A Detailed Guide on Procedure and Methods for Clean Upholstery
Upholstery refers to the textile material used for covering different furniture items, including chairs, couches, Ottomans, etc. It is made of curtain-like fabric and helps to make the seating and usage comfortable. However, it can develop stains and become dirty due to accumulated dust, which requires to clean upholstery for maintaining its condition and having a healthy environment in your property, such as your home, office, etc.
Why Upholstery Becomes Dirty?
Despite all the care and cleaning, upholstery furniture items still become dirty over time due to mould, pet hair, moisture, bed bugs, food spills, skin flakes, human hair, etc.
Procedure to Clean Upholstery
Professional cleaners have all the required knowledge to clean upholstery furniture items with great care by using the right tools and detergents in the different steps. They inspect the fabric to check for any damage or stains and remove all the dust, debris, fibres, and other small particles with a vacuum machine.
They use specialised detergents based on the type of upholstery fabric to treat all stains and deep clean the upholstery based on the manufacturer’s guidelines. Then, they coat the upholstery fabric with an extra protective layer to prevent dirt accumulation and prolong the fabric’s life.
Benefits of Upholstery Cleaning
You can enjoy different benefits of professional upholstery cleaning, such as the experts use specialised detergents and equipment for fabric cleaning to avoid any damage, such as loose threads or fabric thinning etc. You can ensure proper maintenance of your furniture with a fresh and clean appearance. The professionals coat the fibres with specialised solvents to make them capable of withstanding excessive daily usage.
The specialists use professional cleaning equipment to extract all the small particles, debris, and dust and make the fabric look and smell fresh. You can ensure to have a clean environment inside your home with thoroughly cleaned upholstery, eliminating different health issues, such as allergies, asthma, etc.
The experienced cleaners remove all the minor and stubborn stains by utilising their knowledge and using a suitable detergent for cleaning a particular fabric. Moreover, you can save your efforts, time, and money by reducing the damage risk to fabric if you attempt to clean it yourself.
Cost to Clean Upholstery
There are various factors which determine the final cost of professional upholstery cleaning services, such as:
Fabric Type
Some of the upholstery fabrics require the use of specialised and high-end solvents or detergents, such as leather, wool, etc, requiring higher costs as compared to others.
Number of Furniture Items
The final cost is directly related to the number of upholstery furniture items to be cleaned. More number of furniture items means a higher cost required.
Size & Type of Furniture
Bigger-sized furniture items require more cleaning cost, and the cost also varies for different types of furniture, such as it will vary for an armchair and a couch.
Cleaning Appointment
If you wish to get the upholstery cleaning services at the weekend or during holidays or off-work hours, then you will have to pay higher costs.
Special Requirements
If you want the cleaners to add an extra protective layer over your upholstery furniture or you have any other special requirement not included in the list of their services, then it will incur more costs.
Methods to Clean Upholstery
Based on the type of upholstery fabric, required tools and equipment, and your requirements, the following are the two broad types of cleaning methods, which are further categorised:
Deep Cleaning
Deep cleaning helps in the extraction of accumulated grime, dirt and dust from upholstery furniture, making all the fibres clean. This type of cleaning requires the use of specialised detergents and equipment, including:
Steam Cleaning
This technique is also referred to as the hot water extraction method, which involves the use of steam power for cleaning and sanitising the upholstery. This technique is beneficial for removing all the dirt, dust and stains from your furniture items.
Carbonation Cleaning
This cleaning method involves the use of moisture and heat with a specialised machine which releases carbonated bubbles. These bubbles explode on reaching the fibres and extract all the accumulated dirt, leaving behind a protective layer on the fabric, which minimises dirt and grime build-up.
Encapsulation Cleaning
This cleaning technique involves spraying chemically safe solutions of upholstery furniture with the use of hands. These solutions break the bond of fibres and dirt, after which the furniture items are vacuumed to leave them thoroughly cleaned.
Surface Cleaning
The surface cleaning methods only treat the upholstery furniture items’ outer layer by extracting the superficial dirt and dust. These methods include:
Foam Cleaning
This method involves the application of a foaming shampoo on upholstery furniture, followed by surface vacuuming. This technique requires little water or specialist equipment and is not effective for deep cleaning.
Dry Cleaning
This cleaning technique only requires a vacuum cleaner. A chemical powder is sprinkled all over the upholstery, which is then rubbed or left over the furniture for some time. After some time, the furniture items are vacuum-cleaned to remove the superficial dust.
Tips to Maintain A Clean Upholstery
The following are some of the expert tips gathered from different professionals to maintain and clean upholstery include you should brush the upholstery items once or twice per week to avoid dust settlement. You should vacuum your upholstery every week to prevent dirt accumulation over time and act immediately to clean the spills to avoid stain formation. You should act fast by applying repellents that prevent moisture absorption in case of spills.
You should also regularly flip the upholstery covers and change the cushions’ position to prevent wear and tear and extend their life span and ensure that upholstery items are not exposed to direct sunlight for a long time to avoid discolouration issues. You should keep the room adequately ventilated to avoid smell absorption in upholstery fabrics. Moreover, you should call professional cleaners to get the upholstery items deep cleaned to remove stubborn and old stains with the help of specialised tools and equipment.