Our Guide to Stain Removal and Furniture Care

Afraid of getting new furniture and ending up with some huge, incomprehensibly difficult-to-remove stain? Yeah, we get that. So we decided to share our strategies on the best way to take care of upholstered furniture. Of course, there are some of us who may have not thought about this until it was too late. In other words, there is a stain, it is big, it won’t go away, and it is kind of an emergency. So we put some strategies in here to deal with that as well. Either way, prepare thyself for some expert tips on stain removal: a one-stop compendium of stain removal strategies, including tips for regular upkeep.

Evaluate Your Stain – New or Old?

The last thing you want is for the upholstery to get ruined by a dropped piece of food or a knocked over glass of wine – especially if you just bought it. If you have the good fortune to be there when it happens, remember that the important thing is to act fast. Waiting to let the stain set in means your task will be near impossible. If that means suspending Little Johnny’s party for fifteen minutes to pull the spaghetti off the new cream ottoman you just bought, THEN SO BE IT.

However, if you find you just cannot get to your stain fast enough, don’t panic. There will be times when someone will stain your furniture without you knowing. You simply cannot be on watch all the time. The strategies below will work for set-in stains as well.

The important thing to remember is – the strategies for a new stain and old stain are similar. But with a new stain, restraint and working to blot out most of the liquid is key. With a stain that has set-in, you are pretty much guaranteed to have to use a cleaner. And sometimes that means cycling through these steps several times. But don’t despair — Just keep working at it, and you’ll be surprised – the stain will slowly give way and disappear.

Blot New Stains, Then Use Water

If your stain is new, blot it first. We can’t emphasize this enough, but do not try to rub the stain out of your furniture with a cloth. You want to blot, it is a completely different action/verb. That’s because you are trying to gather as much of the moisture out of the material as possible. For this task, use a cloth.

Ok, if you are done blotting, the next step is use water. The big thing to remember here is, a little goes a long way. You always want to control how much liquid – cleaner *or* water – you put onto your upholstery. And that’s because it will take forever to dry out. Adding too much moisture to your upholstery can be its own nightmare.

Our trick is to take something like a rag, or an old t-shirt (but not a soiled one!), that you can control the amount of liquid you apply. Get your cloth damp, and wring it dry. Then apply some of your cleaning solution – just a touch! Blot at your new stain as you go along, adding more as needed. Obviously when you are done, there will be a little bit of wetness. So make sure to pick that up by gently applying a dry cloth as well, once again returning to the blotting action. We also suggest using a fan to help dry the furniture overnight once the process is over

Pick a Cleaner

Before you get to cleaning, make a decision about what cleaner to use. The best thing to do is stop right now, and look at the upholstery cleaning code on your furniture. Need help deciphering it? Look here. If you follow the code, picking a cleaner becomes a lot easier.

Another tip before you pick a cleaner: for grease stains, use this trick. Put corn starch (just a little bit!) on the stain and leave for 30 minutes. It should absorb the oil and then you can vacuum the rest up.

Now onto the cleaners!

Upholstery cleaners are great, but there’s a lot to choose from. Start with this guide. Both foaming and spray cleaners work just fine; it just comes down to preference. Some of our recommendations include Scotchguard, Resolve, and WineAway. Also try Tuff Stuff and Folex. Make sure to spot test somewhere discrete on your furniture before you get going!

But before you upgrade to an upholstery cleaner, consider these options. We’ve had remarkable success with vodka. This is a serious cleaner once you dilute it. Also try vinegar. Great thing about both of these is – once they dry, no smell. Also, try liquid dish soap. Just make sure to dilute it first and apply very sparingly. You can also use laundry spray. These cleaners work especially well on protein-based stains.

On the other hand, some stains are really persistent. These cleaners have to be used sparingly, but if you’ve got dye or ink on your hands (or in your furniture), you might need these. Try rubbing alcohol for dye, and try hydrogen peroxide for blood.

Here’s a great guide from one of our favorite blogs, HouseBeautiful, detailing great household cleaner options. Whatever you use, the process is similar. Try not to put it directly on your upholstery, but dilute with water and control with a rag. Blot out any excess wetness as you go with a dry rag. And do not rub! You will just grind the stain deeper into the fabric.

Use a Brush and Vacuum for Upkeep

Have you been brushing your furniture? Well, if you haven’t, you should! Make sure to brush the fibers in the fabric in the right orientation. Do this after you’ve finished cleaning and eradicating any nasty stains and your furniture is completely dry. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. Regularly using a vacuum (with attachment of course!) can help keep your upholstery in the best of shape. You should definitely use a vacuum at the end of any stain cleaning to help remove anything left over. But also try vacuuming your upholstery on a weekly basis, using side to side motions to firmly knock out any dirt or grime. Hard to reach places? A good shake might help, but we also recommend a canned of compressed air.