How to Clean a Sofa

Use the saucepan method to easily clean the surface of your fabric sofa:

1. Mix warm water with one to two drops of a mild washing-up liquid.

2. Dip a microfiber cloth into your solution and wrap it around a saucepan lid.

3. Glide the cloth and saucepan over the surface of the sofa, lifting dirt and grime.

Deep clean stains with equal parts washing-up liquid, white vinegar, and bicarbonate of soda. For the deepest clean, use a handheld steamer to kill bacteria and eliminate odours.

Cleaning a sofa made with delicate fabric can be tricky. When in doubt, try to clean without water by gently dry brushing with a soft cloth.

Suede: scrub scuffs and dirt away with a soft upholstery brush which raises the nap. To treat a stain, delicately rub with a small amount of white vinegar.

Velvet: mix one to two of drops of washing-up liquid with warm water and use a microfibre cloth to dab away any stains. Once dry, brush with soft-bristled brush in the direction of the pile.

Chenille: spot clean using a mixture of one part sparkling water to one half part white vinegar on a microfibre cloth. Restore the pile once dry with a soft upholstery brush.

As much as we love our furry friends, pets may cause odours and shed hair on the furniture. Keeping them off the sofa is easier said than done, so keep these easy techniques in your back pocket to get your sofa looking and smelling like new.

Removing odours: sprinkle a generous amount of bicarbonate of soda all over your sofa and leave for at least 30 minutes, or ideally overnight, then hoover up. If unpleasant smells remain, spray with a mixture of equal parts white vinegar and water (don’t worry, the vinegar smell will disappear when dry).

Removing pet hair: put on a pair of rubber gloves (the kind you use for washing up) and slightly dampen them, then wipe in one direction to gather the hair. You can also use a window squeegee to scrape the hair off the fabric.