Regular Maintenance for Upholstered Furniture

by Nick, Digital Specialist | April 20, 2023

Congratulations on your new living room furniture. Please take a few minutes to review this extremely important tutorial on what maintenance you must do on a regular basis to keep your furniture looking great for years to come.

#1 Keep your furniture clean and free of debris.  Fabric looks its best when it is free of dirt, food and drink and pet soiling and hair.  So don’t let these things accumulate. Have kids change their outdoor play clothes for indoor cleaner ones or if someone in the household works in a job wear their clothes get dirty, change those soiled clothes for fresh ones before taking a seat. Keep shoes off the couch. If eating on the sofa, do it on a tray or make sure you have a blanket covering the area around you. If pets go on the furniture, put a cover down or remove their hair on a regular basis with a lint roller and fur removal tool. At the very least take your cushions off if they are removable and bat them to remove dust, dirt and hair, and vacuum under the cushions regularly. If you have reclining furniture recline the piece and vacuum underneath. Use a pilling brush or fabric shaver to remove pills that collect soil and can be unsightly.  

#2 Rotate, flip and fluff you seats and backs every couple of months or more frequently as needed. If your seat cushions are removable, rotate them to different spots in the sofa or sectional so they all get to wear evenly.  If the fabric is on both sides of the cushion also flip them over. Fluff your backs one of two ways…either through the fabric itself by kneading the filling all over the back while pressing upwards. Or by removing the filling or bag of filling, separating and kneading the filling extensively, then replacing it inside the back cover. The manufacturer puts just the right amount of foam filling in the back cushions. Adding more filling adds extra weight that creates drag on the back seams and can do more long term harm. So don’t add filling, keep on fluffing!

#3 Have your furniture professionally cleaned every few years if you experience general soiling or an accumulation of stains. Don’t let soiling or stains set in for too long before addressing them as they become harder to treat as they set. Your professional cleaner will most likely ask for your fabric cleaning code which should be on a label under your cushions or can be provided by the store you purchased your sofa from. For cleaning semi aniline protected leather, use a reputable leather cleaning kit and follow its instructions or wipe gently with a damp clean cloth.  For fully aniline and unprotected leathers, consult a professional cleaner.

#4 Invest in a furniture care protection program for things you can’t control. Accidents happen. Many furniture stores offer accidental protection at additional cost that covers a variety of things not covered by manufacturer's warranties. General wear and tear are never covered under protection programs so you still want to maintain your furniture on a regular basis. For more info on protection plans see our video on them.  

To sum it all up, your living room furniture is an investment.  But it’s also something that is supposed to be used. Something your family is going to enjoy and make memories on for years to come. Protect it and keep it looking fresh by developing some of the furniture saving habits we mentioned here. If you have additional questions about furniture care email us at service@suburbanfurn.com and check out our other educational articles and videos online at the Suburban Furniture Learning Center.