Evidently, if you sit on couches over and over (and even eat on them) them, they are going to get dirty. The problem would not be solved if we allow our kids to eat their snacks on them, either.
Some of you may appreciate this post as the holidays are drawing near and you may have guests coming to your home. I guess you do not have to wait until you have guest coming over but just saying, this may help!!
My couches had gotten some food/drink spills on them and needed to be cleaned out. Using soap and water sometimes got the dirt out but not fully. A few months ago, I saw a post from one of my blogging friends Kristen at The Road to Domestication on micro-fiber couch cleaning. She came across the idea on Pinterest and posted it on her blog. I intended to try her method out but with moving and keeping our stuff in storage for a while, I just got around to it.
I thought it would take longer to clean but it only took me about 15 minutes to clean and the simple method she used, worked really well for our couches. Thanks, Kristen!!
Note: The only con is that as you may know, rubbing alcohol has a seriously strong smell. But it all dissipates quickly once the couch is dried out!! Yea! But do open your windows, doors, turn on fans, or whatever you can if you cannot take the smell during cleaning!
Here goes: This is the state of my lovely 2 year old microfiber couches before the cleaning.
Here are the materials needed to clean them:
Rubbing alcohol (I bought a 16 0z bottle but used only half)
A sponge (I used a “soft-ish” steel wool) Did no harm!
A soft brush
What to do:
Pour a generous amount of rubbing alcohol unto the dirty spots (allow it to soak for just a couple minutes). Using the sponge, rub the dirty areas and you will see the dirt starting to come up on the couch and on the sponge. See my image below:
If your sponge gets too dirty, you may need to rinse it off before moving on to another area of the couch, or use a new sponge.
When I was done cleaning, I went ahead and used a wet rag to lean off the area.
Let the couch dry. The suggested time is 24 hours but mine took less than that. I cleaned it around 11:00 am and it was dried out by late evening. Then use the soft brush in a circular motion to fluff off your couch again.
Someone said, that the couch would firm up after the alcohol dries. Mine did not. So for me the extra soft brush was not totally necessary but I used it anyway.
And here are my fabulous looking couch one day after the cleaning and everything was all nice and dry again!! No need to buy chair covers as my hubby suggested..LOL…men!!
I am not sure if this work for other material of couches since I have not tried it out.
Do you have any easy ways to clean your couches? I would love to know in the comments below!
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27, KJV).
Big difference in the Before and After! Great tip!
I washed my sofa pillows last week after reading a blog post on washing pillows! They are nice and clean and in great shape too, survived the washing machine just fine. Love reading those great ideas from fellow bloggers 🙂
I always wash my pillows and they do well in the wash, too. The only prob – my machine is not very big so the noise goes crazy during the wash!
I so need to try this! I always say that I’m not going to let the grands eat their snacks on my sofa and they give me those little sad puppy dog faces and I cave every single time!
My sofa isn’t microfiber, but I thought I would try out a tiny spot and see how it goes. I do have 2 chairs that are microfiber and I’m definitely going to try this. Thanks for reminding me of Kristen’s post!
It is easy to give in to the kids for our own comfort sometimes. Let us know how it works for you!
What a great tip! Our couches have washable covers, just take off and wash in a washer. IKEA makes it possoble ;). But not everything is washable, so good to know it can be cleaned too. Thank you, pinning.
I was looking for a chair cover for one of our old couches – will have to check our Ikea!!
Love this post! I don’t have microfibre couches but I know some people who do, so pinning for them 😀
Thank you so much Stefanie!!
Oh, it looks like it worked beautifully! Wohoo!!! I need to do mine again. (Durn dog LOL But she’s so cute…)
It really worked great! So simple yet so clean! No dogs here – just kids…lol
I always enjoy cleaning and homemaking tips from one homemaker to another. I never knew how I could clean this! I haven’t had huge spills so far in the past, but just in case we get another microfiber piece of furniture, I’m definitely going to pin this for later. I also shared on my Facebook page. Thanks for sharing this with us at the Creative Style Linkup. 🙂
Thank you Brittnei – I loved partaking in your linky! The trick may even work for other materials, too..not sure!
Simply amazing.It really did a great job cleaning your couch. Thanks for sharing this awesome tip.
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Great tip Zan ! Ours is a older couch and had many spots like that.So, I covered the whole couch with a curtains cloth and stapled it all around. Thank you for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.Would love to see you again next Monday.
Thanks Sahana. We missed you over here!! LOL!!!
I tried this several months ago and it worked great. Like a dummy I didn’t think to turn on the fans and open some windows and without realizing it my cat was stoned from the fumes. LOL
LOL..poor cat! It is amazing how simple things could get the jobs done around the home!
I had no idea you could do that! I have 3 dogs so I know a dirty sofa that could use this. Great post Zan!
~Bonnie
LOL…I think dogs should be allowed to clean the mess they make, too!!
It looks really impressive!
I can’t wait to try it. We haven’t cleaned our couch for more than an year..
What if you add a few drops of essential oils to the alcohol?
Not sure about the essential oils for this. But I love using them for other natural cleaning around the home.
I’ve been able to clean my microfiber couches, but this is even easier. Pinned. Thank you for linking up with Creative Style Linkup! Have a blessed weekend!
Hope this post helps a lot, April!!!
Great information. I have tried your method. It really worked fast. I was ready for 20 minutes. I usually use baking soda. Just spray it on the sofa and wait. Then vacuum it. I hope you find my tip useful. Best regards!