I'm embarrassed to admit that is my couch. It was once a very nice couch until two little people entered my house. Since, it has become a magnet for spills and spit up. I've had it professionally cleaned several times. Each time I was content with the results but not happy. Stains still remained and at $75 to $100 a cleaning, it just wasn't worth it.
For a while I just gave up. I figured we'd just keep it until spills and spit up ended in our house and then we'd buy a new one. Well anyone who knows me knows that thought was short lived because there is no way I'd invite a guest in to sit on this disgusting disaster. It's MY kid's mess and I even hate sitting on it!
So when I came across a pin from 551 East, I one, didn't feel so bad anymore because someone else's couch was as disgusting as mine and two, couldn't wait to try this for myself. Here's her before picture.
I followed her instructions exactly. I went to the Dollar Tree and bought rubbing alcohol, a spray bottle and a white bristle brush to use. I actually bought a pedicure brush that was meant for nail cleaning because that's all they had with white bristles. Then I went to Target and got sponges that were the same color as my couch as she recommends. With my couch being so light I bought the Scotch Brite sponges that are made from recycled material and have a beige tone to them.
From there, I filled the spray bottle with pure alcohol and soaked the cushions as you see here.
Once it was saturated, I took a dry sponge and scrubbed. You need to put a little "elbow grease" in to it, but nothing major. As you are scrubbing the sponge will start to get dirty and saturated as well. I used about two dry sponges per cushion. Once you have scrubbed and scrubbed, let it dry. Here is the end result after it dried.
Not bad right?!? If you look closely you can see there are two spot that didn't come completely out but I think a second run through the process would remove them. Truthfully, I'm not going to bother because it is going to need a total cleaning again in a week, so I'll just wait until then :-).
The original pinner recommended you take the white bristle brush to refluff the couch after it dried. I didn't need to use it. Mine looked ok with just letting it air dry. One thing to keep in mind, the room and couch will smell like alcohol for a bit. If you can open a window that would help, but in the winter, in Buffalo, New York that wasn't an option so I just in the other room for a bit. Not to worry it will go away within a few hours.
The good news is, I wouldn't be embarrassed for someone to sit on my couch now and instead of $100 to clean it, I did for about $5!!! This is a definite PIN for anyone with a Microfiber Couch and messy kids!
Who would’ve thought that that small amount of alcohol was all you needed to clean your couch? That’s so amazing! Anyway, there’s a lot of ways on how you can clean your upholstery without spending too much. You just have to research which solution can remove a certain stain. Aside from that, never forget to test a small area before going all out, to know if the certain solution you’re using won't be harmful to the material of your furniture. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBo Tolbert @ HJS Supply
It can be quite difficult to clean microfiber couches, and it seems like you have found a great way of doing so. It was really good of you to share this tip with us, since spills and stains often happen on couches and carpets; it’s simply unavoidable! Thanks, and good day!
ReplyDeleteBob Wolfe @ The Maids of the Triad