Custom furniture can be a beautiful addition to your home design, but it's also vulnerable to stains, spills, mildew, and other types of damage. Keeping your upholstery beautiful requires careful maintenance. Here are a few examples for keeping your couches, chairs, and other pieces of furniture looking and smelling like new.

How to Care for Your Upholstery

1. Vacuum

Just like your carpet, your upholstery tends to collect dust, mold spores, and allergens. Vacuuming it can help remove this debris and reveal bright colors that were hidden beneath the grime. Use gentle settings and attachments to protect the fabric—don't just run your floor unit over the couch.

2. Clean Spills Quickly

A fresh spill is much easier to clean than one that has had time to set. Dab or press instead of rubbing, as rubbing forces the liquid deeper into the upholstery. For stubborn or odorous stains like pet messes, you may need to use a special cleaner to ensure the substance is completely neutralized.

3. Have a Schedule

Besides major stains, furniture accumulates skin, oil, and grime over time. Vacuuming isn't enough to get rid of this buildup, so buy an appropriate upholstery cleaning product and use it regularly according to the instructions. This may require either surface treatments, or laundering the covers from your furniture.

4. Try Hairspray

It may sound surprising, but hairspray is one of the best ways to lift stains from pen and markers. Spray it on, then blot the area. This is especially helpful if you have children who like to draw on your furniture.

5. Hire a Pro

For stubborn stains, persistent smells, and damaged surfaces and seams, take your furniture to an upholstery professional. They offer restoration options for antiques, custom pieces, and other treasured furniture. They may also be able to reupholster pieces that are too severely damaged to fix.

For professional upholstery maintenance, repair, and restoration, choose Lines Circles & Angles Custom Upholstery & Repair in Cincinnati, OH. They are Hamilton County's expert in returning furniture to like-new condition and preserving valuable antique upholstery. In business since 1975, they have thoroughly refined their techniques to clean and repair your favorite furniture without risking damage. To schedule services, call (513) 984-1074 or get in touch online.