People used to spend a lot of money to clean their fabric sofas through private or professional dry cleaning services. The reason is that they misunderstood that DIY cleaning of fabric sofas at home is very tough. But the reality is totally different and cleaning a fabric sofa at home is very easy and comparatively cheaper than professional dry cleaning. So don’t worry even if you have a sofa with the fabric of silk, microfiber, velvet, leather, linen, and synthetic material, because our DIY cleaning techniques will help you a lot. In this blog post, we will guide you on how to clean fabric sofas naturally at home by using simple home-based cleaning products.
Gather necessary cleaning tools
- Distilled or dilute water in a well-cleaned bowl
- Soft or lint brush
- Cotton or microfiber cloth-like rugs (3 to 5 mini pieces in light shade)
- Bleaching free detergent (optional)
- Mild dishwashing soap/liquid
- Vacuum cleaner
- Distilled or mild white vinegar
- Baking soda
- Steam cleaner
- Spray bottle
How to clean fabric sofas naturally
Following are the best ways to clean fabric sofas naturally (DIY).
1. Carefully study the fabric cleaning codes
Checking of cleaning codes attached to your sofa is an underrated but very important step before start cleaning your fabric sofas naturally. These cleaning codes provide you the professional guidance to initiate your cleaning process are mentioned below.
W
It indicated that you can use only water-based liquid to clean your fabric sofa. In this process, you can dip the soft cloth in the water-based cleaner and rub it on the sofa fabric to clean it.
S
It means you can use solvent-based liquid to clean your fabric sofa. People normally confuse it with the first one but it is quite different. Here solvent-based liquid means it has the capacity to absorb the stain-based material from your fabric sofa.
W/S
It indicates that you can use any one of the above-mentioned liquids on your fabric sofa for cleaning purposes.
X
It indicates that you have only the option of vacuum cleaning your sofa fabric, which means you can only clean a fabric sofa without water.
2. Vacuum your fabric sofa
First of all beat or fluff your sofa cushions with your hands or a wooden stick, which helps you to remove plenty of dust from your sofa with minimum effort. In the second step deeply vacuum the frame of your sofa before placing the sofa cushions back to these frames. When you place back these sofa cushions on the frames then carefully vacuum the whole fabric sofa again. While vacuuming your fabric sofa make sure to deeply clean the pet hairs and crumbs from the arms of the sofa. It is quite impossible to clean a sofa at home without a vacuum cleaner.
3. Clean the stains on the fabric sofa
You can apply this stain-cleaning process on your sofa fabric only if the cleaning codes of W and W/S are attached to it. You can start this cleaning process by taking 2 to 3 cups of distilled or boiled water and then mixing 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid and 1 tablespoon of mild white vinegar in this water. After that, you need to dip a tiny piece of microfiber into this mixer and try to put this piece of soft cloth for a few seconds on the stained portion of your fabric sofa. You can also rub this piece with very soft hands if the stain looks tough to handle, but be careful so that the rubbing process can’t lead to any damage to your fabric sofa.
In the third step, you need to apply another piece of soft cloth which is just wet with distilled water to the same portion of the fabric sofa so that it can soak the remaining impact of vinegar and soap liquid. As a fourth step, you need to apply a dry piece of soft cloth on this wet area which helps to refresh this cleaned area of your fabric sofa. In the final step, you need to dry this specific portion of this fabric sofa by using a mini table fan. This step is also an indicator of how to clean a fabric sofa with vinegar.
4. Sanitize the fabric sofa
This process is easily applicable to any type of fabric sofa or couch, as it is used to deodorize or refresh the whole fabric sofa like an air freshener. First of all, turn off the fan in your living room, and then sprinkle the baking soda with the balanced quantity on your whole fabric sofa. After sprinkling the baking soda spare your sofa or couch for 15 to 20 minutes so that baking soda can properly do its job. After that carefully vacuum your fabric sofa and it will ultimately sanitize your complete sofa. This step also answers your question about how to clean a fabric sofa naturally with baking soda.
5. Deep cleaning the whole sofa fabric
For deep cleaning your fabric sofa you need to make a special cleaning liquid by using the above-mentioned ingredients. This process is only applicable to sofa fabrics having labels of W or W/S cleaning codes. The quantity of every ingredient is mentioned below which also depends upon the size of your sofa or couch. These ingredients are also helpful in making a home remedy for cleaning a sofa.
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of mild white vinegar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of mild or bleaching-free detergent
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of baking soda
- 2 to 3 cups of distilled water
When you have completed the making of the cleaning liquid, you need to repeat the same cleaning cycle of the fabric sofa if it is stained which is explained in detail in the above-mentioned subheading number 3. If we talk about the cleaning of stained fabric it is only confined to a limited portion of your sofa fabric but the deep cleaning of the sofa or couch belongs to the complete sofa or couch. So it is difficult to repeat the whole process by using multiple pieces of soft cloth again and again, that’s why you can use a spray bottle to easily manage the deep cleaning process.
6. Steam cleaning the fabric sofa naturally
Steam cleaning is normally applicable to fabric sofas having cleaning codes W and W/S attached to them. However, the best way to make a decision about steam cleaning is to perform a spot test on the specific hidden portion of your sofa fabric. In this process, you can apply the steam cleaner to a hidden area of the sofa fabric and check whether it works or not. However, in steam cleaning the instructions by the manufacturer of the steamer also guide you to make suitable decisions even though he will also suggest you the best settings for steam cleaning your whole sofa or couch. In this process, you can also use the same liquid prepared for the deep cleaning process.
This process is practically very simple; you can start this process by cleaning through a simple vacuum cleaner. After doing vacuum cleaning you can apply a steam cleaner with a moderate time period to every specific portion of your sofa or couch. In the final step, you need to take care of drying the whole sofa by using a high-speed fan, otherwise, the steamer may leave stains on your fabric sofa.
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