Bringing in professional cleaners occasionally can bring out some benefits that home cleaning cannot, such as time-saving, or having specialized equipment used that you don’t own.
However, the cost is one factor that often puts people off hiring cleaning services. Or if they do hire them, they choose packages that only cater to certain areas, such as deep cleaning cookers and stoves.
In the US, the upholstered furniture industry was said to be worth around $16.7 billion in 2018 according to Statista. And yet some people see no significance in taking extra care of their upholstery despite much of being expensive to replace.
Upholstery is often one area that gets neglected, even when a professional cleaning service is used for other parts of a home. So, is it worth using an upholstery cleaner, or can you just do it yourself?
What is meant by upholstery?
Just to clarify what is meant when upholstery is mentioned, it is all the elements that make up the coverings on furniture.
Therefore, it isn’t just the material you see, but also the padding, springs, and webbing too.
By and large though, to the average person, upholstery simply refers to the material covering that can be seen and touched on any household furniture. This means armchairs, sofas, and stools, for instance.
Many different types of material can be used in upholstery, but not all materials are suitable. Some will also need extra care. While silk does make good upholstery material, it is expensive and should be used in rooms with little traffic or usage. This material will also need specialist cleaning.
Is it worth using professional upholstery cleaners?
Using a professional upholstery cleaning will bring about many advantages, as you will see below. The factors that decide whether a professional upholstery cleaner may be down to the following.
- How much free time do you have?
- Whether it suits your budget
- How expensive is your upholstery?
- In what condition is your upholstery?
- Whether the upholstery is yours or your landlords
One advantage of using professional cleaners is that they will save you time. However, whether they are necessary may depend on if your furniture is falling apart, or in good condition. Professional cleaners can bring a dull seat cover back to life, but they can’t work miracles.
Nevertheless, paying for upholstery cleaning could be the difference between you receiving your security deposit from your landlord, or having deductions made.
What reasons are there for using professional upholstery cleaners?
Apart from potentially pleasing your landlord if you have come to the end of your tenancy, there are other reasons to use professionals to clean your upholstery.
One of these is to make the home healthier. Upholstery can harbor some unpleasant allergens such as pollen, pet dander, and dust mites. Mold can also grow on upholstery, and may not be immediately obvious if the cushions aren’t regularly removed and cleaned.
The EPA has reported on how mold can affect a person’s health, and this can grow from dampness. Dust mites are another problem that cannot be removed by simply vacuuming upholstery, although this will help somewhat.
Using upholstery cleaners can help to bring dull material back to life by removing months of grime and dirt that has been embedded in the fibers. This dirt is also damaging to the materials used in upholstery.
Therefore, one more reason to use professional cleaners is to make your upholstery last longer. Although there is a cleaning fee involved, you could save money for longer by not having to replace furniture, or recover it with new upholstery.
How often should upholstery be cleaned?
For most people, upholstery cleaning isn’t going to be a regular event. This is good news for smaller cleaning budgets.
There are some areas in the home that get forgotten about when cleaning time comes. You could almost certainly pick some areas to add to your annual home cleaning list. But upholstery can be put off for a little longer in some cases.
Manufacturers recommend a professional upholstery clean once, perhaps twice, every two years. It could be included in a thorough spring clean each year or performed more often if you have heavy traffic, or pets in the home.
Can’t you clean your upholstery yourself?
You can certainly clean upholstery yourself, and there are quick and easy home cleaning tips all over the net.
One thing to be careful of when cleaning upholstery, is to spot test the material. Whatever cleaning solution you are using could potentially damage the upholstery. Therefore choose an area that is not visible to test whether your cleaning product is suitable before going for a thorough clean.
Summary
Upholstery cleaning can be performed by yourself, or by a professional. Using professional services may be wise as the deep clean will remove allergens, extend the life of the furniture, and will be insured.
Many home cleaning remedies can damage certain materials, or remove dyes. Cleaning services will be insured against any accidental damage, and will also be knowledgeable about how to look after your upholstery.
