If its stained
You’ll need the following items and ingredients:- A vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment
- At least three light-colored microfiber cloths that won’t bleed on your sofa
- A bucket
- Distilled water (The minerals in tap water can leave residue behind. A quick Internet search should yield plenty of DIY instructions on distilling water, or you can find an inexpensive jug at almost any grocery store.)
- Liquid dish soap
- Distilled white vinegar
- Vacuum your couch so you’re not rubbing in dirt or debris while cleaning.
- In the bucket, mix about 2 cups of distilled water with 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid and 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
- Dampen a microfiber cloth with your cleaning solution.
- Gently blot any stained areas with the cloth. Don’t rub or scrub. This can damage the fibers.
- Moisten a fresh microfiber cloth with distilled water (no dishwashing liquid or vinegar this time), and blot the affected area to remove any remaining soap.
- With a dry microfiber cloth, blot the area one more time.
- Point a fan on the area to make sure it dries completely.
How to Steam Clean Your Couch
You can start with a spot test on a small out-of-the-way part of the sofa to make sure steaming won’t cause any permanent damage.When it comes to figuring out how to steam clean a couch, you’re really just going to follow the manufacturer’s instructions provided. They should tell you what settings you’ll need to use. These tricks can also help you clean it.
- Vacuum your sofa before you start to steam clean. After you have steamed and the sofa has completely dried, vacuum it again.
- Pick a nice day to steam clean your couch so that you can open the windows and air out the room.
- Some steam cleaners use microfiber cloths to help pick up debris. You’ll want to change these out as you steam so you can pick up all the dirt.
- After steaming, point a fan on your couch to help it dry completely.
- Wait until the water in the steamer cools before dumping it out.
How to Clean a Fabric Couch That Smells
Like with so many other materials and features around the house, baking soda can help eliminate odors in your couch as well. This miracle substance immediately gets to work capturing odors and loosening stains after it is applied to your couch's fabric. Apply baking soda to your cushions, arms, backrest, and even crevices. You may want to give more attention to stains. Let the baking soda sit for 20 minutes if you are eliminating minor odors. Feel free to leave it for a full hour if you have some serious stench to deal with. Now break out the vacuum and hose everything up. Lastly, it's important to remember that baking soda is not a substitute for actually steam cleaning or blot cleaning your sofa. Those methods are the better way to effectively eliminate stains and dirt hanging onto the fabric fibers.