A lot of homes, offices and commercial properties have upholstery, area rugs, and soft surfaces. Yet only a select few know how to properly take care of it as they should. Take a moment to ask yourself “When was the last time I had my upholstered sofa or area rug cleaned? A lot of property managers and homeowners don’t know the answer to this question. Sometimes the answer is “Never!”
Yet all couches, chairs, area rugs, upholstered furniture, and soft surfaces are highly prone to absorbing oils, accumulating dust, suffering from spillages, and the buildup of allergens. If you don’t know when the last time your upholstery was cleaned, it is probably high time to consider having it done.
Routine cleaning help to extend the life of your upholstered furniture, and soft surfaces, as well as giving your home or office space the clean professional look all your guests will enjoy. Though, you might be wondering just how often should you get your upholstery cleaned?
The answer can vary depending on the type of furniture or area rug. You can use the following article as a guide to help you understand how often your upholstered soft surfaces need to be clean, as well as tips to help you do it right.
Soft Surface Vacuuming & Cleaning
Just like your carpeting, all of your upholstery needs to be regularly vacuumed to keep it free of dirt, dust, and accumulated allergens. This is especially true for homes with pets that shed. Of course, soft surface cleaning will also go a long way in maintaining the upholstery and keeping it as dirt-free as possible. This is also an important step before using any deep cleaning methods on the upholstery.
Deep Cleaning Upholstery & Soft Surfaces
There are several key factors to consider when it comes to determining how frequently you need to deep clean your upholstery and other soft surfaces. Upholster that is in a frequently used room or a room that is used often by children and pets will inevitably get dirty faster than a traditional sitting room that rarely gets used.
For deeply dirty, or highly used upholstery, you might want to schedule a professional deep clean at least once or twice every two years.
For upholstery and soft surface furniture in lesser-used rooms, routine vacuuming and spot cleaning can keep items fresh for years before you need to schedule a professional deep cleaning. While it might be fine to spot remove stains, you need to make sure you use the right cleaning solution in order to prevent permanent stains on the upholstery.
Cleaning & Maintaining Area Rugs
Area rugs take a lot of abuse, which causes them to pick up dirt and grime, while also making them prone to accumulating enormous amounts of pet hair and pollen. In some situations, they can even be vulnerable to mold problems on the backing. Especially if area rugs see frequent spills, or they are in high traffic where they are exposed to wet shoes. This can cause their appearance to fade making them dingy, and possibly foul-smelling.
Though there are a few essential things you can do to protect and maintain your area rugs.
Have Old Area Rugs Professionally Cleaned
A lot of the cleaning products available to consumers at the retail level simply aren’t strong enough or effective enough to properly restore a worn-out, dingy, foul-smelling area rug. If you want to bring a rug back to life, it really is best to have it professionally deep cleaned. This will remove things like allergens, dust mites, and bacteria.
Once all the area rugs in your home or business have been professionally deep cleaned and restored, there are several things you can do to properly maintain them going forward.
Treat Spills & Stains As Soon As Possible
Spills happen, but the trick to keep them from turning into ugly stains or sticky deposits that trap dust is to treat them and clean them as soon as humanly possible. It helps to have already read the directions on the area rug, so you can follow them as closely as possible.
If a rug can be soaked, you should probably soak it. Some area rug manufacturers will even make rugs that can be washed in a washing machine, then dried. Otherwise, you are left to clean the spill with a spot stain remover and a whole lot of blotting with clean paper towels.
Vacuum Area Rugs Regularly
Set up a routine maintenance schedule for your area rugs, and make sure to vacuum them regularly. This helps to keep feet from grinding the particles into the yarn. Finally, rotate it every few weeks so that traffic doesn’t wear it down in some areas. It might even help preserve their original color and texture.
Keeping Upholstery Cleaned
Just like with area rugs, if your upholstery has gone too long without a good deep cleaning, you should turn to professionals like Building Services Inc. We use industry best practices, commercial-grade cleaning products, and state-of-the-art equipment to restore your upholstery to like-new condition. From there you can take steps to maintain it in the long term, and extend the life of your upholstered surfaces.
This might start with simple things like putting plastic covers on your furniture to preserve it. Though most people don’t like this option.
Use Arm Rests Slipcovers
The good news is, that you don’t have to seal off your furniture with plastic covers as people did in the 1970s and 80s. Sometimes simple things like tastefully designed armrest slipcovers can help to protect the most wear-prone parts of your furniture. They do a good job of absorbing the brunt of the wear, as well as helping to trap dirt and oils. Then replace them as needed before they wear out or get ugly on their own.
Routine Light Cleaning
Upholstered furniture needs light cleaning on a regular basis. Dirt and oils will erode the fabric, especially when furniture is used regularly. A microfiber dust cloth or a moistened rag with a hand vacuum is often good enough for most fabrics.
Consider Applying Scotchgard
Most upholstered surfaces will take well to a light coating of Scotchgard which creates an invisible plastic sheet. It is essentially a plasticizing agent that seeps into the upper layers of most fabrics to prevent dirt and oils from working their way into the deeper fibers which can cause damage and stains.
