Chair upholstery requires proper cleaning and maintenance for high performance and longevity. In this article, Furniture Upholstery has come up with some unique ideas to help you keep your chair upholstery properly maintained and cleaned. We have got you the best strategies to remove dust and stains from upholstery surfaces. By following these techniques, you can easily get clean upholstered chairs at home without professional services.
Cleaning & Maintaining Chair Upholstery | A DIY Guide
The upholstery fabric of chairs can get affected with severe staining, dust accumulation, high traffic, pet hairs, and mold growth. To restore its color, texture, and surface design, you need to do regular dusting and cleaning. Each upholstery material requires specific materials and techniques for cleaning.
For your convenience, we have enlisted some major categories that must be considered before starting your DIY cleaning project. The manufacturers add a specific tag (W, S, W-S or X) at the bottom of the chair upholstery material that defines the specific cleaning agent required for that material. If you didn’t find any tag, you should test the fabric with the cleaning material you plan on using to check compatibility.
Code W: These types of upholstery fabrics can be washed with water-based cleaning agents.
Code S: These upholstery materials can only be cleaned with water-free cleaners.
Code W-S: Both solvent or water-based cleaners can be used to clean these fabric materials.
Code X: Such types of fabrics can be cleaned only with professional method e.g. vacuuming
Stuff Required To Clean Chair Upholstery
- Vacuum Cleaner (With Brush & Hose)
- Microfiber Cloths
- Sponge
- Medium Bowls
- Plastic Buckets
- Soft Bristled Brush
- Electric Mixer
- Baking Soda
- Dishwashing Liquid
- Upholstery Cleaner
Remove Loose Dust Particles
Before starting your DIY cleaning project, you need to dust off the upholstery fabric to remove loose dust particles from the surface.
- For effective dusting, you should use a powerful vacuum cleaner that has a long hose and a soft brush.
- If your chair has cushions, take them off to vacuum the chair with ease.
- A vacuum cleaner having a HEPA filter can grab dust and allergens most effectively.
- Start vacuuming from one side and take the brush to other sides or corners.
- It must be ensured that you have vacuumed all the corners, backside, and lower side of a fully upholstered chair.
Remove Stains From Fabric Surface
To remove any type of visible stain from the fabric surface, you need to prepare an effective solution.
- If your upholstery fabric falls in the W category, you can prepare a water-based cleaning solution by mixing any mild detergent and enough warm water in a plastic bowl.
- Utilize an electric mixer to create suds in the solution.
- Dip a sponge in this sud, not in solution, and rub it over the stained fabric area.
- As the dirt or stain gets transferred from the fabric to the sponge, rinse it with clean water and again rub it over the stained area.
- Pay special attention to chair headrests and arms because these surfaces are highly prone to grease and oily stains.
- For heavily stained or soiled areas, you can utilize a soft-bristled brush for better results.
- As you notice that the affected area is now free of dirt and stains, blot it with a clean sponge.
- After blotting the surface completely, it must be ensured that you have removed all detergent residues.
- Leave the chair for a few hours to air dry the surface completely. Never place it in direct sunlight because it can lead to color fading.
General Cleaning Of Chair Upholstery Surface
To clean the upholstered chair surface, you need to prepare a low-concentrated cleaning solution.
- Add any household detergent or dishwashing liquid into a specific amount of water in a small bucket.
- Dip a clean microfiber cloth or sponge into the prepared solution and go over the upholstered chair surface with it.
- Start rubbing from one side and address all the sides of the chair. Never saturate the chair surface with too much solution, it can lead to the spreading of stains and dust particles.
- Rinse the entire surface with a damp, clean cloth
- After scrubbing the whole surface, utilize a dry clean cloth to absorb maximum moisture content from the upholstery surface.
5 Additional Maintenance Tips For Upholstered Chairs
- Do regular dusting or vacuuming of the upholstery surface to prevent dust accumulation.
- Never use a bleaching solution for cleaning, it can make upholstery fibers fragile and brittle.
- Avoid placing your upholstered chairs directly in sunlight because it can cause severe color fading.
- Don’t use any harmful or toxic chemicals to clean upholstery materials to avoid health issues.
- Remove the stains or spots promptly as you find them, otherwise, they may also affect the rest of the area.
Final Words!
To wind up this DIY guide, we can say that cleaning and maintenance of upholstered chairs is not a difficult task. It requires some basic skills and a few cleaning materials for effective results. To make your upholstery cleaning journey easy and smooth, Furniture Upholstery has elaborated all the essential steps. In addition, we have also discussed general categories of upholstery materials in terms of their cleaning requirements.
