Any home improvement project is incomplete without furniture. And furniture upholstery is the best part of the home that makes the space comfortable. It is one of the prominent features of the house as it accomplishes several tasks altogether. Apart from giving all the needed comfort, it also provides the interiors with an aesthetically appealing look. 

Also, it is not a small investment. While furnishing and designing your interiors, you spend a lot of time choosing the colours, patterns, and styles. You indulge yourself in choosing the right fabric grades for your upholstery. Along with all these styles, you invest a lot of time and energy while selecting them.

So, with all the time and money invested, it would be unfair if you do not take ample care. Cleaning and maintenance is the key to make them look pleasing. By keeping small points in mind, one can keep the comfort of their upholstery for a long time. But in reality, nobody gives due importance to cleaning as everyone is supposed to. 

You need to know regular cleaning tricks that can help you keep it clean and prevent it from wearing out or its shine and colours from fading out. Here is a list of all the easy to follow cleaning tips that will help you in maintaining your upholstery without burning a hole in your pocket. These tips work miracles in helping you retain the shine of your furniture.

Vacuuming

This is a task most homeowners dread to do and thus they keep on postponing it. But what you do not realise is that this procrastination in vacuuming your upholstery costs you a lot more than you can perceive. Regular usage of upholstery makes it dirty. Humans keep shedding skin all the time and if you own a pet, hair shed by it is again another story. Apart from all this, several foreign elements get deposited on the upholstery as well. All these depositions accumulate and breed mould and allergens. This may cause several breathing and lung problems. So, vacuuming is a highly essential task for upholstery cleaning.

Getting Rid of Stains

How many times has it happened that you dropped wine on your upholstery, but you were too lazy to get up and remove the stain? Ideally, upholstery needs to be dry cleaned once a year. But waiting a whole year to get rid of the stain can do more harm to the fabric. Waiting for a long time to remove stains can cause permanent damage to the fabric. Several home solutions can help you to get rid of stains.

The internet will offer a long list of stain removal tricks. But, before you use any of those, make sure that you read the fabric labels and the manufacturer’s instructions. Generally, all manufacturers advise some spot cleaners that are compatible with the fabric. To be completely safe, use the spot cleaners suggested by the manufacturers. This way, you can never damage the fabric. Keeping your furniture spotless forms, a good impression in front of your guests. 

Dry cleaning

The key to upholstery cleaning and maintenance is getting it dry cleaned regularly. Manufacturers suggest that you get your upholstery dry cleaned once a year. This advice is generally thrown down the drain by most homeowners. But we would suggest that you pay heed to it and get regular dry-cleaning services. Dry cleaning is needed because vacuuming is not completely precise in cleaning your upholstery. All the dust and dirt that keeps on accumulating in your upholstery for a long time can again breed allergens. Dry cleaning can help you get your upholstery spotlessly clean and also help the fabric from fading.

Check Cleaning Instructions in Tag

Before getting into cleaning mode, one should check the furniture label for cleaning instructions. Every upholstery is made of a different material. Thus, the cleaning method and product which works on one fabric might ruin the other. So, it is important to check the tags. These days all the furniture comes with a certain set of dos and don’ts for cleaning them. It has all the information regarding the cleaning solution to use and whether it needs dry cleaning. By doing so, you will end up saving a lot of time by not getting into trial and error cleaning spree. So, always follow the instruction without relying on your instincts. 

Professional Help

One can manage the day to day cleaning of the furniture upholstery themselves. But it might lack the professionalism and techniques a cleaning specialist uses. It is advisable to seek the help of a professional cleaning service provider at suitable intervals. The best rule to follow is to get it cleaned by a professional cleaner every 2 years.

As they have proper techniques and solutions to clean the upholstery, they can clean it well. You can plan it periodically to prolong the longevity of your furniture upholstery. There is no harm in taking professional help. In fact, in the long run, you might realise that your decision was right. 

In the above points, we discussed the cleaning tips for your furniture upholstery. And now we will discuss tips for buying the right furniture upholstery for you. When it comes to choosing upholstery there are different factors to look upon. We will discuss all those factors in detail which will help you out in choosing the right furniture upholstery.

Tips for Choosing the right Furniture Upholstery

Thread Count 

The majority of us are unaware of the fact that thread count plays a prominent role in choosing the right furniture upholstery. The thread count of fabric decides its grade and quality. In simple terms, thread count is the total number of threads present per square inch of fabric.

Higher thread count gives the fabric a smooth texture which is great for any home. High thread count also ensures that there is less shrinkage of the upholstery. Thus, it directly affects the durability of the fabric. That fabric with lower thread count is more prone to wear and tears. For furniture, you should consider fabric with higher thread count to ensure longevity. 

Colour

While choosing your furniture upholstery, one needs to be cautious with their colour selection. Choosing a colour of your liking is your call to make, but you need to consider different aspects before making any final decision. Furniture upholstery is in the frontline of your living space and they are more prone to stains.

Thus, you need to be careful while colouring selection. Some colours can resist the stains and some might not. Thus, by selecting any light colours with a house full of kids can cause serious damage to your investment. Going with darker shades is the best way to deal with such issues. They can hide the stains and can be easily cleaned. 

Durability

In the above point, we discussed how higher thread count can increase the durability of any upholstery fabric. Now, there are many fabric options available in the market. They look appealing and catches your eye instantly, but there is a high chance that its sheen might fade away.

In the places where direct sunlight is scarce, in those places, you can think about choosing that appealing upholstery. Before selecting any fabric design or type, always consider the amount of traffic it might have to face. For a living area, you need furniture upholstery which can hold high traffic and last longs. Here, you can go with darker shade fabric with a high thread count.

Pricing

There is a common misconception in the mind of customers that, anything which costs more is of great quality. But this might be wrong in case of furniture upholstery when you compare it with its longevity. The higher the grade, the more is the price of the fabric. But a higher price does not mean that it is more durable. These grades just give you an idea that how expensive the manufacturing of fabric was.

The higher-grade fabric does feel good and is durable. But if you are looking for a cost-effective way of choosing upholstery, consider all the options. You can’t go overboard with the pricing as it might affect your home improvement budget. 

Conclusion:

Choosing a furniture upholstery seems easy but in reality, it needs a lot of thinking. You need to gather a lot of knowledge such as common furniture upholstery materials, colour, durability, etc. You also need to consider how easy they are to maintain. The points mentioned above will help you with the process of maintaining furniture upholstery by cleaning it the right way. 

It will also help you out with the selection process of your favourite upholstery which suits your style and budget. Don’t take any decision emotionally, as you might be tempted to select an appealing fabric just by looking at it. Be smart and take decisions based on thorough research. Always remember, it is a long-term investment, thus being precautious is the best way.