Why An Upholstery Cleaner Should Be Your Best Friend

If you want to keep your home clean and tidy, a simple vacuuming and dusting may not be enough. Find out why you should hire a professional upholstery cleaner to keep your home clean.

Deep in the dark depths of your carpet and fabric furniture lies a secret—a dusty, grimey, allergy-inducing secret. While we’d like to think our vacuum cleaners do a good job at sucking it all up, it unfortunately does not. 

If you’re in the midst of putting together your spring cleaning checklist, be sure to check out why contacting an upholstery cleaner should be added to the list. 

3 Top Benefits of Professional Upholstery Cleaning

1. Your carpet and furniture are filthy.

Yes, you read that right. While you may think vacuuming often will keep your carpet clean, dirt and grime cling to deep-embedded fibres and build up over time. Even grease, oils, bacteria and harmful chemicals can accumulate over time. 

Along with your carpets, any soft furniture around your house such as lounges, armchairs, even beds can capture dirt, dust mites and other nasty things that we don’t want in there. For someone with allergies, it’s a sneezing attack just waiting to happen.

This is where a professional upholstery cleaner will become your best friend. They have professional-quality tools, equipment and products that can get deep within furniture, mattress, carpet and rug fibres and get rid of what our vacuum cleaners miss. 

labrador dog laying on beige armchair seat

How often should you get your carpet and upholstery professionally cleaned?

When buying good-quality carpet, rugs and upholstery furniture, you should be advised how often it’s recommended to book a professional clean of them. Most carpet and upholstery cleaners will recommend having both (and your mattress) done at least twice a year, or more frequently for heavier use.

2. Professional cleaning will help maintain upholstered furniture and rug value.

A few marks here, some fading and grime there. When it comes time to sell upholstered furniture or rugs, you don’t want these seemingly little things to be the only thing in between you and the item’s actual worth.

This is where your new best friend the upholstery cleaner comes in. By keeping on top of your professional carpet, rug and upholstery cleaning maintenance, you’ll be able to secure top value for your items (provided they’re in good condition too).

Not only that, but your furniture will be in such good condition, you may even decide to hang onto the pieces a bit longer. 

living room with grey lounge and pot plant and red persian rug

3. Not all furniture and carpet can be treated the same way.

Upholstery cleaning is not a one-size-fits-all kind of job. Some materials will require special products or a more gentle hand, while others may need post-cleaning treatment to keep them in good condition.

The problem is, even if you look up online the best care advice for a particular item, you may end up doing more damage than good. A professional upholstery cleaner will know the right products, tools and techniques to use to ensure everything is cleaned and in like-new condition.

What can an upholstery cleaner clean?

You can assume anything that is upholstered, including car interiors can be professionally cleaned. Again, you’ll either want to know exactly what you’re doing and what’s in the products you’re using so you don’t devalue your rugs, carpet and upholstery.

room with grey lounge with colourful pillows and wall art

More Information About Professional Upholstery Cleaning

What is involved in a typical upholstery cleaning service?

Every upholstery cleaner will have their own processes, however, most will follow similar steps.

  1. First, the item will undergo an industrial or commercial-strength vacuum to remove as much dirt, grease or other pollutants from the fibres.
  2. The cleaner will then sanitise the item and spot clean, if needed.
  3. Finally, a portable hot water extraction tool will be used to rinse out all the products and break down any last dirt and grime.  

For carpets, the cleaner may also use a specialised tool to groom the fibres. This helps decrease the drying time as well as prevent traffic patterns from forming in the carpet.

black and red vacuum cleaner on red carpet

How long will an upholstery cleaning service take?

The length of the service can depend on just how much is needed to be cleaned. A single piece of large furniture can take around 30–60 minutes to completely clean. While a standard size residential home with carpet can take around 20–30 minutes per room. 

You’ll also want to take drying time into account.

How much does hiring a carpet and upholstery cleaner cost?

The cost will vary on the size of job, but most businesses will offer a standard rate per room. Expect to pay anywhere from $30 per room upwards for carpet cleaning, while upholstered furniture will be around $30 per seat, depending on the fabric.

If you need stain removal, check if this is included before booking in the job as it may come at an additional price.

Feature Photo by taylor hernandez on Unsplash

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      Brit McDowell

      Lifestyle Specialist & Subject Matter Expert

      Brit McDowell is a Product Specialist at Localsearch with a background in marketing, business and tourism management. Aside from her specialisation in technical processes, Brit is known for her green thumb and growing succulent collection, love of dogs (especially Dalmatians), eye for home interior and fervour for travel. Brit is also a Lifestyle Specialist on the Localsearch Blog and enjoys sharing her research and knowledge in home and gardening services, food, beauty and general lifestyle tips and tricks.