If you observe the use of sofas in the living room, you notice that sofa cushions mostly have face suffering like stains, dust, cuts, and eatable spreading. This means sofa cushions occasionally require a cleaning process after every quarter of the year to maintain their original condition and style. When you feel that your sofa cushion requires cleaning treatment, the next question may come to your mind, “Can sofa cushions be dry-cleaned or not?” I think before diving deep into the topic, you must have comprehensive knowledge about the dry cleaning process.
What is dry cleaning Treatment?
Cleaning is a broader term, and dry cleaning is a specific term. It is one of the popular cleaning methods for cleaning clothes, rugs, curtains, sofas, and many other items in your living room. The Greeks and Romans introduced dry cleaning to clean textile-based products without using water. Professionals use special solvents like chlorinated solvent, carbon tetrachloride, and trichloroethylene to remove the unbearable stains and spills of textile-based fabrics.
As time passes, industries are manufacturing tons of new types of fabrics due to modern changes in the industry of textiles and fabrics. However, these solvents have also changed with changes in the field of chemicals, and mechanical industries have also introduced a variety of new types of equipment that make this dry cleaning process compatible with this innovative world. This brief understanding of the dry cleaning process will help you compare the dry cleaning process with different washing methods and guide you on whether sofa cushions can be dry cleaned or washed.
Determination of Important factors before dry cleaning your sofa cushions.
If you haven’t gone through these factors, you must be unable to make the right decision about your sofa cushions, whether they can be dry cleaned or washed to clean them. It mean these factors are expert enough about dry cleaning of sofa cushions and also applicable about washing of sofa cushions without shrinking.
1. Understand the type and material of sofa cushion fabrics.
Cotton
It is a natural material-based fabric. If the fabric of your sofa cushion is 100% cotton made, then you have both options of dry cleaning or washing, but if it is a blend of synthetic material and cotton, then the best option is to dry clean it.
Linen
This fabric is made from natural material and is considered a stylish and casual option for sofa cushions. And you can dry clean or wash linen-based sofa cushions. Dry cleaning is preferably the best option.
Velvet
If you have a sofa cushion with luxurious and refined velvet fabric, you are recommended to dry clean it. However, some limited types of velvet fabric are machine washable. I discuss it later in this blog post which velvet–based sofa cushions can be dry cleaned and which are machine washable. A sofa customized with velvet fabric is given below in the picture. 
Image Source : Pexels
Leather
If your sofa cushions are made of leather fabric, then the only cleaning option you have is to dry clean them through the wiping out method.
Polyester
This sofa cushion fabric is a mixture of artificial synthetic material and can be cleaned through a washing process. However dry cleaning of polyester fabric is not prohibited but not recommended.
Chenille
This is a soft and plush texture-based sofa fabric with options for dry cleaning and washing.
Wool
This sofa cushion fabric is highly durable and resilient and preferably be cleaned through the dry cleaning process. However, it can also be washed in a machine through a careful and gentle machine cycle or even better to wash with hands.
Microfiber
It is also a synthetic material-based fabric that can be washed in a machine or dry cleaned.
Acrylic
In normal circumstances, acrylic sofa fabric is made from artificial or synthetic material, but it can also be made with a combination of synthetic and natural materials. The durability and resistance of acrylic sofa fabric are not only confined to its texture but also its color which is vibrant for a long-lasting time period. You have both cleaning options like dry cleaning and washing for this appealing sofa fabric.
2. Examination of fabric cleaning codes attached to sofa cushions
The manufacturer of the product is the best person to inform you how to take care of the product while using it. If you order a custom sofa, then you must have the option to request the manufacturer to get cleaning codes otherwise, it was already attached to your sofa. Following the cleaning codes is the simplest and most professional method to decide whether sofa cushions are allowed to dry clean or not. These cleaning codes are briefly explained below, also proven as a best source to identify cleaning of cleaning of couch cushions without washing machine.
W (Wet)
As the name indicates, it is a water-based cleaner, which means you can clean your sofa cushions with a water-based liquid cleaner. Please don’t confuse this process with washing sofa cushion fabric with a machine or hands. In this process, you identify the stains from your sofa cushions and then clean them through liquid water-based cleaners. These cleaners are easily available in the market like shampoo or foam loaded with liquid. Special brushes are also available in the markets. These brushes are used with shampoo as a liquid cleaner for the sofa cushions.
S (Solvent)
If your sofa cushions contain “S” as a cleaning code, then you only need to clean them using solvent. These solvents are available in different types of chemicals like carbon tetrachloride and easily suck the dirty stains from your sofa cushions. These solvents are normally liquid-based chemicals but do not contain any drop of water and are also known as specific dry-cleaned material.
W/S (Wet/Solvent)
If this cleaning code applies to your sofa cushions, you can use solvent or water-based liquid to remove stains and spills from their fabric. However, you can also use a mixture of solvent and water-based cleaning liquids. This method is normally considered the easiest because it offers multiple cleaning options.
X
This cleaning code indicates, you can only clean your sofa cushions using a vacuum machine or fabric cleaning brush. This means you should not use any solvent or water-based liquid cleaner to clean the spills from sofa cushions. Sometimes the tag attached to your sofa cushions speaks to you that you can only dry clean your sofa cushions or it is loaded with these cleaning codes. This means these tags are important in deciding whether sofa cushions are dry cleanable or can be cleaned by other methods like cleaning codes or washing processes.
Final verdict
The dry cleaning process is vital today because it is not only confined to wearing clothes but is useful for cleaning plenty of home decor items. But it doesn’t mean you can blindly apply the dry cleaning process to expensive furniture items like sofas or couches to clean them. The best approach while cleaning your sofa fabric is to follow the above-mentioned step-wise guide, and luckily this guide may also be applicable to wearing laundry items. If you want to clean a couch cushion that has been peed on, you must be well aware of this dry cleaning guide.
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