Giving your Sofa A Fresh Look
What does the state of the sofa say about your home? What sight greets you when you step into your house after a long day at work? Are your guests comfortable when you invite them to “take a seat and feel at home”? The condition of the furniture has a direct impact on the comfort of those who use it, making sofa cleaning a necessity.
Given that sofas are some of the most heavily used sets of furniture in the household, it’s no surprise that they hoard loads of grime. Sweat that gets rubbed onto the upholstery from people’s skin, dirt transferred from clothes, the occasional pet that hops onto the cushions with muddy paws, fur and dander left behind by that cat or pup that enjoys naps the sofa, dust settling on the upholstery from the surrounding airspace, pollen grains carried into the building in gusts of wind and are trapped by the upholstery fabric – the furniture holds it all in. Vacuuming alone won’t get rid of all the grime, and a deep sofa cleaning is needed to remove the contents that have been accumulating in the set over time. The grease residue is particularly problematic as it traps more dirt and debris. Then there are also those accidental spills that are readily absorbed by the sofa material, soaking into the cushions. The spills leave behind unsightly stains which definitely ruin that charming look of the furniture. They all need to be got rid of. While you can go the DIY route, it’s more trouble than it’s worth, with all the risks that are involved in the process. There’s a reason why the sofa manufacturers insist on one hiring professionals for the task, with many of them even including it as part of the terms of their warranty. Just what does the professional sofa cleaning process entail? Let’s delve into this.
Factors Considered During The Sofa Cleaning Process
- Upholstery type
This is especially in relation to the kind of sofa cleaning agent that is used. The natural and synthetic fabric sofas, as well as the various kinds of leather furnishings, each require their specific mode of treatment. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all mode of cleaning the units. The wrong agent can easily damage the sofa fabric, or cause more staining. For instance, using bleach-based products on delicate upholstery will lead to the material losing its colour, taking away the appeal of the sofa. Even water itself can be a threat to the upholstered set, such as when linen or leather sofas are drenched in it. The specific amount of water that can be employed for the sofa cleaning task, as well as the suitable pH range for the agents that are to be used, will largely depend on the material, and it’s a common area where DIY sofa cleaning goes wrong. Cases of harsh cleaners being used such that they corrode the upholstery are costly, especially when the damage is irrevocable and you end up having to replace the upholstery itself. This is not how you want things playing out.
The treatment measures that are used are also affected by the upholstery type. For instance, there are fabric upholsteries where the owners will choose to have stain-proofing treatments being applied. For units like the leather sofas, additional conditioning is recommended, in order to replenish the oils that are lost from its structure over time. Get furniture worked on the right way by hiring sofa cleaning professionals for the task.
The stain involved will determine the kind of sofa cleaning agent required. Formulations used when treating coffee and tea stains are different from those required to break down red wine stains that are on the upholstery. Even urine stains require their specialised formulations, which are usually enzyme based. The product also needs to be compatible with the upholstery being worked on, since you don’t want the material getting deteriorated in the process of removing the stain. This is why one can’t simply go using vinegar or ammonia-based solutions on the sofas despite them working when removing stains on other surfaces around the home. The professionals already have the skillset needed to settle on the right combination of cleaning agents that will tackle the stains without putting your furnishings at risk.
This directly affects the scope of the job. Is it a loveseat being worked on? Chaise lounges, gaming chairs, multi sectional sofas – the size and number of furniture sets that are to be cleaned will influence the amount of resources needed for the task. Fortunately, the professional sofa cleaning companies already have powerful equipment for the task: industrial-grade units that are well maintained, designed to deliver a thorough wash in moments, that way the disruption to your normal day-to-day activities at home can be minimised. From the vacuuming at the start of the job, scrubbing action to dislodge the grime that is in the upholstery, the extraction that flushes them out of the material, to the rinsing and drying systems which remove the bulk of the moisture content from the unit, dealing with a company that is well-resourced will enable you to get quality results in a shorter duration than you would have had you gone the DIY route.
When do you want the sofa cleaning to be carried out? Is it a routine clean, where you want the services scheduled at regular intervals, or is a once-off clean where you’re dealing with loads of gunk in the upholstery and need a top-to-bottom wash of the different units to give you a fresh start? Situations vary: homeowners looking to give their furnishings a facelift, cases where you’re dealing with troublesome stain that you want to be got rid of by a professional, sofa cleaning in readiness for an event at your home – or a session dealing with the aftermath of a party that left the residence in a mess, emergency cleaning services, all through to realtors looking to lease out fully furnished units and need the sofas worked on to attract new tenants. The sofa cleaning can also be carried out outside the normal working hours, depending on the special arrangement you want made with the particular cleaning company that you’re engaging.
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