Furniture Upholstery Maintenance

General Instructions

Growing technology has enhanced the durability of flooring products immensely. Yet, our fast paced world still renders a lot of wear on our floors from spills to the family pet or foot traffic. Regular maintenance and preventative measures can significantly prolong the new look of this important investment. 

The following information is the accumulation of many years of experience, the guidelines of regulatory flooring agencies and the instructions provided by the leading manufactures of flooring products. The manufacturer of your flooring product may have unique guidelines that should be given seniority over the general advice given by Wolfe Flooring. The following guidelines are for regular maintenance, not initial care. Most likely, the initial care your flooring needs is different than regular maintenance. Generally, new flooring products need about 12 to 72 hours after the installation before they are ready for furniture, regular foot traffic, or cleaning of the seams, etc. Techniques, products, etc. change and some situations are very unique; thus, Wolfe Flooring assumes no liability for omissions, errors or the outcome. These instructions may not apply to historic ceramic tile or antique oriental rugs and other very old and priceless flooring relics. Please exercise general caution implementing any of the following guidelines. You're welcome to call us for a specific professional address of your situation.

Instructions on Maintaining Upholstery

Retain the sales receipt and any product description from the purchase of the upholstery. If possible, document the manufacturer's name and the manufacturer's full product description including color. Furthermore, retain a sample of the fabric for comparisons. For insurance purposes, it's good to have a picture of your upholstery in a safe place.

If possible, retain extra fabric of the upholstery for possible repairs that may be needed in the future. Keep the materials in a dry place that stays about room temperature. Do not put this in the attic. Extreme heat can discolor the fabric.

Try to avoid contacting your upholstery with bare skin or with sweaty clothing. The oils from your skin will rub off and attract soiling. You may want to place a decorative clothe around the head rest area to prevent the typical soiling that comes from oil in the hair and hair products. 

Vacuum the upholstery with the appropriate upholstery tool to remove dust and debris and crumbs. Especially, vacuum the joints where debris will likely accumulate. (Follow the operating manual of the vacuum cleaner's manufacturer.)

Change the bag on your vacuum cleaner as specified by the manufacturer to not over stress the engine and to maintain strong suction.

Be especially careful when handling household chemicals (e.g., food dyes, acne medicine, cosmetics, hair dyes, cleaners, bleach, insecticide, plant food, paint, etc.). These chemicals can ruin the manufacturer's fabric dye.

Tend to stains and spills immediately after occurrence. Stains set with time. Many stains that may be removable will become permanent after six months.

Be very careful when using any over-the-counter

cleaner

on upholstery. Some of the name brand over-the-counter cleaners will distort the dye. The dye in upholstery is oftentimes not as fast as the dyes used for residential or commercial carpet. Furthermore, the yarns for upholstery are frequently more delicate than that of residential or commercial carpet. Test the product in an inconspicuous area and leave it for 24 hours. Follow the instructions on the cleaner carefully.

Have your upholstery professionally cleaned on a regular basis. Recommendations vary as to which method and as to how frequently. We recommend that you have your upholstery professionally cleaned when the soiling is just starting to become noticeable. The method will be determined by the manufacture. Wolfe Flooring offers a

gentle, hot water extraction process

for water-safe fabrics. The professional cleaning company you use should leave little residue by using high quality solutions and by doing a good extraction/rinse. Detergent residue left on the fabric will be sticky and thus cause the upholstery to re-soil more quickly.

Apply soil protection like

DuPont's Teflon™

to prolong the need for professional cleaning and to prevent the likelihood of stains from setting.

Reflect direct sunlight away from upholstery to prevent fading.

Tend to repairs immediately to keep repair expenses as low as possible.

Change the filters in your air conditioning system regularly.