Upholstery Cleaning
Upholstery cleaning is essential for keeping your furniture in good condition. Fabric and leather sofas bring elegance and improve the looks of your living room. You probably made an effort to buy your expensive sofas and spent hours searching for the right one. As time has gone on, they became your dog’s favourite place and the main dining place for your kids. So now the upholstery looks dull and dirty… Many people think they need to buy a new couch as the old one would never look as good as new again and it’s not worth cleaning. But this is not the case! It’s amazing what professional upholstery cleaning can do for your furniture! Although you could try to clean it yourself it is unlikely that you have the expertise and the tools.
Is upholstery cleaning worth it?
When you buy any upholstery for the first time and bring them home, you pay a lot of attention to their cleaning and maintenance. As it is a big investment, you want to keep your furniture at its best. But as time passes by, you may start not paying so much attention to its maintenance. In time, upholstery can start looking dull an grubby. From food to pet hair, fabric-covered couches and chairs are exposed to a variety of substances that can impact the quality of the furniture.
While it may seem like an expensive service, upholstery cleaning is definitely worth it! If you compare the cost of buying a new sofa to the cost of getting professional sofa cleaning, the answer is obvious. For a fraction of what it costs to replace, the look of your upholstery can be restored.
There is always the option of DIY, but in most cases it’s not the best idea. The cleaning machines you can rent are not professional grade and they can leave your upholstery soaked for days. This will lead to appearance of mould spores, bad smells and health issues. Not to mention that if your sofa is made of delicate fabric, such as rayon, cotton or viscose upholstery, the wet cleaning will ruin it.
Why is upholstery cleaning important?
Upholstery cleaning has multiple benefits, from appearance to health and money saving. Chances are that you picked out your furniture because you liked it, so why not treat it like you still do? Throughout the course of a normal day, your upholstery goes through wear and tear that can lead to serious damage over time. Besides other benefits, cleaning will make you re-fall in love with your upholstery!
Appearance
One of the main benefits of upholstery cleaning is appearance as you can see the change straight after the cleaning process. If dirt and debris accumulate on your furniture for too long, it will look dull and dirty. That can make you feel embarrassed when your friends come over and feel reluctant to sit on the couches. A professional upholstery cleaning company can easily remove stains and spills, as they have appropriate training, products and equipment. Regular sofa cleaning will ensure that fibers are restored and able to maintain their original look longer. If you leave the sofas get too dirty before cleaning them, the appearance may not be restored completely. Some stains on upholstery can set-in if left for too long.
Fresher Smell
Sofas retain odours, that’s a fact. So anything that sat on your upholstery form people to pets to food, is likely to have left a smell behind. Not to mention the upholstery in a smoking house! If your furniture has been there through thick and thin and it’s starting to smell, upholstery cleaning is definitely overdue. While you may be able to cover it up with a quick spray of air freshener, only a thorough, deep upholstery cleaning will truly rid your furniture of its unwanted odour. A wet cleaning will remove all dust mites, old spills and allergens not only from the surface, but also from deep inside.
Durability
Dust particles can make your fabric suite look dull and thin. They have sharp edges which scratch the fibers of upholstery and can cause permanent damage. Also, if you don’t clean and hydrate your leather suite on a regular basis, it will present signs of ageing much quicker. Professional upholstery cleaning prevents stains from forming in the fabric of your furniture. It removes odours, body oils, and dust that can permanently adhere to your upholstery without proper maintenance. By utilizing a professional upholstery cleaning service, you can extend the life of your furniture and save yourself money in the long run! If you think of how much new furniture costs, you will want to use a cleaning service regularly to increase its durability.
Better Air Quality
Air quality is an extremely important benefit of upholstery cleaning. Dust, pet hair, and dander that nestle into upholstery fibers can be stirred up into the air anytime someone sits on a chair or sofa. As these elements build up, they can cause increased allergy symptoms, respiratory issues, and health problems. Professional upholstery cleaning goes deep into the fibers of your furniture and removes dander, pollen, and dust that can cause allergies and agitate the eyes, nose, and throat. The removal of these allergens leads to better air quality in your home and a healthier life for you and your family.
Long-Term Savings
While upholstery cleaning may seem like an unnecessary expense, avoiding the upkeep can cost more in the long run. Specifically, this routine maintenance helps furniture last longer so that you don’t have to worry about the cost of frequent replacement. And if you think about it, upholstery cleaning only costs a small fraction of the cost of a new sofa.
How often should upholstered furniture be cleaned?
When determining how often upholstery cleaning should be done, there are two main factors to take into consideration. First, you need to consider how much you use the furniture. For example, if the upholstery is in a room where you hardly ever go, cleaning can be done every 18-24 months. Secondly, you need to think of who uses the upholstery. If you have small children or pets, a more frequent upholstery cleaning is necessary. In this case, I recommend cleaning the sofas once or twice per year.
By cleaning the upholstery regularly, you will not only extend its life but also improve your health!
Regular vacuuming and spot cleaning is a recommended DIY task, but cleaning the upholstery is best left to the professionals. One reason it is best to hire a professional upholstery cleaning company is that different fabrics require different methods and cleaning products. A professional sofa cleaner will know which method and products are best to use for your couches. Although it is fine to spot clean in order to remove stains, it is important to make sure you use the right cleaning solution in order to prevent permanent stains on the upholstery.
The best way to clean a fabric sofa
The best way to clean upholstery, even recommended by the manufacturer on the care instructions, is to get a professional company to deal with it. And that is because a cleaning company will be trained for dealing with all types of sofas and stains on them. In choosing the best method to clean a fabric sofa, a professional will take different factors into consideration. Upholstery can be deep wet cleaned or dry cleaned. 95% of the sofas should be cleaned using the wet deep method, but there is a small percentage of upholstery that require dry cleaning only.
Of course there are a few things you can do yourself, like regular vacuuming and small stain removal from time to time when accidents happen. But for a deep cleaning, you will need a professional upholstery cleaning company as it has multiple benefits and much better outcome.
How to clean a leather sofa
Leather sofas bring elegance to every home, and they are relatively easy to look after compared to fabric sofas. They should be vacuumed regularly, by removing each of the cushions and cleaning underneath as well. Then, at least once a month you should wipe them off with a clean cloth with a little bit of warm water. Although it’s a popular practice, it’s essential not to use baby wipes on leather sofas for cleaning. While they are good for babies, they are extremely harmful for leather sofas as they will remove the protective film and this will lead to leather peeling and cracking in time.
A deep professional cleaning should be done once per year using dedicated products to hydrate the leather. This will extend the life of the furniture, making your investment last longer.
How much does it cost to have upholstery professionally cleaned?
Even though it may seem like an expensive service, it only costs a small fraction of the replacement price. Most companies would charge between R250-R350/seat depending on the sofa and method used. Professional companies occassionally have special offers so you can keep an eye on that. If you call Accend Solutions, there’s a good chance you will get a bargain.
But be careful, there are also many companies or self employed cleaners who charge very little. They have no training, professional equipment nor are they using any professional products. While it may look great at the time, it may end up being very expensive to call a second company. It can even results in damage to your expensive upholstery.
So, remember when choosing the right sofa cleaning company to read their reviews. Ask your friends and family and to have a look at the previous jobs they’ve done.
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