Does your favorite leather sofa look like it’s lost some of its lustre? Is your family couch spotted with every stain imaginable?

Can you even remember what your furniture looked like when it was brand new?

After years of wear and tear begin to obscure the vibrant color, unique patterns and detailing of your household furniture, it may be time for a little TLC.

Sometimes, it’s just not practical, affordable or desirable to replace old, stained furniture with new. Antiques and heirlooms may be irreplaceable. Dining chairs, armchairs, ottomans and love seats can become deeply valued items that bring back fond memories of warm family moments.

Of course, removing stubborn wine or coffee-stained furniture can be a delicate endeavor. Use the wrong cleaning agent, add too much, or not enough, and you can turn a miniscule stain into an eye-sore!

For expensive, rare, or antique furniture, you might want to consider professional upholstering cleaning to restore its original sheen. Professional upholstery cleaning is the best way to take care of really stubborn or old stains, but you know what they say: an ounce of prevention…

A little timely maintenance can help extend your furniture’s life. Most commercial grade furniture will respond well to homemade cleaning solutions.  There are also specialized fabric treatments that add an additional layer of protection to your upholstery surfaces.

Professionals use industrial-grade chemicals and detergents, but they also use special tools that enable them to gently remove loosened dirt from delicate upholstery surfaces. There are, however, some really easy homemade remedies you can apply to most fabrics, including leather, suade, silk, and most synthetics.

Cleaning Instructions:

It’s always best to address a spill immediately. Coffee, wine, beer, and fruit juices are highly acidic and can quickly eat into synthetic fibres, or natural surfaces such as leather, wool and suade.

Try salt and water for red wine stains…

Before attempting to clean the stain directly, follow these steps for priming your furniture:

1. Isolate a small section of the fabric as a tester for your cleaning solution
2. Check the upholstery cleaning tag for the following:

• W: Material may be cleaned with water-based solution
• S: Material should be cleaned with a water-free solution
• X: Material requires professional cleaning

3. Apply a small amount of cleaning solution to the tester fabric or area and wait 3 – 5mn, and note any adverse effects.
4. Dab the stained area liberally with water using a cloth, sponge, or other non-abrasive surface to help loosen the dirt or stain.
5. Apply one of the following solutions:

1. Baking Soda and cold water (apply when stain is fresh)
2. Salt and cold water (great for red wine stains)
3. Vinegar and Cold water (may cause discoloration)
4. Liquid laundry detergent and lukewarm water – one part laundry detergent, four parts water, mixed in a small bowl or cup should do.

If you’re in the Albuquerque area, affordable upholstery cleaning for your furniture is only a phone call away. Call the experts at Royal Carpet Cleaning today at 505-280-5216.