How to take care of your sofa.
Whether your beloved sofa is in need of a deep clean, or you’re looking for ways to maintain the quality of your sofa – we’re here to offer impartial advice on how best to clean, maintain and care for your sofa.
While we have an extensive fabric library here at Delcor (with over 10,000 premium fabrics to choose from), we never compromise on quality. Whether it be robust leather or opulent silk, we work with the very best of fabric manufacturers and never settle for anything other than truly exceptional. However, due to the nature of lavish fabrics, some materials tend to require a little more maintenance and care than usual. If you need specific advice on a particular type of fabric, feel free to reach out to one of our Delcor furniture experts and they’ll be more than happy to guide you on the right care preferences for that specific piece. However, if you’re looking for general sofa care and guidance – keep reading as we walk you through our most commonly asked questions.
How do you maintain a sofa?
While there’s no one answer that fits all approach to this question, there are a number of things you can do to maintain your sofa’s quality. Starting with the most obvious of three, a cleaning schedule.
Regardless of the general wear and tear your sofa may withstand every day, be it a sofa fit for a lively household or a settee that’s more a decorative element, you should dust and vacuum your settee regularly. Not only will this allow you to maintain the general quality and cleanliness of your sofa, this will also help control the air quality of your living space. If dirt and debris settle on your sofa, this can gradually contribute to the quality of your surrounding environment. While it may be all too tempting to just simply skim the surface with a vacuum, often, debris can gather in your sofa’s nooks and crannies. Because of this, we would recommend removing your sofa cushions and cleaning all surrounding areas (including underneath the sofa!) at least once a week in your regular chore rotation.
As a pointer, most sofa fabrics should be able to comfortably withstand a vacuum, though if you’re unsure, it’s always best to check your sofa fabric’s specific properties and consider opting for a gentler way to remove dirt and debris (either with a soft fabric brush, or lint roller, etc).
Photo: Regular vacuuming will help maintain the quality of your sofa.
Our second recommendation on how best to maintain a sofa, is to take care with the sofa’s structural integrity. While it may appear harmless for children to perch on your sofa’s armrest, consistent wear in the wrong places can damage your sofa. Particularly as an arm rest is often solid, this can cause the fabric to wear away over time. We would also recommend paying attention to your sofa’s cushions and fluffing out cushions regularly. While this all depends on the type of sofa and quality of padding you opt for, making the effort to fluff your sofa’s cushions, either by prodding or poking them, will prevent the sofa filling from clumping. Without this, a sofa is prone to looking ‘lived in’ or ‘flat’, in the same way a bedroom pillow can. However, due to the fact that sofa padding is often firm (and a lot more dense in comparison to a bedroom pillow), once your cushions appear clumped, this padding can become hard and generally uncomfortable to sit on – so taking the time and effort to maintain your sofa’s cushions is an important, but often overlooked part of general sofa maintenance.
Another important structural property to consider is the position you tend to sit in while relaxing on your settee. As we’re often creatures of habit, many of us tend to sit in the same comfortable spot over and over again. While we wholeheartedly encourage you to pick your favourite spot and relax however you see fit, sitting in the same place consistently can result in a greater erosion of sofa fibres in that particular spot. In the same way we would advise your children not to make a habit of sitting on the armrests of your sofa, we would also suggest switching your favourite sofa spot regularly to evenly wear out the fabric – rather than applying constant pressure to that same space.
Easy care sofa fabrics
If you’re looking for an easy way to maintain your sofa and prolong the lifespan of your settee, it may also be worth considering investing in an easy care fabric. While this is often a recommended option for those who aren’t quite yet settled on a sofa and can pick a durable fabric, this can also be something to consider if you’re looking to re-upholster your sofa to increase your settee’s longevity.
Here at Delcor, our fabric collections are designed with both practicality and comfort in mind. While we have an array of signature fabrics for those looking for an additional element of luxury, our most popular sofa fabrics tend to be both hard-wearing and made to withstand plenty of use, giving Delcor customers the freedom to enjoy their settee for longer.
Photo: Choose a hard wearing velvet perhaps, like the one used here on our Fontaine sofa.
Aquaclean Technology
Leading the way in molecular fabric protection, an array of Delcor fabrics that are available benefit from the added protection of Aquaclean. Setting the benchmark in the world of interior design for incredible durability, fabrics treated with Aquaclean allow homeowners to lift stains, marks and spills by using water only. Completely eliminating the need for unnecessary chemicals and cleaning products that could harm your sofa over time, fabrics treated with Aquaclean provide Delcor customers with a simple solution to sofa maintenance in a minimal amount of time.
Easy Sofa Maintenance at Delcor
While there are a number of tips and tricks that will allow you to prolong and maintain the quality of your sofa, here at Delcor, our clients have the added benefit of investing in high grade fabrics that withstand our own personal standards of quality and longevity.
Browse through thousands of fabrics, either online in our fabric guides, or in one of our inspiration suites located in each of our exquisite Delcor showrooms across the UK. Working with suppliers to offer the highest grade of upholstery fabrics that meet our standards of quality and longevity, our range of fabrics include thousands of patterns, checks, solids and prints in a variety of colourways.
Find more inspiration in the following articles:
A Guide to Leather Furniture Maintenance – Delcor