7 Steps to Longer Lasting Upholstery

May 8, 2012

7 Steps to Longer Lasting Upholstery

It seems like furniture never really gets thrown out. Once the sofa in the living room starts looking shabby, it will go downstairs to live in the basement for a decade or so. Once it starts making the basement look bad, there’s always a less picky friend looking for a free sofa. This “Sofa Cycle” is one we’re all familiar with.

But what if we could extend the first part of that cycle? What if you could keep your upholstery looking fresh and new longer? You see, by establishing an upholstery care routine and following a few quick tips you can prevent premature shabbiness due to heavy use and soiling. Even lightly used pieces will benefit from these seven tips:

1. Vacuum: The most important thing you can do to keep your upholstery looking clean is to vacuum it regularly. Try to vacuum your furniture once every week to capture dirt, pet hair, and dust. This prevents that debris from being worked into the upholstery fabric.
2. Avoid the Sun: Ideally, keep upholstered furniture away from windows and direct sunlight. This will help prevent the sun from bleaching your fabrics.
3. Rotate Your Cushions: Simple as it sounds, rotating to your cushions can add a lot of life to your furniture. Like rotating your tires, it makes sure that wear is distributed evenly and that one side does not become too dirty or worn.
4. The Sofa is for Sitting: Try to keep the upholstery free of activities or products that could stain or damage it. As much as your kids want to use their markers to draw a picture while sitting on the sofa, its best to keep them away from the fabric until they know how to draw within the lines.
5. The Pet Problem: Great as pets are, they can be terrible for your upholstery. If you allow pets on your furniture, the oils in their hair and fur, the dirt they carry around, and their dander will make your upholstery look and feel dirty faster. To keep your upholstery healthy, keep your pets off of it.
6. Not Just Covers: Sometimes cushion covers can be removed and put in the wash, which is great when you’re taking care of an emergency spill. If you do this too often, though, the cushion color won’t match the rest of the upholstery that hasn’t been cleaned.
7. Hire a Pro: Once or twice a year – depending on how much use the piece sees – you should have a professional clean your upholstery. This will help remove the oils and embedded dirt your vacuuming can’t take care of. Most carpet cleaning companies also offer upholstery services.

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