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What should you do if you want to clean your furniture yourself?
Important things to know and tips.
Furniture is a staple in every home — it’s an essential part of our daily lives and a key element of comfort. However, over time, stains from food, spilled drinks, kids' antics, or pets can appear on the upholstery. Naturally, we want to get rid of these stains as quickly as possible and restore our favorite couch to its original look. After all, dirt on furniture is hard to ignore and can ruin the entire appearance of your interior.
So the big question is: how can you effectively clean your furniture at home — removing stains, dirt, streaks, unpleasant odors, pet urine, or even blood?
The internet and advertisements are full of tips and so-called "miracle" cleaning products that promise to easily remove virtually any stain — even the smell of cat urine. These products are often marketed as “professional,” but that’s rarely the case. Just because a cleaner is concentrated doesn’t mean it’s professional-grade. True professional upholstery cleaning products are typically only available from specialized suppliers and are meant to be used by trained professionals with the right equipment and knowledge of proper cleaning techniques.
There are also plenty of DIY recipes floating around — using vinegar, baking soda, alcohol, and other household items. If you’re considering cleaning your upholstered furniture yourself, be cautious with these methods. Keep reading to find out why.
In many cases, furniture owners, eager to get rid of a stain, quickly grab a product they saw in an ad and start pouring and scrubbing it into the upholstery. Others might follow internet advice and treat pet urine stains with vinegar or citric acid.
Unfortunately, these approaches often make things worse.
The photo shows real-life examples of the effects of self-cleaning by customers:
Stains left after self-cleaning of dirty upholstery.
Damage to the natural upholstery after self-cleaning.
After self-cleaning the couch with baking soda, some of the powder became embedded in the fabric and remained even after vacuuming.
Unsuccessful self-cleaning attempts most often happen with white or light-colored couches. That’s because cleaning a light fabric sofa at home without leaving streaks is quite challenging. Even if you apply a clear liquid or foam cleaner to the upholstery, once it dries, it can leave behind visible marks due to the general embedded dirt in the fabric fibers. And if the cleaner is aggressive, streaks may appear because the dye from the fabric dissolves and spreads.
Fixing this kind of damage is much harder than just removing regular stains or dirt.
Sometimes, yes, it’s possible to “successfully” remove a stain using DIY methods. But keep in mind: in almost every case, the cleaning agent you used remains inside the upholstery. And those surface stains? They’ve just been pushed deeper into the padding. Many stain removers are highly alkaline, and when they’re not fully rinsed out, they keep reacting with the fabric fibers — eventually degrading them and fixing the stains permanently. Once dry, these cleaners leave behind a sticky residue that quickly attracts dust, resulting in dark patches or new stains.
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How to clean upholstered furniture at home without ruining it?
If a spill occurs — whether it’s food, blood, or urine — act fast. Blot the area gently with a clean white absorbent cloth to soak up as much of the liquid as possible. This simple first step can prevent a lot of damage: it pulls the substance out of the surface and padding before it can settle in, making the remaining stain much easier to deal with.
If you have a spot-cleaning machine, rinse the area thoroughly several times with clean, cold water, then dry it. This method works well for fresh, small stains, but unfortunately, it won’t help with old stains, heavy soiling, oily buildup, or persistent odors.
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Pro tip: Do not use household stain removers or general-purpose cleaners to remove odors!
They won’t work — especially for pet urine. In fact, they’ll often make the problem worse by pushing the odor deeper into the material, amplifying it. Cheap odor removers from pet stores can have the same effect. And if you try vinegar or ammonia-based methods, you might end up with an even stronger ammonia smell mixed in with the pet odor.
To really eliminate urine odor, the source has to be chemically broken down and completely rinsed out of the material. Anything less won’t do the job.
So, what’s the difference between professional cleaning and DIY attempts?
Professional upholstery cleaning isn’t just about removing stains — it’s about properly neutralizing and flushing out all cleaning solutions along with the dirt. This requires specialized machines and training. Professionals use a combination of targeted stain removers and powerful equipment that rinses the upholstery thoroughly. Often, up to 10 different solutions may be used to fully clean a single couch.
And if a technician from another company shows up and “cleans” your couch in 30 minutes using a single product — be skeptical. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all cleaner, and such a quick service most likely didn’t properly rinse or neutralize the chemicals used. That could leave residues that keep reacting with the fabric even after drying, causing damage over time.
To avoid such issues, choose a cleaning company that guarantees the skills and experience of its technicians. Don’t trust your furniture to just anyone.
Whether you decide to clean your furniture yourself or call in the pros is your choice. But if you're not 100% sure about how to safely clean it, don’t take the risk. The cost of repairing the damage from a failed cleaning attempt often exceeds the cost of professional cleaning. At the same time, a properly done upholstery cleaning can revive your furniture — at a fraction of the price of replacing it.
CLEAN SOFA LLC — Your Upholstery Cleaning Experts
At CLEAN SOFA LLC, we specialize in cleaning couches, chairs, and mattresses. We’ve seen it all — and we've cleaned it all. But the most difficult cases are usually the ones where clients tried to clean the furniture themselves first.
We’re always happy to help, but unfortunately, when upholstery has been damaged by harsh chemicals or long-set stains, even the best professional cleaning can’t always restore it completely.
Take care of your furniture — and call in the pros before things go too far.