I have been getting a jump on my Spring Cleaning this year because I have been working through a major de-cluttering project. While I have been getting rid of so many things, it has been natural to deep clean everything as I go. I was working in my bedroom last week and I remembered that I needed to clean my blue upholstered chairs.
We recently purchased a leather sofa and inherited a leather library chair for our living room and they have taught me lessons about how much dust and dirt collects on our furniture on a daily and weekly basis. But since upholstered furniture absorbs much of the dust, we don’t think of them as dirty. BUT THEY ARE! And left dirty and dusty, they can become breeding grounds for small spiders (I am not kidding!). So while you are doing your Spring cleaning this season, make sure you follow these steps for how to clean upholstered furniture:
Step #1
Use a soft brush attachment on your vacuum to vacuum the front and seat of the chair/sofa. Make sure you work methodically, to vacuum the entire surface area of the front and seat of the chair. Take the brush attachment off and vacuum with the hose on the seams and piping (if you have them) of the chair – this is where dust really likes to collect.
Step #2
Upend your chair. You can turn it on it’s front side (the seat in front) or turn it to where the seat and the front of the chair form a triangle with the floor. This way you can get to the back and bottom of the piece.
Step #3
Use the soft brush attachment on the vacuum to vacuum the back of the seat, working as you did on the front and seat. Also, go over the bottom of the chair – usually there is a piece of fabric over the bottom of the seat -this is where the spiders like to create nests, so get it good!
Step #4
While the chair is turned over, use a soft cloth to dust and condition the legs of the chair/sofa. Get all sides of the legs and make sure they are still screwed securely on the chair/sofa.
Step #5
Right the chair. And vacuum the front of the seat that was sitting on the floor.
While you are cleaning your upholstered piece of furniture, you may realize you have some other issues you need to address in terms of cleaning. If you have an odor in the chair you may want to sprinkle some baking soda over the surface of the chair and let it sit for a few minutes before vacuuming the piece.
You may also have microfiber upholstery which is super easy to clean. We used to have a microfiber sofa and I used the same process above to remove dust and dirt and this process to remove stains.
You may also find small stains that need your attention. Depending on your type of upholstery, you may be able to treat the spot. Make sure to test out stain removal solutions on a small, discreet area first.
Happy Spring Cleaning!
