Good Questions: Upholstery Cleaning Tips?

Karen is looking for some upholstery cleaning advice: I bought this dining table in craigslist and i love it! The only problem is that it has some stains but not that major just some dirt in the chair pads. I tried everything like everything (oxyclean, shotout, clorox, detergent, etc) but it seems that I'm making it worse...

(Note: Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.
Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line to:
chicago(at)apartmenttherapy(dot)com)

...Do you have any idea how to clean it without sending it to the professionals?

Any recommendations for Karen? Please let her know in the comments...

Comments (7)

I have found the Mr. Magic pads work on our upholstery. Wet the pad, and go over - gently - on the stain.

posted by AT4H on September 10th 2008 at 10:12am
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I have one of those little bissell green machines, and it worked absolute WONDERS on a dirty but otherwise perfect crate and barrel couch I got for free off of craigslist. See here: http://www.amazon.com/Bissell-14007-Multi-Purpose-Compact-Earth-Friendly/dp/B0016HF5GK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1221074146&sr=8-1

It's $70, which may negate some of the benefit of buying from craigslist, but then you have the thing forever, and it frequently comes in handy.

posted by Emmers on September 10th 2008 at 10:18am
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I used Bissel fabric/upholstery cleaner in an individual aerosol on an old couch, and it worked wonders, but it is definintely not green and smells terrible. The smell disappears after a while, though, and it really does clean.

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/(1hogmz45rii2c0ebwpwqsuuw)/productdetails.aspx?sku=10210&source=GoogleBase

posted by zim on September 10th 2008 at 10:55am
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Perhaps you can find a place that rents the cleaners (ie Loew's, HD) I know even some grocery store rent carpet cleaners, which might work if you could find a small one.

Have you tried spot shot? It worked well for me on ivory upholstery (though the stain was recent).

Good luck, and the chairs look great in the pic!

posted by skny0104 on September 10th 2008 at 11:50am
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I use the Bissell green for spot cleaning on my white couch (Not the smartest buy, but I wouldn't have been happy with anything else...) It works great on the little stuff, but just isn't a good fit for a large piece. However, I'm looking for a cleaning service to do a once over on the whole thing. Any suggestions?

posted by katerisomrak on September 10th 2008 at 12:05pm
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I also use my Bissell Green for spot cleaning. For stubborn spots I use a product called Folex, works wonders. You can find this product at Target.

http://www.folexcompany.com/

posted by let on September 10th 2008 at 12:26pm
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I swear by Woolite OxyDeep. A guest once spilled some red wine on my cream colored sofa and insisted we go immediately to the grocery store to buy some. I had never heard of it before, but all I can say is that it worked. No more stain. You can get it for less than $4 at Target.

One word of warning: follow the directions and don't oversaturate the stain. If you do, you will find yourself chasing a much fainter water stain.

posted by RichardinLA on September 11th 2008 at 2:50pm
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