Fabric sofa

What fabric sofa can and cannot take

• Heat Use with care
• Water and soaking Use with care
• Acids, including vinegar Use with care
• Strong alkalis Use with care
• Solvents Use with care
• Chlorine bleach Avoid
• Abrasives Use with care

Always test on a hidden area first and let it dry before you treat the visible mark.

General rules for fabric sofa

The code on the label decides the method, not the colour or the feel of the fabric.

Whatever the code, work from the outside of the mark inwards so you do not spread it, keep the fabric as dry as you can manage, and dry it fast. Upholstery foam holds water, and a damp cushion left overnight can smell before it dries.

Stains on fabric sofa

• Baby sick Lift off solids and blot. Check the upholstery code before adding liquid. On W or WS fabric, use tiny amounts...
• Blood Check the cleaning code under a cushion before you touch it. On a W or WS sofa, blot dry, then dab with cold...
• Body oil Blot surface oil from fabric sofa without rubbing. Use a barely damp mild wipe only if the maker permits wate...
• Breast milk Blot milk before it reaches padding. Use damp first aid only when the actual fibre, cleaning code and maker p...
• Bronzer Lift loose bronzer from fabric sofa before it is rubbed in. Blot cream bronzer, follow the material or care l...
• Coffee Blot fabric sofa first. Check the care label or upholstery code first. Water cleaning requires an explicit W...
• Concealer Lift thick concealer from Fabric Sofa, blot without rubbing, then use a very small amount of diluted washing-...
• Cooking grease Lift and blot cooking grease from Fabric Sofa, then use a small amount of diluted washing-up liquid only if t...
• Deodorant Check the cleaning code first. On a W or WS fabric, brush the dry deposit off, then wipe with a cloth wrung o...
• Hair dye Blot immediately and find the upholstery cleaning code. Use tiny amounts of cool dilute washing-up liquid onl...
• Lipstick Lift lipstick from Fabric Sofa with a blunt edge, blot without rubbing, then use a very small amount of dilut...
• Motor oil Blot motor oil from Fabric Sofa, absorb as much as possible, then use a small amount of diluted washing-up li...
• Nail polish Touch off accessible free polish at the surface without rubbing. Do not use clothing remover or pour nail rem...
• Period blood Find the cleaning code on a tag under a cushion before anything else. On W or WS, blot with cold water and a...
• Pet urine Blot hard with white towels before adding anything. Find the care code under the cushion or frame. On W or WS...
• Sweat Find the care code first. On W or WS coded Fabric sofa, blot and dab with one drop of washing-up liquid in a...
• Tomato sauce Lift tomato sauce from Fabric Sofa, blot from the edge with a tested cool detergent solution, remove residue...

Cleaners on fabric sofa

• Biological laundry detergent Only with caution

  Only on a W or WS coded fabric, and only as a trace on a damp cloth, because there is no way to rinse upholstery properly. Never on S or X coded fabric.

• Household chlorine bleach No, not recommended

  The same guidance rules out chlorine disinfectants on soft furnishings. Upholstery cannot be rinsed, so the bleach keeps working after you have stopped.

• Hydrogen peroxide No, not recommended

  Upholstery cannot be rinsed and is normally coloured, so the likely outcome is trading a dark mark for a pale one in a place that cannot be replaced.

• Washing-up liquid Yes, with a pre-test

  Fine on a W or WS coded fabric, but it is water based, so it will mark an S or X coded sofa. Check the code and test out of sight first.

• White vinegar Only with caution

  Only on a W or WS coded fabric, well diluted and tested out of sight. On an S or X coded sofa any water based solution will leave a ring.

Similar materials

• Synthetic carpet