Sumptuous and stylish, crushed velvet is an increasingly popular choice for interiors these days. But is your crushed velvet sofa looking less than luxe lately? By following these top cleaning tips, you will learn how to maintain the natural sheen and texture of your sofa’s gorgeous upholstery.
OK, so let’s get the disclaimer out there before we proceed any further. These sofa cleaning tips are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for seeking the appropriate cleaning services provided by an expert. Furniture Outlet shall not be held liable or responsible for any damage to furniture that may occur from using the tips featured in this blog post or the comments section below.
1. Read The Instructions
Know who loves your crushed velvet sofa almost as much as you do? The people who made it. That’s why you should always read, and strictly adhere to, any cleaning instructions provided by the sofa’s manufacturer. If they recommended a particular type of cleaning solvent or procedure for your sofa, make sure to use it.
2. Crushed Velvet Sofa Cleaning – Go Pro
If possible, hire a reliable cleaner or cleaning company to clean the sofa for you. A professional will have the expertise, experience and tools necessary to get the job done right. Trained professionals may also have eco-friendly ways to clean your furniture without doing any damage to the delicate crushed velvet surface on a sofa or armchair.
But don’t just assume that the cleaning pros have the specific knowledge and materials needed to correctly clean crushed velvet furniture. Ask them about this when you are looking around for the best cleaning quote.
3. It’s Routine Work
Get into the habit of regularly cleaning your crushed velvet sofa to loosen and remove any dust or surface dirt on the upholstery. Use a soft cloth, soft brush or vacuum cleaner to gently clean the sofa. Performing this kind of cleaning routine once a week should be enough for a typical household.
Gadgets can make these cleaning duties easier to do. Wooden handle brushes with soft metallic bristles, especially designed to be used with velvet upholstery and clothing, usually cost around £10 to £15. Similarly, if your vacuum has an attachment specifically designed for cleaning furniture, use it.
Obviously, your weekly sofa cleaning regime should be stepped up to cope with any additional factors like having pets around. Not to mention those thoughtless people who make a mess and just leave it there for others to tidy up. Please don’t be one of them!
4. Think Before You Drink
Taking preventative measures to help keep your sofa safe and clean could save you plenty of time and money in the long term. For example, if you are planning on holding a party or inviting guests with young children to your home, it makes perfect sense to accessorise and protect your crushed velvet sofa with a few cleverly positioned blankets, throws or removable covers.
5. Clean Sofa S.O.S – I Can’t Wait For An Expert!
No matter how well you plan ahead and protect your sofa, accidents can, and inevitably will, still happen. The golden rule, if any food or drink drops onto your crushed velvet sofa, is to clean it up right away whenever possible.
Use a paper towel, soft cloth or sponge to immediately soak up any spills. Dab, do not rub, the area of the spill. Work your way from the outside towards the centre to keep the spill contained. Gently does it though. Applying too much pressure can actually push the stain further into the upholstery’s fibres.
A fan or hair dryer will help dry water spillages faster. Keep the hair dryer at least 20cm (8 inches) away from the crushed velvet surface for best results.
6. Wet ‘n’ Wild
The alternative method of wet cleaning can be used to successfully clean any resilient stains funking up a velvet sofa. However, if wet cleaned, the crushed velvet look will more than likely disappear.
Apply a small amount of soapy suds, made from clear washing up liquid mixed in a bowl of lukewarm water, to a clean cloth and begin cleaning. A fabric detergent can be used in preference to the clear washing up liquid if you wish. Either way, use the suds only to minimise the amount of liquid you are adding to the sofa’s upholstery.
Ashley Poskin, an American blogger on Apartment Therapy, even tried a combo of baking soda and lemon juice to successfully clean her sofa’s velvet upholstery. With this method, the foam from two tablespoons of baking soda mixed with at least half-a-cup of lemon juice is used to treat any stains. In her sofa cleaning tutorial, Ashley says: “Since I’m heartily opposed to bringing harsh chemicals into my home, I tested the lemon juice and baking soda method and was very happy with the end results!”
Whatever cleaning material you actually decide to use, always test it on an unseen part of the sofa first, just to make sure it won’t leave any marks or discolour the fabric. The back or underside of the sofa are good places for testing purposes.
As with the dry cleaning method featured above, never rub the stain. Instead, gently dab the stained area using the moist, sudsy cloth. When dry or wet cleaning velvet furniture, only brush the velvet’s nap, the raised fuzzy surface, in one direction to maintain that fantastic velvet-y look that catches the light. Once clean, quickly dry off the sofa with a fan or hair dryer to minimise the length of time that your velvet upholstery is damp. After it has completely dried, lightly brush the surface of the fabric to restore the velvet’s nap.
7. Let Off Steam
A steamer can restore the sheen and lustre of velvet furniture. Move the steamer in the direction of the velvet fabric’s nap to bring it back to brilliance. Please be advised that this method of cleaning is unlikely to work with a crushed velvet sofa. This is because the crushed velvet’s patterning can disappear when wet cleaned or steam cleaned, unless you perform something like the credit card trick below to restore the velvet’s crushed effect.
Again, we would recommend a professional cleaner perform any furniture steam cleaning for you. There is no substitute for expertise and experience.
8. The Credit Card Trick
We are only adding this tip to the mix for when everything else fails. When the crushed velvet sofa’s fabric is wet, the edge of a credit card can be used to carefully and painstakingly restore the crushed velvet look. Distort the pile back into crushed patterns with the credit card for a crushed appearance. Should you decide to go ahead and try this trick for yourself, always practice first on a small, unseen part of the sofa.
9. Let’s Be Careful Out There
Our last tip is short yet extremely salient. When cleaning delicate upholstery like velvet or crushed velvet, it’s important to always handle with care.
10. Your Turn…
Do you have any other top tips for cleaning a crushed velvet sofa – or caring for velvet furniture in general? If that’s a yes, please share your hints ‘n’ tips with us using the comments section below.
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