cloth, will help fix the situation. A substitute for protein is plain milk. Stains left by pens and felt-tip pens are cleaned with alcohol or scotch tape. Dust spots are removed from the skin with a soapy solution (a teaspoon of the product per liter of water, a sponge is wetted in this solution). After cleaning and wiping dry, lubricate the damaged area with glycerin. Most types of dirt are removed with petroleum jelly or baby oil, then the sofa should be wiped with a damp cloth.
• Furniture from matting vacuum once a week; bleaches, especially those containing chlorine, should not be used. If dried food is found on such a sofa, it is not scraped, but soaked and carefully washed with sponges, always across the fibers. Drying should occur on its own, it is forbidden to accelerate the process with a hairdryer or hot objects. Particularly stubborn stains are cleaned with alcohol or ammonia.

• Textile sofa can be cleaned with laundry soap, dishwashing detergents (but not abrasive!); It is also worth looking at the instructions and accompanying documents to find out what methods the manufacturer recommends. Light fabric must be washed in its entirety, even if the stain is very slight.
• Soap foam from fabric surfaces removed with clean, damp sponges. A dried-up blood stain will leave the rag sofa if you pour a little dish detergent into the water, soak a dirty place with this solution, and after a while rub it with a toothbrush.
• Flock sofa as well as any other, having a pile, cleaned with vacuum cleaners with special nozzles. A white textile sofa is cleaned with ordinary stain removers, but if there is a lot of dirt, it is better to seek dry cleaning.

• Sofas from polyester, as well as the flock (created on its basis), it is forbidden to clean with alcohol and everything that contains alcohol, except for very weak solutions. Any organic solvents and petroleum products, chlorine and mixtures containing it, and scraping of spots are also prohibited.

It’s very easy to remove the smell of socks or any other unpleasant “aroma”.Dilute laundry soap in water, and after cleaning the stain, wipe the place where it was with water with the addition of aromatic oils or dishwashing gels containing perfume components.

Smells left by any drink are cleaned with furniture shampoos. The drug is used strictly according to the instructions, then the sofa should dry. A solution of acetic acid (60 grams per liter of water) removes the smells of beer and fruit juices from improvised means. The dirty area is covered completely with a piece of cloth, thoroughly moistened and slightly squeezed, then it is pressed to the surface. Most often, such processing is done repeatedly, and fear the smell of vinegar is not worth it, he will leave in two or three days.

The smell of urine can be muffled with iodine: 20 grams of alcohol tincture is dissolved in a liter of water, and not only do they clean the upholstery, but they also try to soak the filler as deep as possible. If the sofa is light, it is more correct to clean it in this case:

• vinegar water;
• lemon juice (dilution of 4-6 tablespoons per liter);
• potassium permanganate (its unsaturated solution).

If "hooliganism" committed a pet, it will take a long time to clean. The upholstery is moistened with a solution of nine percent vinegar in three parts of water, then dried. After drying, sprinkle with soda and spray with an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide (concentration of 50%). The drug forms a plentiful foam, this is completely normal, after three hours the remaining dirt is removed with a damp cloth, the sofa is dried. Vacuum the soda or brush it off.

Deeply scented odors will have to be cleaned twice, with the addition of fabric softener. Some help in the fight against unpleasant aromas will be provided by cat litter, it is especially effective on flock upholstery. Sprinkle the reagent over the surface and leave it for about thirty minutes, then collect and throw it into the bin. The sofa itself will need to be slightly vacuumed.

Even very persistent odors can be removed by ventilation. No, do not open windows and doors for hours in a row. Just wait for the good cloudless weather and put the sofa outdoors. By evening, it will be completely clean and fresh.

Returning greasy furniture to its normal state is not so difficult. Prepare such a preparation:

• A pair of glasses of water.
• 60 grams of salt.
• A teaspoon of washing powder.

After putting all this in one container, mix thoroughly, apply the solution and wait ¼ hours. Then wash away what remains and dry the area of ​​the former stain. Glossy marks are removed from dense coatings by a sponge soaked in a solution of soap and soda or detergent. The lint-free upholstery must be cleaned in the same way, the stains themselves are lubricated with foam first for ten minutes, then it is washed off with clean water and the surface is dried by touching the fabric.

If it was not possible to immediately remove the shiny spots, reprocess them, and to avoid the appearance of a halo, prepare a less saturated solution and clean the entire surface of the furniture with it. Shaded areas can be wiped with half the onion, while its surface must be cut off as it gets dirty and dries. After cleaning, wipe the upholstery with a dry soft cloth. And be sure to ventilate the room immediately.

Less “aromatic” but just as effective is regular toothpaste. A small amount of it is applied with a brush to the stain and rubbed without pressing. Then use a damp cloth to remove any remaining product and do not use the sofa until it is dry. It is best to take a children's toothpaste, and if you use an adult, make sure that it does not contain extraneous inclusions.

The armrests must be cleaned necessarily, if they put mugs with hot drinks, then petroleum jelly will help. Rub white marks on them, and after a few hours you will not find the slightest signs of a stain.If someone badly brought up stuck chewing gum on the armrest, rub a little of the same Vaseline into it, very soon the lump will crumble and crumble.

The sofa cover will “take over” the dirt and prevent it from getting into the upholstery. But this means that its surface is gradually becoming unsightly in appearance. In normal use, washing the covers is necessary every three or four months, however, active children, pets in the house make this need much more frequent. A vacuum cleaner with furniture nozzles will get rid of dust or the fabric is knocked out like a carpet. Correctly clean a very dirty cover will be able to dry clean, contact should be with any serious contamination.

If you still decide to clean the covers at home, you will have to spend quite a lot of time. Set the program shorter, otherwise the seams may become loose or the material will deteriorate. Please note that it is unlikely that you can remove the cover at one time, carefully inspect it after washing, and if there are stains, streaks, repeat the treatment. It is useful to treat all contaminants with a stain remover before sending the product to the washing machine according to the instructions.

The old cover can only be washed if the fabric is not very worn. Otherwise, you should still turn to the professionals, they know exactly how to conduct gentle cleaning and remove all blockages.

Tips and tricks:

• If you need to restore the usual color of the sofa, take any carpet cleaner and mix a little acetic acid with it. The resulting product also effectively fights stains and foul odors. When vacuuming a sofa, be sure to use a narrow nozzle (to clean corners) or a special nozzle for working with upholstered furniture.
• To fight less dust and other pollution, just buy a special case. And still, you will need to clean the surface at least once a week, even if not a sofa, but a cover.
• It’s easy to remove old coffee and tea stains with a soapy solution of three drops of any detergent and a couple of tablespoons of acetic acid in a liter of warm water. If they are fresh, you can dissolve 1-2 tablespoons per glass or use ordinary laundry soap. Note that the first method must be carefully applied to dark tissues, they can discolor.
• Before using any cleaning agent (store-bought or prepared by yourself), take care of sheltering the floor and other furniture. Otherwise, it may happen that for every spot removed from the sofa there will be several planted in other places. It is recommended to clean the sofa, starting from the back, then go to the armrests, seat, and complete the process by processing the bottom of the product. It is better to clean areas approximately 40 centimeters in size.

• The cleaning composition is applied to each area for about half a minute, this is enough to penetrate deep into, and to start the reaction with the most stubborn pollution. If coffee or tea has fallen on colored upholstery, the concentration of the preparations should be reduced compared to the usual situation. Better yet, take a ten percent solution of borax and use it, it is a completely safe remedy.
• Never try to cleanse the blood with hot water, the proteins that form it will curl up and the stain will become even more difficult to remove. The cleaning agent is not applied to the upholstery itself, but to the brush that you will work with.
• To get rid of dirt on white skin will help the most ordinary milk (best of minimal fat content): it soak cotton wool and rub the surface. If you used ammonia, immediately after that apply glycerin or castor oil so that the leather surface does not dry out.
• If wax gets on the surface of the sofa, it can be removed with an iron and blotting paper. First, the outer part of the stain is scraped off, then paper is applied and a moderately heated iron is ironed on it.

• To get wet from the surface of the sofa, you can use not only wipes, but also waffle towels. It is not difficult to reduce the risk of clogging of upholstered furniture: refuse to eat or drink any drinks on the couch. Never place sofas, especially leather ones, near radiators and other heating devices, directly under the air conditioners.
• Do not put colored pillows and any objects with unstable dyes on the sofa: if they get on the upholstery, nothing can be done with your own hands.

Strictly observing these recommendations, you can avoid the vast majority of pollution. And if they appear, then you will almost certainly manage, regardless of the type of sofa upholstery and the age of the spot.

For more tips on how to clean your sofa at home, see the video below.