The Best Way to Clean and Freshen Up Your Old Sofa So It’s Like New Again
Apartment Therapy’s January Cure is a free 18-day program that’ll help you reset your home for the year ahead. Sign up here and get all assignments delivered to your inbox.
There are things that you clean on an ongoing basis — whether daily, weekly, monthly, and so on — but along the way, you might forget a thing or two or skip the deep clean something needs. Your sofa is a great example of this. You might have brushed off a crumb or two, maybe vacuumed it once in a while, but when’s the last time you put it under the microscope and attended to it? I bet if you look (or smell) closely, you’ll notice that it needs some TLC.
For the best seat in your house, it deserves the best treatment. Let’s get to work.
Day 11: Get your sofa into shape.
Today’s task will go beyond your regular vacuuming and throw pillow cleaning for your sofa. If you don’t have a sofa, you can choose a different seat you frequent, like a reading chair. Just replace “sofa” with “chair” and do whatever can apply to your furniture piece.
Start by removing all throw pillows, blankets, and cushions. (If you took off any of these during your living room reset, you’re already starting with a blank canvas so that’s great! Just be sure to wash these before putting them back later on.) Put anything that can be machine washed into the washing machine. Dry accordingly. For anything that can only be spot-cleaned or hand-washed, take care of that now.
Vacuum under, around, and in every crevice of your sofa. A vacuum with a crevice tool attachment works wonders here! Moving your sofa will let you get any hidden spots, but make sure you ask for help on this. If you really can’t move it, that’s OK too. Do what you physically can.
Follow the care instructions for your sofa to clean it and treat stains. If you are trying a new cleaner, be sure to spot-test it first before proceeding. If it can handle it, use an upholstery cleaner to really get in there. I like the Bissell Little Green for this.
Let your sofa air dry before returning the cushions, throw pillows, and blankets. Make sure to fluff and rotate your cushions — especially if they have been a bit worn on one side.
If there are any major stains that you can’t seem to remove, you might want to mark your calendar (add it to your to-do list!) to get it another day after some research or schedule a professional cleaning, if that’s within your means.
PRO TIP: Regular maintenance is key to extending the life of your items. Consider adding “sofa cleaning” to your calendar so that you have it regularly scheduled.
How did your sofa cleaning day go? Tell us in the comments!
More ways to participate in the January Cure:
- Sign up for email updates or SMS alerts
- Visit the 2024 January Cure page and catch up on assignments
- Join the Apartment Therapy Cure Facebook group
- Download the January Cure calendar
- Get organized with the 2023 Organization Awards
- Check off that you’ve completed this task and track your overall January Cure progress here!
The Cure Program is a tradition here at Apartment Therapy — it happens every January, April, and September. Click here to learn more about the year-round program and when to sign up.