How often should upholstery and couches be cleaned?
About every one to two years, and sooner for pieces used daily or in homes with animals and children. A couch absorbs body oil every time somebody sits on it, plus spills and dander, and holds it in the fibres — so a couch can look fine and still smell lived-in. Upholstery is quoted from a photo.
The interval follows use, not the calendar
One to two years covers most pieces. The chair somebody sits in every evening is on a shorter clock than the formal sofa nobody uses.
If animals lie on the furniture, six to eight months is the outside limit. Animal oils are the hardest thing to get back out of a cushion, and the difficulty is almost entirely a function of how long they have been in there.
What is actually accumulating
Body oil, mostly, and it is not water-soluble — which is why a home machine passes straight over it. It concentrates on the arms, the headrest and the front of the seat cushions.
People used to throw plastic covers over a good couch. It looked ridiculous and it was solving a real problem. We stopped using the covers and the oils did not stop arriving.
What a proper clean actually is
The same three-step chemistry the carpet gets. An alkaline step to release the body oils and animal oils out of the fabric. A neutralising rinse, because alkaline residue in fabric is sticky and sticky attracts soil. Then protector, which only bonds to fibre that has actually been neutralised.
Release, neutralise, protect. Skip the middle step and the third does not work, on a couch exactly as on a floor. And the tag code decides everything before any of it: W is water-based, S is solvent only, WS is either, X is vacuum only.
The follow-up
questions.
Photo quote per piece — text a photo and you get a number. Every job is subject to the $200 minimum service charge, so bundling a sofa with chairs on one visit is how most customers meet it.
Six to eight months at the outside. A waterproof pet blanket over the cushions stretches the interval considerably, and it is worth vacuuming underneath it regardless.
No. Upholstery is cleaned with far less moisture than carpet, using a hand tool with strong vacuum recovery. Most pieces are dry within a few hours.
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