How to clean your fabric sofa with 6 effective methods

Do you ever find yourself staring at your stained, well-worn fabric sofa, wishing you knew how to give it a good, thorough clean?

We dive into the 6 top ways to clean your fabric sofa – and it should look as good as new by the end of this post. 

But first…

Check your sofa’s care and cleaning instructions

Depending on the fabric or material of your sofa (especially when it’s upholstered), there are certain cleaning solutions that you can and cannot use for each type of fabric.

Here’s how to decode your sofa’s care and cleaning instructions, which you can typically find on its tags:

W: water-based cleaner only
S/W: solvents and water-based cleaners
S: solvent cleaners only
X: no water, vacuum only

Once you know which cleaning solutions to look out for, you can even make water-based solutions yourself. However, if your tag has an ‘X’ on it, it’s best to hire a professional cleaner to give it a thorough clean – apart from vacuuming it lightly regularly. 

Your other option? Cover it with a removable sofa slipcover that you can just throw into the washing machine whenever your sofa needs a clean.

As far as the actual cleaning goes, here are some simple methods that you can follow to effectively clean your fabric sofa:

1. Clean up fresh stains, pronto

It’s best to tackle stains while they are still fresh. Whether it’s orange juice or pasta sauce, quickly shifting into cleaning mode can mean the difference between a stain that’s easily removed and one that you can never seem to get out.

2. Use a dry brush to remove crumbs and dust

For the usual cleaning process, first of all, use a dry brush all over your sofa.

For any easily removable particles like dust, the dry brush will help you get rid of them once you flick it several times.

Brushing off excess dirt keeps it from getting stuck in the weaves of the fabric – which would be an absolute nightmare and near impossible to clean off.

3. Use a handheld vacuum to reach difficult corners of the sofa

You know how the corners of your sofa always seem to have stray bits of dirt, candy wrappers and even loose change hidden in their deep, dark depths?

Yup, we can relate.

Once you get the wrappers and loose change out of the way, use a handheld vacuum to suck up the stubborn bits of dirt and crumbs that have made a home in those impossible corners.

Not only does vacuuming excess dirt make it less likely to have pests like ants and roaches, it’ll actually be much easier to clean your sofa fabric without extra dirt covering it.

4. Use a fabric cleaner

Now that you’ve read your sofa’s tags (preferably) and figured out how to clean it best, try doing a patch test on a small, out-of-the-way stain or spot.

This way you’ll be able to see the effects of the cleansing solution without risking a bad reaction where it’s noticeable.

Once that’s good to go, it’s quite simple. Just spray fabric cleaner onto the stain and dab repeatedly until the stain is gone or very much lightened. Finally, let it dry and you’ll get your clean sofa back again!

5. Use baking soda

Our personal favourite method of cleaning a fabric sofa (which works on almost any surface) is to spill some dry baking soda onto any stained or soiled area while it is dry, leave for 20-30 minutes and then vacuum it off. Most dirt spots vanish almost magically with this method!

6. Washing machine

Save the hassle of cleaning up stains by tossing removable slipcovers into the washer every 3-6 months. Remember to dry them in the shade until almost dry, then slip it back on for that perfect, snug fit.

Is your upholstered sofa a little inconvenient to clean? Consider getting a slipcover that you can easily remove and throw into the washing machine for a quick, easy clean. You’ll never again struggle to know how to clean an upholstered sofa. 

Take our sofa slipcover fabrics for a test run by having them sent to your doorstep:

Order free fabric samples