How To Clean Your Couch, According To My Mom

Cleaning a couch is nowhere near as difficult as it first appears and with our handy guide, you’ll soon have a super clean couch.

You really don’t need a professional to clean your couch, just some simple guidelines. Here’s everything my mother told me about cleaning my couch in a call that lasted longer than I’d hoped. Plus, some facts and basics from my own research.

Getting To Know Your Couch 101

Before you clean the upholstery on a couch, you just need to check the cleaning codes. 

• W – means you can use water in the cleaning.
  
• WS – means that this couch can be dry cleaned or steam cleaned. 
  
• X – means don’t use water, only vacuum your couch. 
  
• S – means dry cleaning only. 

How To Clean A Couch On A Day-To-Day Basis

If you want your couch to last for a long time (you can find out how long a couch lasts here) then you ought to clean it weekly. 

This will help you prevent damage or stains from building up over time and help repair regular wear and tear. 

You can do these three things each week and it doesn’t matter which type of couch you own:

• Brush the sofa. Just get a simple dry brush and go over the exterior. Make sure to loosen up any dirt or debris that’s stuck to it and air out any tangled fabric.
  
• Vacuum the sofa. Then turn your vacuum to its lowest setting and gently vacuum up any thing that was knocked loose during brushing.
  
• Flip your cushions. Turn the cushions every week and it will ensure they wear evenly rather than one side quickly getting worn away. 

How To Deep Clean Your Couch

You can use these methods on any couch but be careful when it comes to dry clean only couches or vacuum only couches – don’t use the water-vinegar mixture at the end of this process.

• Test the sofa. We’re going to use baking soda to clean the sofa – so, before you do, just test a small hidden part of the fabric to make sure it doesn’t damage it. It’s very unlikely that it will, mind you, but better to be safe than sorry.
  
• Brush the sofa. Just get a simple dry brush and go over the exterior. Make sure to loosen up any dirt or debris that’s stuck to it and air out any tangled fabric.
  
• Sprinkle it with baking soda. Then sprinkle baking powder all over your sofa and then leave it for half an hour. 
  
• Vacuum up the baking soda. Set the vacuum on low power and then use the brush attachment to make sure you get rid of all the baking soda. This will deep clean the sofa and remove any unpleasant odors. 
  
• Tackling tough stains. Mix ¾ of a cup of warm water with ¼ of a cup of vinegar. Then add a tablespoon of dish soap. Then put this in a spray bottle and spray the stain. Leave for a while and then gently wipe away. If your couch is synthetic, change the measurements to a cup of water. ½ of vinegar and ½ a tablespoon of the dish soap. 

How You Can Shampoo A Couch

Shampooing a couch is a tougher job and you will need to rent a steam cleaner if you want to do it well. Don’t steam a dry clean only couch though, for a deep dry clean – you need a professional to do it. 

Then simply brush and vacuum the couch to get it as clean as possible to begin with. 

Follow the instructions supplied with the cleaning machine to use the right cleaning agent and amount of water. 

Then make sure that the brush follows the grain as you clean the couch.

Leave everything to dry fully before you put any cushions back on. 

How To Clean The Cushions On Your Couch

Check the tags, if they’re machine washable – pop them in the washing machine and leave them to dry.

If not? Then take them outside, hang them and beat them to get rid of dirt. If you hang them in the sun, the UV in sunshine will help kill off any bacteria too. 

Final Thoughts On Cleaning Couches

Cleaning a couch is super easy when you know how and regular cleaning will extend the life of your couch. It’s a no-brainer. 

Of course, if you’ve cleaned your sofa and it still looks like it’s dying then it might be time to buy a new sofa from one of our favorite online couch stores, instead.