Clean Your Sofa!

I get a lot of questions about the "clean-ability" of a particular fabric.  It's a natural question, as the average sofa is used for over 2700 hours in its lifetime.  Most people buy new furniture infrequently, and they need it to look good for several years.  Two summary tips here:

• Vacuum and dust often.  Where a lot of dust collects, so do dust mites (believe me, the more you know about dust mites the more you don't like those guys!).  
• Spot-clean right away, when accidents happen.  

If your cushions have a zippered enclosure, you may be tempted to throw the cover in the washing machine. I tried this on an old sofa (so you don't have to).  The washing machine was very rough on the fabric.  In order to get the cushion back inside the fabric enclosure, I had to use scissors to cut away a lot of threads that had come loose.  It's OK to gently hand-wash your zippered-enclosure fabrics.  Just follow the cleaning codes for your fabric.  Using the wrong one may damage the fabric on your furniture.  

The 4 cleaning codes:

• W - This indicates a water-based cleaner.  Apply any mild water-based cleaner using a brush in circular motion.  Try an inconspicuous area first, before cleaning primary areas.
• S  - This indicates a solvent-based cleaner.  Do not use water.  Open windows for ventilation, as the vapors from these cleaners can be harmful if inhaled in large concentrations.
• W-S - Use either a water- or solvent based cleaner, following applicable directions above.
• X - Vacuum and dust off only.  Do not use any type of cleaner on these fabrics.  

A TIP ABOUT STAIN-GUARDING:

Fabrics today do not include stain protection out of the factory.  But each one - whatever the cleaning code - can be stain-guarded, making them far less absorbent.  Choose your stain-guard product carefully, using one that that is non-toxic, hypo-allergenic, and that is completely color-safe.  RC Willey provides such a product, available in a spray bottle, as well as with our professional application.  

By contrast, a product that is commonly available at grocery stores includes a warning on their website; they urge consumers to test for "color-fastness" in an inconspicuous place - before treating the entire sofa.  No warning necessary with RC Willey products.  

Keep Smilin'!