The upholstery requires regular cleaning and maintenance for a fresh look. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it decides the overall appearance of your furniture. There are various methods to take care of your upholstery at home, but dry cleaning is on the list. It ensures sustainability and zero damage to the fibres. But is it possible to dry clean your upholstery at home?
Of course, it is. If you can make an effort and are ready to pay complete attention to the cleaning procedure. Yalla Upholstery will share the 7 smart ways to dry clean your upholstery at home. These methods are 100% guaranteed, easily applicable, and have been experienced by various homeowners.
So, let’s start discussing them in detail below.
7 Expert Ways To Dry Clean Your Upholstery At Home
There are hundreds of DIY hacks to clean sofa, headboard, and chair upholstery. But we only mentioned the most-rated and personally experienced ones that provide guaranteed results.
1. Use Baking Soda For Odour
The baking soda has natural deodorizing properties, due to which it absorbs odors and helps lift stains. You need to apply it directly on the upholstery and leave for 20-25 minutes, if you’re doing a regular cleaning. In contrast, you must sprinkle it for more than 45 minutes to an hour for deep cleaning. It will loosen the accumulated dirt and debris, and you can further vacuum.
Pay attention – You can also mix the baking soda with water to make a paste and directly apply it to the stubborn stains before vacuuming. That’s how it helps in spot cleaning.
2. Home Cornstarch For Oil Stains
Another popular way to dry clean upholstery at home is to use cornstarch. It is essential to dry lift oil-based stains properly. Similar to the baking soda, sprinkle it directly onto the oil stains (cover the stain properly with cornstarch). Leave it on the stain for 40 – 60 minutes, and then use the soft brush to remove it gently.
We recommend you repeat the procedure if the stain persists. Plus, you can mix it with a minimum of baking soda and then apply it for a few minutes. It’s the most adopted method for sofa, ottoman, and headboard upholstery.
3. Use Dry Foam Cleaners
If your furniture item is upholstered with moisture-resistant and sensitive fabric, opting for this dry clean upholstery method is effective. Get a labelled and non-toxic foam cleaner, apply the foam evenly to the floor, and scrub using a soft brush or damp sponge.
The foam will loosen the dirt and stain marks, and absorb to clean the upholstery. It ensures no suspended oil, grease, or excessive moisture is left behind. After that, it is vacuumed away easily.
4. Steam Iron Lift With Protective Cloth Barrier
Here’s one of our top-rated techniques that we suggest to our readers, which is always successful. You need to place a clean piece of cloth over the upholstery and glide a steam iron briefly. It will loosen the strong bonds of accumulated dirt and stain particles and help lift embedded grime.
After that, you can go for vacuuming to have a neat and clean upholstery. It’s especially an effective method for coarse fabrics, such as linen, wool, and textured synthetics used for chairs, headboards, and custom sofa upholstery.
5. Dry Solvent Cleaner With Microfiber Cloth
If you have upholstery fabrics with loose weave patterns that absorb and release moisture from the environment, always opt for a special cleaning method. Apply dry solvent cleaners on a piece of microfibre cloth and clean your upholstery with it. In this way, you’ll remove dirt and debris amazingly without any damage to the original upholstery appearance.
Ensure you’re not doing it roughly to prevent dirt from reaching deep into the fibres. After that, go for vacuuming and that’s it. This method is pretty good for synthetic and blended upholstery fabrics. However, it might not be suitable for natural fibres due to their sensitive nature.
6. Non-Alcohol Leather Cleaning Wipes
This smart way is dedicated to cleaning leather upholstery. The leather cleaning wipes are pro-soaked and disposable, which not only clean leather but also act as a conditioner and boost the glossy appearance. The use is quite simple; unwrap the wipe and gently rub it on the upholstery, and it will absorb accumulated dirt and grime. Then, clean your upholstery with a dry piece of cloth (optional).
Always check the composition material of leather wipes before buying, because some wipes might have a higher chemical composition that can damage your upholstery. Plus, such wipes are not kid and pet-friendly. We recommend you always get alcohol-free wipes for leather upholstery cleaning.
7. Vinegar & Cornflour Solution
There’s nothing more effective to get rid of stubborn spills than cornflour and vinegar paste. It withdraws deep-embedded stains and ensures a fresh upholstery appearance. Experts recommend this smart dry cleaning method for non-sensitive upholstery fabrics, such as heavy linen, polyester, and sunbrella.
Talking about the application procedure, apply it for 15-20 minutes on the exact stained spot and scrape off. Go for a vacuum and you’re good to go. If the stain persists, we recommend you repeat the procedure and apply the paste for at least 30 minutes this time.
Wrapping Up!
Finally, we shared the 7 smart ways to dry clean upholstery at home without hiring professional cleaning services. As per our research, using a vinegar solution and baking soda is super effective to loosen accumulated stains and dirt for easy vacuuming. Similarly, leather cleaning wipes help you restore the appearance of your leather upholstery.
You can use dry foam and non-water-based solvent cleaners for moisture-sensitive upholstery fabrics. With this, opt for any of these methods that are suitable for you and restore the original look of your upholstery today. That’s because these methods apply to natural, synthetic, and even blended fabrics.
