7 Tips on How to Maintain Your Upholstered Sofas and Chairs

Whether it’s a sofa or a reclining chair, upholstered furniture brings character to your home and become part of your daily routine of leaning back and winding down after a hard day at work. In some cases, a favorite upholstered piece of furniture becomes forever tied to an identity and cherished memories – ‘Grandma’s Chair’ or ‘Our Old Living Room Sofa’.

It pays to treat and maintain your upholstered furniture well.

Here, we share with you the following 7 tips on how to maintain your upholstered sofas and chairs.

• Fluff Up Your Cushions
• Avoid Putting Your Upholstered Sofas and Chairs on Direct Sunlight
• Flip Your Upholstery Cushions Over
• Invest in Stain Protection Products for Your Upholstery
• Vacuum Clean Your Upholstered Sofas and Chairs Regularly
• Keep the Tags Attached to Your Upholstered Furniture
• Hire a Professional Upholstery Cleaner

How To Maintain Your Upholsteries

Fluff Up Your Cushions

Your cushions are sat on, jumped on (if you have hyperactive kids), and routinely flatten out because they are made of soft material. When the material loses its shape, the upholstery does too.

So make it a point to fluff them up regularly by slapping, prodding, and light punching so that they retain their original shape and provide comfort for years to come. It only takes a few minutes and the returns are great.

Protecting the shape of your cushions also helps to maintain your upholstery in prime condition as the seams are not over-stressed by weird shapes and twists.

Each cushion differs in the amount of fluffing needed, so fluff more for the really soft ones and less for the firmer cushions.

Avoid Direct Sunlight on Your Upholstered Sofas and Chairs

When your upholstery is made up of fine fabrics, leather or leatherette, remember that direct sunlight will destroy your upholstery with prolonged exposure. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight work to deteriorate the condition and lifetime of your upholstery.

A little exposure to the sun every now and then is harmless, but do keep your favorite upholstered furniture out of harm’s way by drawing the blinds or placing them out of areas that receive direct sunlight.

Flip Your Upholstery Cushions Over

You should regularly flip your upholstered cushions (both the seat and the back cushions) depending on the frequency of their use. You will find that your upholstery will wear out evenly and your cushions will maintain their shape for longer.

Do pay particular attention to the center cushions on three-seat upholstered sofas. The center seat is typically avoided by people – they’d rather sit on the side next to the armrest. If your sofas contain identical cushions for all 3 seats, switch the center cushions with the ones on the sides regularly to ensure even wear, maintenance of cushion shape, and protection for the upholstery on the 2 side seats.

Invest in Stain Protection Products for Your Upholstery

Ask your furniture seller and professional upholstery cleaners about the nature and material of your upholstery and the stain protectors best suited to it. Professionally applied stain protection helps to make your upholstery easier to clean because they provide a slick extra layer between your upholstery and materials which can potentially stain it. Such stain protectors will also assist in slowing down damage from ultraviolet rays in sunlight.

Vacuum Clean Your Upholstered Sofas and Chairs Regularly

The longer you avoid vacuuming your upholstery, the worse the damage. Dust settles on everything in your home, your upholstery included. Whenever you sit on your sofas and chairs, the weight forces the dust down deeper into the fibers of the upholstery. With prolonged periods of no maintenance, the dust acts like an abrasive, cutting, and scraping your upholstery on a microscopic level, thus causing the material to wear out a lot faster.

So every time you perform your regular house cleaning, make it a point to get the vacuum out to give your upholstered sofas and chairs a quick cleaning.

Keep the Tags Attached to Your Upholstered Furniture

For new furniture and newly upholstered furniture, a tag is normally found attached to the upholstery. This tag contains vital information about the style, the fabric numbers, delivery date, the body, and cushion content, all of which are important when you next re-upholster or clean your upholstered furniture. Keep it in a safe place for easy reference for the next time you may need this information.

Hire a Professional Upholstery Cleaner to Deep Clean Your Upholstered Sofas and Chairs Once a Year

Hiring professional upholstery cleaners once a year ensures that your upholstered furniture is deep cleaned, something which vacuuming alone cannot achieve. Moreover, only professional methods can remove certain stubborn stains on your upholstery.

The best upholstery cleaners use the hot water extraction method and special antimicrobial cleaning solutions to leave your upholstered furniture smelling better, looking more vibrant and cleaner all around.

So, please refrain from waiting for your upholstered sofas and chairs to get visibly dirty before calling in the professionals. Having your upholstered furniture deep cleaned annually restores the aesthetic beauty and comfort of your upholstery. It also performs the crucial task of extending the life of your upholstery.

Conclusion

Taking care of your upholstered furniture, sofas and chairs, need not be a chore and need not be complicated. Make sure you follow the tips we recommended above to get the most out of your upholstered furniture.

What’s Next?

Check out our other services or know more about our upholstery cleaning services in Singapore.

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