Extending the Life of Your Upholstered Furniture

Furnishing your home can be a huge undertaking. There are so many pieces needed to fill the various rooms in your house, like couches, chairs, and love seats. These items don’t usually come cheap, so furniture is often a significant investment for many homeowners and renters. This is especially true if you have upholstered pieces that require maintenance.

You can expect light wear and tear on pieces that experience everyday use. However, you likely spent a good deal of time and money finding the perfect additions to your home. Why not invest in resources to keep them in the best condition? Keep reading if you’re interested in extending the life of your upholstered furniture.

Common Sources of Damage

If you want to maintain the state of your upholstery, it’s helpful to learn about various sources of damage. This way, you’ll know what conditions to look out for and how to correct any problems. While accidents happen and are sometimes unavoidable, there are several common ways your furniture can acquire damage.

For example, sunlight often causes discoloration to many fabrics, leather, and other materials. Using improper cleaning products may cause your upholstery to deteriorate by stripping away the natural colors that make materials vibrant. Exposing your furniture to extreme temperatures may also leave it vulnerable to harm in the form of cracking and brittleness. To extend the life of your upholstered furniture, steer clear of these situations.

Tips for Extending Your Upholstered Furniture’s Life

Now that you are familiar with some common causes of upholstery damage, you need to know how to protect your furniture to keep it strong and beautiful. These tips are simple, easy, and necessary to maintain your pieces.

Vacuum Frequently

Vacuuming isn’t only for your floors and carpets. You should also get in the habit of vacuuming your upholstered furniture frequently to remove any dirt and grime. If you regularly eat on your couch or other pieces of furniture, you don’t want to skip this step.

Over time, dirt, dust particles, crumbs, and even skin cells settle into the crevices of your upholstery, making it look dull and dingey. Keep your fabric or leather fresh and bright by running your handheld vacuum over the surfaces of your furniture at least once a week.

Reduce Pilling

Have you ever noticed those tiny balls of fibers that build up on the surface of your fabric pieces? Experts call these annoying accumulations pills, and they occur when friction causes the material to rub together. Furniture pilling is quite common, especially on seats that see a lot of use.

You should look into purchasing a fabric shaver to remove any unsightly fiber tangles to reduce the appearance of pilling. These battery-powered devices are cheap and will quickly remove ugly patches that bring down the quality of your upholstery. You can also look into pill combs to fix the situation manually.

Use Fabric Protector

Spills and stains are bound to happen at some point, especially if you have a full house. Using a high-quality fabric protector is a must if you want to keep your furniture free of any blemishes and imperfections. You don’t have to settle for uncomfortable plastic coverings, either.

There are several liquid and spray options that you can apply to the surface of your upholstery. A fabric protector gives you more time to blot spills and makes your furniture easier to clean. Once it dries, you’ll have protected furniture that is safe for kids and pets to be around for several months.

Rotate Cushions

Everyone has that one special “spot” on their sofa where they regularly sit. Frequent cushion use causes deep indentions, lumps, and discoloration to most furniture materials. While it’s tempting to “break in” your favorite seat, you must flip your cushions regularly to prevent these problems.

Just like car owners need to rotate their vehicle’s tires, you should turn your couch and other seating cushions so that the upholstery gets an even amount of wear. When buying furniture pieces, like sofas or chairs, make sure they have removable cushions to make the rotating process easier.

Avoid Sunlight

As we mentioned earlier, sunlight can cause distinct damage to your upholstered furniture. UV light penetrates the fabric, leather, and other materials on your furniture, weakening the integrity of your home fixtures. The good news is that there is an easy way to fix this common issue.

Move your furniture out of any direct sunlight. If you’re unable to do so, you may consider installing curtains or blinds to minimize the amount of rays coming into your home. However, if you want to keep as much natural light as possible while protecting your furniture, you can install UV-resistant window film to block 99 percent of damaging light.

Refresh With Baking Soda

Stains, discoloration, and pilling aren’t the only ways your upholstery takes damage. Odors from food, pets, and other household activities permeate materials, leaving a nasty smell. Combat this problem by breaking out your baking soda.

Baking soda is an age-old home remedy for countless DIY cleaning materials, and it’s for a good reason. Baking soda reduces odors, loosens dirt, and generally makes the cleaning process more manageable. Use it when you vacuum your couches and other upholstered pieces to keep everything fresh.

Annual Professional Cleaning

Finally, the last life-prolonging furniture tip is to schedule a professional cleaning. If your DIY cleaning approach isn’t cutting it, a deep clean may be the answer to your prayers. Even if you’re happy with your household cleaners and routine, you should have an expert come a clean your upholstery once a year.

It’s easy to miss spots and smells on your furniture, and the longer they sit, the tougher they are to remove. These messes can pop up frequently and be more challenging to manage if you have pets or children. Professional cleaning services do the work for you to make your furniture spotless.

Perfect upholstered furniture is hard to find, so make sure you are taking care of it when you do. We have a vast inventory of living room sets in Houston for you to check out and incorporate into your home. Stop by our new store in Rosenberg, Texas, or any of our other locations, to find amazing deals on furniture to accentuate your space.