As time goes by, it’s important to clean your furniture to refresh it and thoroughly clean the fabrics of any dirt or residue that may be present.
The first thing you do when you think about cleaning your furniture is to go to the supermarket and buy commercial products or those you’ve seen advertised, but you forget that you have other, less expensive, homemade products on hand whose benefits never lose their effectiveness. We’re talking about two infallible cleaning products: white vinegar and baking soda.
Here are some tips for removing unwanted stains from your spaces and keeping them looking their best. This is especially useful now that you’re spending so much time at home, whether exercising or working remotely.
Cleaning a sofa with vinegar and baking soda. Step by step
If you’re wondering how to clean a sofa with vinegar, it’s important to note that it’s not about applying the vinegar directly to the fabric. Instead, you should:
- Prepare a solution in which you incorporate approximately one liter of warm water, one glass of vinegar, and one teaspoon of baking soda.
- Use a suitable cloth (that does not stain) and dampen it with the solution you prepared beforehand without saturating it with liquid.
- Apply to the stains using circular motions.
- After focusing on the areas where the stains are obvious, go over the entire piece of furniture to avoid any visible differences.
Other home remedies for cleaning a fabric sofa
- Do not let the stain dry or let too much time pass after it has been soiled or spilled; If you let the stain dry on its own, it will be more difficult to remove.
- Every liquid has another that can counteract it, so if it’s a coffee, wine, or orange juice stain, we can tell you that granulated salt or a little lemon juice can remove the stain.
- Use plenty of water even if you’re cleaning dry; this will dilute the stain as much as possible and prevent it from getting bigger.
- Never use body soap, even if you know its pH is neutral.
- If you want to remove ink marks, use rubbing alcohol.
- To remove grease stains, you should apply a quantity of pure baking soda to the affected area and wait for it to work and absorb the grease.
- Finally, try to do a maintenance cleaning once a week to prevent stains from accumulating, and then a deeper cleaning once a month.
How to dry clean sofas?
First of all, it is highly recommended to vacuum the fabric to remove residue, crumbs, and other types of dirt that accumulate as a result of using the furniture.
In addition, cleaning your sofa with baking soda can become one of your best allies because of its effectiveness in eliminating bacteria and neutralizing odors (ideal if you have pets).
There is a wide range of products on the market that are used for dry cleaning, and it is a type of spray that, when applied to the affected area, generates a foam that is then removed along with the areas that were previously dirty.
In this case, you should specifically look for instructions regarding the type of fabric or material of your armchairs to determine if the application is appropriate or not.
Similarly, it’s important to consider the color range of the furniture fabric, as some colors are more delicate or visible than others, such as white and other light shades like beige. If you don’t know how to clean a beige fabric sofa, we recommend using a pH-neutral laundry soap.
And how do you clean a leather sofa?
Many people mistakenly believe that these sofas require more care, but we offer you a foolproof secret if your sofa is this style:
- The first thing you should do is clean with a cloth barely dampened with water to remove dust and other residue.
- With a dry cloth, lightly dampen the furniture with olive oil or regular body lotion to moisturize it. Yes! The secret with this material is that, being leather, it must be kept from drying out because this will gradually crack it over time, causing it to lose its original color and texture.
And if you want to eliminate traces of moisture and mold on this type of furniture, you should prepare a solution of equal parts cold water and medical alcohol to keep all mites at bay.