You have a gorgeous suede couch, and it is a timeless piece giving your living space that luxurious and roomy feel it needs.
But oh my word, you spilled coffee on it. What to do going into a frenzy. There is no need to panic as suede couch cleaning is not that difficult.
Shoe, what a relief. But how do you clean a suede sofa? We can help sit back for a while as you will have your couch clean in no time.
Here we have some tips for you to keep that beautiful sofa of yours maintained with helpful methods to remove stains.
Table of Contents
How Often Should You Clean a Suede Sofa?
Whether you cover your couch or not, it eventually needs a good cleaning. However, when it comes to stains and spills, it helps to clean your suede couch promptly.
Further, it also helps to give that sofa a vacuum at least once or twice a month. However, if you have pets, try to vacuum them once a week.
Doing this helps to remove loose soil and grime. For thorough cleaning, every year is surface.
Important Things To Know Before Cleaning Your Suede Couch
Your suede sofa can be made from different fabrics, such as brushed animal hide or microfiber suede. For this reason, it helps to know what it is made of before you start using suede couch cleaners. You can find many products online, but we will show you how to clean your couch with household products as well. So before you start cleaning, check if your sofa is made of the following:
- Microfiber suede can be made from nylon or polyester fiber woven and cut to give it a plush and soft feel. The material is more resistant to grime, smudges, and dust.
- Natural suede such as leather has a more fuzzy feel that is thin and very porous when dyed or undyed, allowing you to see the grain.
Great, but what if I do not know the distinction between the suede used in my sofa? What then? We recommend looking at the sofas tag to state how you should clean the material. These can be in different codes, as seen here:
- Code S needs dry cleaning, or you can use a suede couch cleaner with a water-free solvent.
- Code W fabric needs cleaning using a water-based suede cleaner for the couch.
- Code W-S you can use a water-based or a solvent-based product.
- CodeX is a tricky one, and best to avoid using just any cleaning product. With these fabrics, it helps to give it a vacuum by a professional as the home cleaning products can cause the material to shrink or stain.
Keeping Your Suede Sofa Maintained
Now that you have checked the label for the fabric used in your couch, it helps to know how to vacuum your couch.
- Start by removing all the cushions if your couch allows for it. Next, collect everything landing up underneath the pillows.
- Give each cushion a vacuum with your upholstery attachment using a criss-cross motion as it helps remove pet hair and dust.
- After vacuuming, use a soft suede brush on the cushions to remove the dirt you have missed.
- Keep rotating the pillows in different positions to prevent wear and tear.
- Also, brush the surface of your sofa at least once a week with a nap rubbing cloth to remove the dust and restore its shine.
Cleaning a Natural Suede Couch
Always start by vacuuming your couch, as mentioned in our tips.
How To Clean a Suede Couch Removing Wet Stains?
If you have spilled a beverage or food on your couch, it helps to act fast. As suede is sensitive to moisture or liquids, it can damage the upholstery. Take a clean natural color rag and blot it gently to remove the moisture. If residue remains behind, blot the area with a damp clean cloth.
You can use a special suede couch spot cleaner but always test it on a small section of the fabric. Leave it for a few minutes and use a damp cloth to rinse the area off. Next, take your hair dryer to dry the spot. Now another method if your child or a pet weed on the couch you can do the following:
- Take four parts of water mixed with one part of distilled white vinegar and use it on the soiled area.
- Take a cloth to gently scrub the urine out and sprinkle some baking soda over the spot. Then, cover it with a rag and leave it on for six hours to dry.
- Take your vacuum cleaner, and using your upholstery attachment remove the powder from the pillow.
- Now, you can spray a fabric freshener on the area.
Alternatively, you can use cornstarch or an oil absorber to glue removes to remove sticky residue.
Cleaning Greasy Stains
There is no need to panic if you notice greasy stains from enjoying popcorn or a slice of pizza. However, when you treat them straight away, it helps to prevent the stain from staying behind.
Take some talc powder and splash it on the stain allowing it to soak up all the oil. Leave the powder for up to an hour to start its magic as the powder changes color.
When this happens, you know it has absorbed the grease. So take your suede brush and brush away the powder.
But if you notice old stains rubbing them with a pencil eraser helps. You can also invest in a special eraser for suede. After erasing out the old stain, please give it a brush to remove the excess dirt.
However, some stains, such as ink, need a professional sofa cleaner to remove them. Great, now how do I clean a suede couch where the stains dry? As with old stains, you can use the eraser over the spot.
After brushing it off with your suede brush and it is still there, you can use some white vinegar applied on a dry towel to rub over the area and leave it to dry. Next, take your brush and rub the area to smooth it out.
Cleaning Your Microfiber Suede Couch
The microfiber has a different texture than natural leather. You can use a water-based suede couch cleaner. So if your sofa has a WS code, you can use soap and water, while a couch with S-tag works with rubbing alcohol. Before cleaning both types of microfiber suede, please give it a good vacuum before you start.
How To Clean Microfiber Suede Sofa With Soap and Water?
- After removing the loose soil and dirt, create your suede couch cleaning solution. First, take a large bowl and add four cups of warm water to it. Next, take one-fourth cup of dishwashing liquid and swirl it with your handheld mixer to create suds.
- Get another bucket with clean water ready.
- Dip a soft brush in the suds and not the water. Start at the top of the cushion, back / sides / front of the sofa. Doing this prevents the dirty foam from mixing with the cleaned area. Also, it helps to spread it evenly and give it a good scrub.
- Keep rinsing your brush with clean water, and make sure it is dry when repeating the steps using fresh suds. It helps to work on small areas when doing this.
- Once cleaned, dampen your cleaning cloth with clean water and remove the suds and move on to the next area repeating the process.
- Once done, leave your couch to air-dry and give it a vacuum with the upholstery brush.
When you need to clean your sofa with isopropyl alcohol, start with a thorough vacuum. Take the rubbing alcohol and pour it into a spritz bottle. Take a bucket and fill it with cool water.
Start by spritzing the solution starting at the top, and while still damp, scrub it with a sponge. Use your clean water to rinse the sponge between using the alcohol and rinse it well before using it on the fabric. Leave your sofa to dry and vacuum.
Frequently Asked Questions
For stains on microsuede sofas, you can use white vinegar or rubbing alcohol. However, on using a small amount of the liquid with a clean cloth. The best is not to oversaturate your rag with too much liquid, as it can make that stain bigger.
It all depends on the type of suede fabric used for making the couch. You cannot use water directly on natural fabric such as leather, but wash microfiber suede with water. The best is to check the cleaning tag of your couch before using any cleaning products.
Always check the cleaning tag before using any method of deodorizing. You can mix equal parts of water and white vinegar in a bowl. Take a soft-bristled brush and dip it in the solution and shake off the excess water. Gently brush over the couch upholstery with the mixture, or you can use a spray bottle instead.
