How to Clean a Couch
Clean your couch when it becomes a victim of standard stains, dirt, and grime. The spills might require special knowledge of the fabric since cleaning leather requires a different technique than microfiber.
Step 1 - Prepare the Couch for Cleaning
The process of cleaning a couch takes time and effort so before engaging yourself to this work, set aside a bit of time. Start by brushing off the couch and then vacuuming well. Use vacuum attachments to clean corners and crevices.
Step 2 - Recognize the Type of Fabric Used
The first step is to acknowledge what type of fabric is being dealt with. Commonly couches are made of Leatheride, Rexene, cotton cloth, or polyester. Treat Leatheride and Rexene similarly while cleaning. These require extra care as after cleaning, the surface can over dry and crack later. You can avoid this by giving the couch a polish finish. Cotton and nylon cloth couches require similar cleaning procedures.
Step 3 - Prepare Washing Solution
In case of Leatheride or Rexene, luke warm water serves well for the cleaning solution. Fill half a bucket with water. Then add shampoo, vinegar, and a few drops of oil. You can add a little bleach to the water if upholstery is white in color.
Step 4 - Scrub the Couch
To clean Leatheride or Rexene surface, dip a white rag in the solution and rub the couch until the layer of dirt starts to clean. Rub the cleaned area with tidy dry rags so as to avoid dry shampoo stains. The vinegar acts as a natural bleach and deodorizer and the oil keeps Leatheride and Rexene from over drying and cracking. A laundry brush is another option for cleaning Leatheride couches. These have wrinkles and cloth is unable to reach inside them.
For cloth, the best way to clean is by using a mixture of ¼ cup vinegar, ¾ cups water, and a tablespoon of dish soap. Apply a small amount initially on a white rag, beginning with obvious stains. After removing problematic stains clean the remaining couch. Be sure not to over soak, but use a dabbing method instead. You can also use a soft bristled brush. Cleaning of polyester or nylon requires the same process with the exception that dirt is easily removed from synthetic fiber. This makes cleaning nylon fiber couches easier than cotton cloth. Another option is to use a steam cleaner that sucks out most of the water after scrubbing.
Step 5 - Finish the Process
For Leatheride and Rexene, Swede polish is required. Paste small dots of polish of all over the couch surface. Roll a clean dry flannel rag into a buffer. Rub this buffer all over the couch using circular movement. Circular strokes ensure proper blending and merging of polish. If the couch has not been cared for, it will require more polish. You have to be careful in applying polish equally as less concentration areas are left with a different shade.
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![Natasha Gilani]()
Natasha is a contributing writer for DoItYourself.com. She's an experienced home improvement researcher and project builder with a wide range of interests, and especially enjoys learning about gardening, power tools, and patio design.![Dawn Hammon]()
Dawn Hammon has thrived in freelance writing and editor roles for nearly a decade. She has lived, worked, and attended school in Oregon for many years. Dawn currently spends her days convincing her children she is still smarter than them while creating new experiences with her husband of 24 years.  Her multiple interests have led her to frequently undergo home improvement projects. She enjoys sharing the hard-earned knowledge that comes with it with the audience of DoItYourself.com. Dawn and her sister make up a power-tool loving duo that teaches classes to local women with the goal of empowering them to tackle their fears and become comfortable with power tools. Tapping into her enthusiasm for saving money and devotion to sustainable practices, Dawn has recently launched a passion project aimed at connecting eco-friendly products and socially-responsible companies with consumers interested in making conscientious purchases, better informing themselves about products on the market, and taking a stand in favor of helping to save the planet. When she is not providing stellar online content for local, national, and international businesses or trolling the internet for organic cotton clothing, you might find her backpacking nearby hills and valleys, traveling to remote parts of the globe, or expanding her vocabulary in a competitive game of Scrabble. Dawn holds a bachelor's degree in psychology, which these days she mostly uses to provide therapy for her kids and spouse. Most recently, I worked for a small local professional organizing and estate sale company for four years where I learned a ton about organizing and/or disposing of just about anything. She was raised in a tool-oriented, hands-on, DIY family. Her dad worked in the floor covering business and owned local floor covering businesses, so of course selling floor covering was one of her first jobs. Her brother was a contractor for about 30 years and site supervisor for Habitat for Humanity. I worked with him often, building decks, painting houses, framing in buildings, etc. With her sister, she holds power tool classes to empower women who are scared or have never used them. Not quite homesteaders, she did grow up with a farm, tractors, motorcycles, expansive gardens, hay fields, barns, and lots of repairs to do. Plus she and her family preserved foods, raised cattle and pigs, chopped and hauled firewood, and performed regular maintenance on two households, outbuildings, fencing, etc. As an adult, she has owned two houses. The first one she personally ripped out a galley kitchen and opened it up to the living area, plus updated every door, floor covering, and piece of trim in the place. In her current home, she's tackled everything from installing real hardwood flooring to revamping the landscape.
