We talked to the experts at ServiceMaster Clean, specialists in cleaning and caring for floors, carpets and upholstery, to get the low down on how to tackle spills and stains on upholstered sofas as quickly as possible.
Avoid direct sunlight: Modern furniture fabrics are usually resilient to sunlight. However, under extreme exposure, even these show signs of fading.
Plump up cushions often: Fillings lose their ability to bounce back if not plumped up to reshape them. Plumping cushions will help them last longer.
Rotate cushions often: Cushions may experience premature and unnecessary wear. To ensure a longer life for your cushions, rotate them regularly.
Vacuum: Upholstered furniture should be vacuumed on a regular basis to remove dust and loose dirt.
Should the worst happen:
For spills and stains a little care taken when the event occurs may immediately solve the problem.
Blot up spills: Spills left unattended may set as stains. Blot spills, never rub! If you can’t remove the stain yourself, keep it damp whilst waiting for your professional carpet cleaner to come to the rescue.
Grease and oil marks: Cover stain with talcum powder or corn flour. Let it set and then brush or sponge powder away.
Mustard stains: Soak stained area with diluted ammonia. Then dry with a hair dryer.
Red wine: A great little tip for a spilt glass of red wine is to absorb as much of the wine as possible with kitchen towels and dampen the area with a light spray of water. Then sprinkle with plenty of talc and cover with more kitchen paper and then a piece of plastic sheet, cling film is ideal! Be careful not to use something that will transfer colour, like a carrier bag with writing on it and leave for around 12 hours. The talc will absorb all the red wine and can then just be vacuumed away.
Gum: Freeze the gum with ice in a plastic bag and use a blunt knife to remove.
ServiceMaster Clean recommend that you should always pre-test in an inconspicuous area of your carpet or upholstery before tackling stain removal yourself. Or to save yourself the hard work, call in the experts by contacting ServiceMaster Clean. Either log onto www.servicemasterclean.co.uk or telephone 0800 021 3073. Prices for cleaning a three piece suite start from £100 and an average sized living room carpet will start at £60.
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