Nothing lasts forever. But when we’re talking about your upholstered furniture, you probably want it to last as long as possible.
High quality furniture is a big investment, but most people never get the use out of it that they should.
It takes a little forward thinking, and here’s why:
As long as you have good cleaning habits and practices you’ll be able to enjoy your furniture for years to come. With the right techniques you can ensure that you’re getting the most out of your couches and chairs.
Most people don’t want to ruin their investments prematurely, but if you’re doing any of these things that may be exactly where you’re headed.
The Wrong Way to Treat Furniture
This might come as a surprise to you, but your upholstered furniture is filthy.
Let’s take a look at the facts:
You spread out and relax on your couch pretty often. You let your guests and friends crash there when they need a place to sleep. Your friends spill food and drinks on it while you watch the game. Oh yeah, and don’t forget about that time you were sick and slept there all day.
Our furniture does a lot for us and definitely takes a beating, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as you’re treating it well. So of course you’re doing all you can to keep your furniture looking great, right?
Well if you’ve been doing these 4 things your furniture might be on it’s way out:
1. Sleeping On Your Couch
We’ve all done it:
Some nights it just feels right to doze off on the couch or sofa. But sofas are meant for sitting and won’t be able to support laying on it for long periods of time, especially if you do it consistently.
Eventually the frame and cushions may start to sag, and there really is no way to fix it once it happens. Of course it depends on height and weight, and probably even your sleeping position, but when you boil it down you’re left with the fact that sleeping on your sofa won’t do you or it any good.
If you make it a regular habit, you can expect to see skin oils and stains, depressed foam, damaged covers, sagging cushions, and damaged frames.
2. Sitting in the Same Spot
Yeah we get it Sheldon – THAT is YOUR spot.
But you need to mix it up every now and then. If you always sit in the same exact spot, day after day, you’re putting a lot of stress on a single area of the couch or sofa.
Luckily, the fix to this one is pretty easy.
First, make sure that about once a month you rotate the cushions and flip them over. This will help keep everything looking and feeling more firm. You’re also going to need to switch up the seating arrangements a little though.
Get out of your comfort zone and try the other side of the couch. You never know, you might end up liking it better.
3. Never Cleaning Your Furniture
If you’re like the majority of people, your furniture is probably dirtier than you think.
Furniture is made to conceal dust and other messes, so if you’re waiting until it looks dirty, you’re late to the show.
Upholstered furniture needs regular maintenance like anything else. At the very least, you should be vacuuming monthly, but far more often if you have pets or kids.
You’d be surprised by the difference a quick vacuum every now and then could have.
4. Not Cleaning In Between Your Couch
Most of us don’t even realize it, but we need to clean our couches and under the cushions a lot more often than we do. If you’ve never cleaned your couch before, you’re probably wondering how to do it.
There are a few different types of cleaning methods depending on what type of material you’re working with. You can find most of the cleaning information that you need on the couch’s care tag. Let us introduce you to the best care and good cleaning tips for your upholstered furniture.
Couch Care Tips
No matter what type of material your couch is, the best thing you can do for it is give it a regular once over with the vacuum. If you care about how much dust and dead skin cells it could be hiding, you probably want to make this fairly frequent. Most upholstery is supposed to hide stains and oils pretty well, so by the time you actually notice that it’s looking dirty it’s going to be full of dirt and germs. This will help to keep your couch and other upholstered furniture looking better longer.
Next you need to dive deeper into your couch and really get in there. Most couches are full of nooks and crannies that are perfect for gathering crumbs and lint. If you have removable cushions, it’s a good idea to go ahead and remove them every now and then to clean up these areas.
You’re going to need either a handheld vacuum with upholstery attachment or a can of compressed air to get into those crevices and remove the built up dirt and bits of food. I’m sure you’ll find all sorts of goodies back there. One way or another you have to get all the crumbs and piles of lint out of there because they’re feeding grounds for pests like dust mites. By removing dust, dirt, and nastiness from within your sofa, you will have cleaner healthier fabric that will last longer.
Before placing your cushions back on the sofa, give them a good fluffing. You don’t want your couch to start to sag over time and develop a groove, so make sure to fluff them back into shape and even rotate them. If you want to get the maximum longevity out of a sofa, you need to flip them over every now and then and switch them around to different spots.
