Do you ever wonder how to clean your couch or chairs? They can both be kind of awkward and probably aren’t a part of your regular cleaning routine. But no one wants to sit down and relax on a couch or chair covered in stains. BISSELL Rental is here to help. We put together this quick guide on how to clean a fabric couch and chairs. And keep it clean!
step 1: Check the manufacturer's tag
Before starting the sofa cleaning or chair cleaning, check the manufacturer’s tag for specific cleaning instructions. On upholstery, you’ll probably see a manufacturer's cleanability code tag. If the fabric is coded "WS" or "W", it’s safe to clean. If your upholstery tag is coded "X" or "S", it is unsafe to clean due to the type of fabric on the couch or chair. Once you know that it’s okay to be cleaned, test a small hidden area of your fabric couch or chair for colorfastness.
Now that you know your couch or chair can be cleaned and that the upholstery color won’t be affected, take off anything that can be removed from the sofa: throw blankets, pillows, toys, and everything else. Most blankets can be washed in the washing machine, and in some cases, so can those pillowcases. But you’ll want to double-check the tags on those to ensure you’re washing them correctly. If you don’t see a tag, contact the manufacturer to make sure you wash them correctly.
Focus on the cushions once you have all the ‘extras’ off the couch or chair. Technically, these can be taken off, and they should, but they can’t just be thrown in the washing machine. That’s where our BISSELL Rental products come in handy. You can rent our machines for 24 to 48 hours and get a professional-grade clean for a fraction of the price.
Don’t forget to rent the accessory tool and hose for the couch cleaning! The Big Green® Carpet Cleaner is $39.99 for a 24-hr rental or $44.99 for a 48-hr rental. The accessory tool is an additional $5.00 for a 24 or 48-hr rental.
Step 2: Vaccum
Start by using your vacuum’s attachments to clean hair and loose dirt from the surface. Now that the dry debris is removed let’s give your couch and chairs a good, deep clean.
Step 3: Pretreat Stains
First, take a look at your couch and assess any glaring stains on the upholstery that need a little extra attention. Tackle those stains by pretreating them with one of our specially developed formulas. We love the penetrating power of our Heavy Traffic Pretreat & Spot Cleaner. Your carpet isn’t the only place that has heavy traffic. Use the pre-treat as a fabric sofa cleaner to loosen and remove tough stains and embedded dirt. Pet Stain Pretreat and Spot Cleaner has enzyme power that works on old pet stains or odd odors. It permanently removes pet urine stains and odors on the fabric of your sofa and chairs. Our other formula,
Oxy Deep® Pro Pretreat & Spot Cleaner has the power of oxygen behind it. Oxy cleaners work great on colored stains, like spilled drinks and food. This formula starts working the second it makes contact with stains to mobilize, lift and penetrate the stains where they started.
Step 4: Deep Clean
After pretreating the stains, grab the BISSELL Big Green® Carpet Cleaner or BISSELL Little Green that you’ve rented. Fill the machine with one of our machine formulas, like our Advanced Clean & Protect. Attach the hose and accessory tool if you’ve rented Big Green® Carpet Cleaner, or if you’ve rented Little Green, unwind the hose. Spray the formula onto the upholstery using a slow and steady forward and backward motion. Then, go back over the same area and suck up the stains and dirt. Do this over the whole sofa and chairs to clean them.
Step 5: Dry
Once you’re done cleaning the sofa and upholstered chairs, you will need to let them dry. There are a few factors that speed up or slow down dry time, so each case is different, but we recommend waiting 4-6 hours before sitting on your couch or chairs. You can also point a fan at them to help speed up the drying time.