Protecting Your Upholstered Sofa
Whether you've got a hand-me-down or have bought one, your upholstered sofa is important to the family room or living room. Your entire family may use it to sit or lay on for TV viewing, book reading, or having a conversation. The sofa needs to last for a while, so you all must know how to protect the material and avoid damage to it. What actions could your sofa require to maintain its upholstery for a long time?
Clean Regularly
You may be brushing crumbs off your clothing onto the sofa regularly. However, you probably aren't cleaning the sofa as often as you drop the crumbs. Be aware that when the cushions aren't vacuumed and cleaned, crumbs and dust will settle into the small fibers of the sofa's material. Such small particles seem harmless, but whenever you sit or lay down, you're effectively pressing those particles into the material. As a result, the material is more easily weakened and won't last as long as clean material.
Take Care with Sun Exposure
Opening the curtains to the sun is desirable on bright days, but all that sun can wreak havoc on your upholstered sofa. Daily and prolonged sun exposure could fade and therefore weaken the material. This will mean the furniture will need re-upholstering sooner than if you simply limit the time you allow the sun to shine directly on the material.
Do Some Fluffing
The seat and back cushions on the sofa may flatten over time. While natural, this could strain the cushion seams, making tears more of a possibility. To protect seams, ensure you're fluffing each cushion so that they can retain as much of their natural shape as is possible. You might also want to rotate cushions so that all of them are worn equally.
Ventilate Room
If you smoke or have burnt a meal, you may already realize that smoke and other odors are hard to rid your space of. Odors are also tough to get out of sofa material; for that reason, the living room or family room must be well-ventilated. Evaluate the air flow and look for ways to encourage cleaner air where the sofa is located. You may ban cigarette smoking from the room, for example, or open windows throughout the day.
Your upholstered sofa should survive family use with these tips. Upholstery cleaning services can also deep clean the material and offer specific guidance for your sofa.