After months of festive celebration and dinner gatherings at home, it is not surprising to find new stains on your sofa fabric. Do not fret, you are not alone. Here are some safe DIY stain removal steps if you wish to attempt cleaning the stains yourself.
Before you want to clean stain on sofa fabric, always check for a cleaning tag that should indicate the recommended cleaning method. The universal code for cleaning tag would be “S” for Solvent, “W” for Water, while some may indicate “SW” for Solvent and/or Water, and there are fabric sofa that can only be vacuumed.
If you cannot find the cleaning tag, it is always safer to check back with the shop where you purchase the sofa from because different sofa fabric material requires different cleaning solution, although recently dry foam sofa cleaning has become the preferred cleaning solution by most fabric sofa manufacturer.
Next, you need to identify what type of stain that has soiled your sofa. Different type of stain generally requires different stain removal solution. Stain history would help sofa cleaner to diagnose your sofa condition when you require their professional sofa cleaning service.
Rule of the thumb when there is stain on your sofa fabric is to remove excess liquid or stain as quickly as you can to increase the chance of removing them. The longer the stain remains on the fabric, the more difficult, or impossible, to remove them.
If you want to try using DIY stain removal products in your hardware store, it is highly recommended to first try the stain removal solution on some inconspicuous corner as the untested solution may damage your sofa fabric or dye. To be safe, avoid using unknown DIY sofa fabric cleaning product unless it is recommended by the sofa manufacturer or the shop where you purchase the sofa from.
A safer stain removal solution is to either mix 1 teaspoon of mild soap detergent like laundry or dish washing detergent with a cup of warm water. Agitate the detergent solution till lots of foam is formed. Take some of the suds using a clean damp cloth and start blotting the stain from the outer stain towards the centre.
After stain is removed, rinse the stained area with clear water blot with new white cloth. Place a thick layer of clean towel over the damp area and weight with heavy object. Or you may sprinkle baking soda over the damp area overnight to absorb the remaining fluid. Vacuum the sofa the next day.
If after attempting to clean the stains yourself and you are not satisfied with the result, do not hesitate to contact any reputable sofa cleaning service provider to clean and remove the stains as soon as possible.
General Precautions
- Never use bleach when removing stain on any upholstery fabric as bleach may cause fabric to discolour.
- Before attempting to remove stain using any cleaning solution, always test the solution on an inconspicuous area before applying the solution onto the stain and risk damaging the fabric upholstery.
- Do not use much fluid when cleaning fabric sofa as this may spread the stain and possibly damage the sofa upholstery.
- Always ensure fabric sofa is thoroughly dried either by using thick layers of kitchen tissue or thick towel. Baking soda can be generously sprinkled on damp area overnight to absorb remaining fluid in the upholstery. Vacuum thoroughly the next day to remove excess baking soda residue.
- Whenever in doubt, always contact professional sofa cleaning service as soon as possible. The longer the stain remains on the sofa fabric, the more difficult, or impossible, to remove the stain.
