How To Clean Your Fabric Sofa At Home

Between biscuit crumbs, pet hair, and nuisance bits of dust, your sofa can get mucky. And while cleaning a leather sofa is simple (just a quick wipe will do), there’s a few more steps to think about when it comes to cleaning a fabric sofa.

But don’t worry! We’ve got all the know-how to help you clean your sofa in no time at all - you’ll be relaxing on fresh fabric quicker than a flash.

Ready to begin? Let’s find out just how easy it is to clean your fabric sofa at home.

Before we get into how to clean your sofa, you’ll need to check the do’s and don’ts on the care label. This is usually attached to one of the cushions or sewn into the seams of the fabric.

Typically, a care label will have one of four cleaning tags – W, S, S-W, and X. Each tag tells you what is and isn’t safe to use when cleaning your sofa:

• W: You can use water to clean your sofa.
• S: You can’t use water. Instead, you’ll need to pick up a solvent-based cleaner from your local supermarket.
• S-W: You’re safe to use both water and solvent-based cleaner.
• X: You can only use a vacuum.

Now we know the basics to keep your sofa safe while we clean it, we can actually start cleaning! That means it’s time to get the vacuum out.

You can go straight in and use your vacuum to clean the surface of any crumbs, dust, or stray pet hairs. Just make sure to apply light pressure and pop on your vacuum’s soft brush attachment first, to avoid any damage to your sofa fabric.

Alternatively, if you’d rather not use a vacuum on the sofa, then you can clean your sofa of any bits of dirt by sweeping them onto the floor with a clean cloth. Then, with the crumbs on the floor, you can simply vacuum it up – done and dusted!

TOP TIP: Our handheld vacuums are perfect for smaller tasks like removing dust from a sofa or cleaning the inside of your car! You can even get the best of both worlds with our cordless vacuum bundle.

We’re not quite done with the vacuum yet, as now it’s time to take care of any cookie crumbs or pizza crust dust left lingering down the edge of your sofa.

To do this, simply attach the power hose floorcare accessory to your vacuum. Then use the thin, easy-to-guide nozzle to clean right down the edges of your sofa cushions. Have a quick look for any stray pens, tissues, or hairbands, removing these before you start cleaning your sofa with the vacuum.

Cushions clear, we can now get to work on cleaning your sofa of any stains! You can get stains taken care of professionally, but it’s just as easy to clean your sofa at home.

The quicker you take care of a stain, the easier it’ll be to remove. All you need is some lukewarm water, mild detergent, white vinegar, and bicarbonate of soda. Then, follow these simple steps:

1.     Mix together one table spoon of each item until you get a good lather going.

2.     Apply the mixture to the stain using a clean cloth.

3.     Leave the mixture to soak for at least 10 minutes.

4.     When the time is up, wipe away the mixture with a dry cloth, and you should have a clean fabric sofa!

TOP TIP: Our wet and dry vacuums can be used to take care of stains too! Check out our spot cleaners to make removing stains from your sofa even simpler.

Now you have a lovely clean sofa, it’s time to put the finishing touches – plumping the cushions!

Giving your cushions a plump not only restores that just bought feeling, as it’s also a great general maintenance tip to keep your fabric sofa in tip top shape as the years go by.

To plump your cushions, simply pick them up one by one. Then, give them a good old shake to shift the filling inside to fill any gaps made over time.

And there you have it! You now know how simple it is to clean your fabric sofa at home. If you’re looking for more top cleaning tips like how to clean carpet steps or how to remove coffee from the carpet, head over to our blog.