No matter how you try, upholstered furniture shows signs of wear over time. Spilled drink, food stains, or just having pets and small children around, cause your upholstery in your Miami residence to look less than brand new. Of course, taking care of it, and cleaning your upholstery periodically can certainly help both keep it looking nice and prevent unpleasant odors, ingrained stains and more.

How to clean your upholstery? Here are 7 tips:

1. Check the fabric

Make sure that you take a look at the manufacturer’s label before you start cleaning. Synthetic fabric and natural fabric (or a blend between the two) require different cleaning solutions and stain treatment.

2. Where’s the stain?

The size and location of the stain are important. If it is a big stain in a prominent area, it might be best to call in professional upholstery cleaning services. For a small stain in a non-visible part of the upholstery, you may be able to clean it by yourself.

3. What made the stain?

Is the stain grease, oil, a soda drink, or maybe wine? The nature of the stain requires a different treatment, with varying degrees of success when you use common upholstery cleaning solutions.

4. When was the stain made?

Speed is of an essence, especially when you are looking to get your upholstery cleaned. If a stain is left to set over a few days, you might need to call a professional upholstery cleaning service, as they use more powerful upholstery cleaning solutions that can shift and clean even the most stubborn stains.

5. Cleaning coffee stains

If you spilled a small amount of coffee on your upholstered chair, get a bowl, and mix a small amount of dish detergent, water and vinegar. Dabbing gently at the stain can help get rid of it.

6. Cleaning small spots

If you drop a little food on your upholstery, you might be tempted to start spraying water on it – but don’t. That can leave a water ring on your upholstery. Scrape off what you can (with a dull-edged knife, for example), dampen a microfibre towel slightly, and with a circular motion, wipe the stain off. Use gentle motions, and rinse and repeat with the towel as often as is needed.

7. Turning over the cushions

This solution is often overlooked by many people. You can extend your upholstered furniture’s life very simply, by making sure that every so often you turn over the loose cushions. Your chairs won’t develop indentations from people sitting in them quite so quickly, and there’s a more even distribution of wear and tear.