By this point I am pretty sure the vast majority of furniture owners are aware that spills and stains on upholstery ought to be cleaned promptly, together with all due haste. It is the right thing to do, and stands the best chance of effective stain removal. But, let us consider for a moment the times when it’s just not possible to immediately deal with a blot.
Upholstery Cleaning in Petaluma — A fast search of the net might lead you to believe that treat and no one in the history of the planet has neglected to blot a spill in a timely way. That you and your upholstery will be completely doomed because your stains have set-in and nothing — at least nothing short of inventing a time machine, crashing the lively spaghetti and red wine celebration that marred the vintage collection of dining chairs you just scored at the flea market, and cleaning these spills when they occur — will be of any use in taking away the stains. All kidding aside, and to the contrary, there are things you can do in order to reestablish a piece of upholstery, even when staining took place long ago.
In unfortunate true tales from my life, a few years ago (unbeknownst to me) a mover cut himself and bled on all of my living space furniture while loading it into storage for three months (I understand ) and I just found the well-set-in stains upon going into my new apartment. I was blown away — that there were blood smears on what. He didn’t, although I wish this person had spoken and make the most of the abundant aid kit I tote with me during motions. Therefore, as well as being worried what his work situation needs to be like when he’s frightened to mention being wounded on the job and about the mover, I had a good deal of set-in stains. Truly, a great deal.
Here Is What I heard along the way about getting older stains out of upholstery:
First: Vacuum
Upholstery should be vacuumed regularly prevent dust and crumbs from stepping into the body of the furniture and to keep the fabric in good shape. In the case of an old stain, it’s surprising how much an easy vacuuming will help the fade the blot. It should be the initial step in dealing with this type of damage, you do not know what you are addressing, or how awful the stain truly is until each the loose particles are sucked off by the vacuum.
Check for Cleaning Instructions
Check your furniture for the cleaning codes. This gets you of how to tackle your stain on the right track. Some pieces may be cleaned with plain water, others will demand moving into different solvents. If your furniture lacks a cleaning code, which is the case with vintage and antique pieces which have been changed through time, do a simple spot test on a hidden piece of upholstery. I like to check water, vodka and vinegar since they’re always my first choices for cleaning, before getting to the more chemical stuff.
Try Some Steam
If your furniture can be cleaned with water, hitting the stain loosens it up and makes the stain responsive to treatment. I typically grab my iron and also use the steam for this particular application, I really don’t find it necessary to pull the steamer to manage little locations out.
Clean, Phase 1
This is the phase in which you cross your fingers and hope that a solution is. If your furniture may be cleaned with water, mix a little dish soap cool water and, with a wrung out sponge, blot the stain with the soap mix. Be careful not to rub at the blot it’s unlikely that the stain will set in deeper, but rubbing may weaken and pill that your fabric. Wash the sponge and then apply water to blot out some of the soap mixture. Press dry with a paper or cloth towels. If your furniture can’t be cleaned with water, then consider using vinegar or vodka onto a cloth. When the area is dry the odor of the vodka or the vinegar will disappear.
Rinse and Repeat
If your stain has survived this entire cleaning process, you are dealing with one stain. As exhausting–and potentially irritating–since the process can be, doing it can provide you the result you’re looking for. The wine white chairs situation took two passes before the stains came out. I truly thought when I entered Stage 2 that there was no way these stains went everywhere, but perseverance paid off and the stains vanished!
Blog
March 24, 2025
