How to wash upholstery? Specifically microfiber?
I’ve been wanting to share this for a few months now but, because of Christmas I haven’t gotten around to editing the photos and videos until now. I know it’s not an easy task to wash upholstery. I say wash because these article is exactly about that. I’ll be sharing how I deep cleaned my couches and was able to get out even the toughest stains with oxi clean.
Tiny bit of background ( just in case you’re wondering why they’re so disgusting 😬 )
We purchased our couches on craigslist a few years back and surprisingly they were in pretty good condition. They showed slight wear but not too bad. After a few years of using them and with one toddler in the house I’m not going to lie they got pretty nasty. Kind of embarrassed to even show the before photos. I washed the cushion covers about 5 times but, wasn’t able to clean the couch arms until recently. At this point they were still barely.
Than we had a salesman come by and advertise his handy vacuum and OH BOY!! The couch arms were at it’s worst! His vacuum wasn’t strong enough to pull the dirt out of the fabric so it literally brought it all to the top and left it hanging! Thus creating this beautiful dirt patina on our couch arms 😆🙈! I was pretty devastated at this point and finally decided to give it a deep clean.
Honestly I was a bit scared to touch the couch arms. I did some research a few years back and came across the rubbing alcohol method on cleaning microfiber😬. That was a complete flop😑 in fact I think it made my couch look even worse on the arms. Throwing something in the washer is much easier right? Wish someone invented something for couch washing LOL!
Proof the salesman’s vacuum sucked! You can even see the vacuum brush strokes. The suction just wasn’t strong enough to pull up the dirt. 🙁 ! What a beauty ehh?! LOL 😅
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You can use these same instructions to wash upholstery that’s not microfiber as well 😊.
Supplies Needed
- vinegar
- dish soap + water
- 2 – oxi clean max force ( You can get a set of three here – https://amzn.to/2ZzZZqT )
- sponge
- big microfiber towel
- hard bristle hand brush
- Little Green Bissell Vacuum ( You can get the one I have here – https://amzn.to/2Q0RIJx )
I’ve had this little bissell vacumm for years now and never realized I could use it to clean my couch😬. It’s around $100 and can be used on so many things. The suction is great! I spot clean my carpets and scrub the seats in my car all the time with it! It works amazing! Amazon agrees with me🤓. Out of 18 k reviews this little vacumm it rated 4.5 stars. Not bad at all! ( sorry it’s currently out of stock )
Here’s another bissell high rated vacuum with 19k raving reviews
The left of the the vacuum fills with your soapy water and the right side collects all the dirt + water. I used about 1/4 cup of vinegar and a drop of dish soap per gallon of water to create my soapy water. There are special detergents for this however since I was going to use oxi clean for the stain remover I pretty much just needed water to clean the oxi clean from the couch.
I decided to go with oxi clean after trying a few other stain removers. I know it’s not made to use specifically for cleaning couches. This just what I had on hand at the time and surprisingly oxi clean worked like magic! I was pretty impressed.
Here are the other stain removers I tried that didn’t work so well.
Here’s a close up to show you how the dirt was embedded into the couch. Honestly I had no hope for the areas where the piping was. There was so much dirt on them it had a sheen! YEH YUK! I know 😛! The downside to owning #microfiber couches.
A Quick Video –
Let’s Wash upholstery!
Step 1 : Spray The Area Down and Scrub Scrub Scrub!
Okay so it’s pretty simple. Whatever area you want to clean spray it down with oxi clean and use a hard bristle brush to scrub the area. You can let the oxi clean soak in for 3-5 minutes before scrubbing this helps loosen up the dirt!
Here’s how it looked after the first spray down and scrub (photo below). I didn’t add any water. This is all oxi clean. As you can see some areas were still pretty bad after the first treatment of spraying and scrubbing! At this point I was thinking OH shoot! Will this come off 😂😬 !
TIP: When working with microfiber work in sections at a time. Do not get your whole couch wet as your fibers need to be smoothed out before it dries each time.
So I repeated that treatment again in the same area. Spraying down the area with more oxi clean and scrubbing again. I let the oxi clean soak in for 5 minutes the second time around before scrubbing. Here’s the end result. ( photo below) NOT BAD! Right? There’s hope 🙌!
Step 2 : Cleanse !
You should be able to see if there’s any stains that need removing before the cleansing step. Stains show up pretty well if you have the stained area wet evenly. Just be sure not to wet your whole couch all at once when working with microfiber.
To remove all the oxi clean from the couch I used my bissell vacuum. Simply push on this knob ( photo below) and it’ll spray the soapy water.
Than suck up all the water by simply running the vacuum over the fabric. To top portion (photo below) is where suction happens while the bottom half has a brush and option to spray water.
Don’t push too hard as it leaves lines in the fabric afterwards when you wash your upholstery especially microfiber fabric. I pushed down about 1 inch into the fabric and sucked up all the water in the area I was working on. Repeat spraying and sucking up water until the water being sucked into the vacuum is clear. I repeated these steps about 2 times in one area to get the water coming out clear. This is all it would take to clean regular fabric. For microfiber follow the steps below.
Step 3: Microfiber tip!
If you’re working with microfiber it’s important get sections evenly wet. Areas that aren’t wet might leave marks once dry. I used a wet sponge and rubbed it around to get the edges in each section wet. You’re pretty much creating a fade with the wet sponge.
Step 4: Last Step For Microfiber!
The last thing you’ll need to do is rub all the microfiber fibers in one direction before that area dries. If your area dries before you can do this you might have to get it wet again to move around the fibers for a more even look. I learned the hard way. This last step makes a huge difference if you want your couch looking like new again.
Here’s the before and after! Looks New to me!! Still can’t believe how great these couches look now. ( here’s a pin you can add to pinterest for later – photo below – CLICK ON PHOTO TO PIN )
I hope you found this helpful if you’re looking to wash your own upholstery! Maybe it’ll give you an idea of where to get started! I love oxi clean it does an amazing job of getting those deep stains out.
That’s all for now! I’ll see you all next time.
xo,
Lily
Amazing results, thank you for excellent directions.
So happy to hear this was helpful 🙂
What did you use to clean the cushions?
I spot sprayed all the stains with oxi clean and used a tiny bit of persil detergent to wash it. Washed it in cold water and let it air dry.
No I just let it air dry on it’s own. I’m sure a fan would be helpful 🙂
Didn’t think I could salvage my couches, but thanks to you I’m sitting on freshly cleaned set!
YAY!!! I’m so happy to hear it worked! 🙂
I am 99% certain we have the same couches. I can’t wait to try this. Question, what do you wash the seat and back cushions with in the washer?
OH wow! What a coincidence. I sprayed the covers down with oxi in areas that had stains and used a tiny bit of persil detergent to wash them in the washer with.
Thanks for sharing this process! I was given an old loveseat from my friend, and it needed some major cleaning work before I would even want to put it in my home. I usually just get all my upholstery cleaned once a year by a local carpet cleaning company and they do great work. But for just one sofa, I thought I could clean it myself. Your method worked very well and I will definitely use it again. Thank you so much!! I’ll be recommending your blog to my friends!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear this worked for you. Thank you Sarah 🙂
I also have used Chem-Dry to clean my carpets and upholstery. I am a big fan of my local Delta Chem-Dry’s upholstery cleaning in Northridge, CA. But with recent economic situations, I have been looking to doing it on my own. I really enjoyed this furniture cleaner step-by-step process and my microfiber sectionals look brand new because of it! Thank you Lily!
Hi so happy to see this article. I also have microfiber sectional. I love it but it really needs to be cleaned. Can I wash the cushion covers in the machine?
Hi, YAY! I’m so happy this was helpful. I washed my cushions in the wash machine all the time. Just be sure to wash them in cold water and lay flat to dry. I would also test the spray in a spot that’s not so visible to be sure it’s not bleaching or ruining your fabric before you clean the whole couch with this method. 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions 🙂
I have the exact same couch. I removed seat and back covers and washed them in warm water then hung to dry. Worked perfectly. I did however have the devil of a time getting all the stuffing evenly back into back pillows. I was still very satisfied with the results. I will try the Oxo clean to spot clean now for sure.
will this help remove bedbug stains?????
Hmm Not sure. Never had a problem like that.
I took your idea and modifed it slightly. I was going to use alcohol until i read your comments about it not working. My sofa has minor spots so I ended up mixing about 1/8 c vinegar, a drop of baby shampoo, and a Qt of water and put the mix in a spray bottle to avoid saturation. I sprayed, scrubbed with a white bristle brush. I towel dried overnight & it worked! OMG. I should have taken before pics.
WOW that’s awesome! You didn’t even use a vacuum? So cool and you used such simple products!
My furniture has needed upholstery cleaning for so long! this is so helpful!
I can’t wait to try this upholstery cleaner! We have our upholstery cleaned every year and it does wonders at keeping our furniture looking its best. But with busy, messy kids, we need something for in between professional upholstery cleanings.
It’s one of my favorite things to clean with at home. I think you’ll love it!
same couch over here!
AND I just borrowed the little green machine from my mom, perfect timing.
Thank you for all the directions/instructions.
Can’t wait to try this.
Oh nice. Sweet of her to let you use it! The vaccum is so handy!
Thank you for sharing these tips! I am always looking for ways to keep my couches clean between professional cleanings.
OH YAY! glad to hear it was helpful! And happy you’re enjoying your couch again/