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Ah! I have the SAME problem! I bought a light yellow velvet chair but someone sat on it with brand new dark jeans and the dye actually bled into the velvet seat. I was thinking maybe a carpet shampooer with a attachment for upholstery but that might be too harsh for velvet...anyone else have any ideas??

I don't know about cleaning them, but I know a great and affordable upholsterer in Chicago: Covers Unlimited 312-492-7860

I have some brown velvet curtains that I have washed in the washing machine (yes, I'm one of those people), so I don't see why a little gentle cleaning would hurt. I'd venture to say it wouldn't look worse. Maybe you could use a wet/dry vac to pull out any moisture. I have a tiny shop vac that was pretty cheap that would serve the purpose. I think there are also hand-held versions of steam cleaners even more tailored to this purpose. Ivory soap is a wonder cleaner too. I guess the trick with velvet is you'd want to avoid using a scrub brush or something that could destroy the pile.

Since you are open to reupholstering them, I would go ahead and give cleaning a shot first. If it works then great, if it doesn't, you were already planning on redoing so it isn't a huge tragedy.

I do think you will probably need to go the reupholstery route eventually because those oil stains are going to be difficult to remove. There are a ton of great velvets out there and you can probably get something similar to the current fabric to keep the same overall look.

Call a different upholstery cleaner -

Velvet CAN be cleaned, the folks you called just don't have the expertise or the right equipment to do the job.

Agreed --- I have a velvet sofa (albeit only about 10 years old) -- and it has been successfully cleaned a number of times. There are both wet and dry methods of cleaning -- although I don't see how wet will be a problem unless your velvet is silk and not cotton.

Huh? I find that velvet--cotton, silk, or blend--responds really well to steam. If you use steam, just don't press the steam cleaner into the pile: Hold it gently over the material. After using the steamer, use a velvet brush against the nap. If the material becomes too saturated, have dry paper towels handy (the cheap grey kind from pubic restrooms really wick moisture away well). For oil-based stains, I'd use only the suds of an oil-based soap for spot cleaning. Water stains might appear if the stuffing underneath becomes too wet. The material is likely velveteen (a slightly different weave than velvet), which doesn't hold to the nap as well, so that velvet upholstery brush is worth getting.

My two cents.

I used the little green steam machine on an old velvet chair and it was totally fine.

Try woolite fabric and upholstery cleaner. Its a foaming agent and won't soak into the velvet material. Repeat several times and then brush with a velvet brush to restore the knapp. That's what the pros do.

Ciao