A light-colored sofa is often a very attractive choice in living rooms that are light and modern, but although you may be in love with your new furniture, keeping it safe and well preserved can be a very stressful experience.
Sofas often represent the centerpiece of your furniture setup and living space, and many sofas are fairly expensive, particularly for something that looks great and is comfortable.
Preserving lighter furniture can be really difficult and present a lot of challenges, but there are many things you can do to make sure your sofa stays gleaming for years to come.
In this guide, we’re going to look at both proactive and reactive strategies as there are many things that can threaten your sofa and not all of them are something that can be anticipated! But without further ado, let’s take a look at how to protect your sofa.
Regular Cleaning
The first and most important thing to do with any furniture is to maintain it well. This means regular cleaning to remove grime, dust, and other material which can slowly start to fade and wear down the shine of your sofa.
Making sure to clean under the sofa and beneath the cushions is really important as dust builds up and thrives in hard-to-reach areas and leads to more and more dust building up and spreading.
For a leather sofa, a simple wipe down with a microfiber cloth can go a long way to help prevent dust build-up, while a feather duster can be a good choice for upholstery.
Vacuuming
Another key thing to remember is to vacuum clean your sofa, particularly if it’s upholstery, as dusting can only remove some of the filth building up on your sofa.
Skin cells and other filth can be hard to reach and harder to remove, and can eventually lead to unsightly staining. Regular vacuuming will help prevent these issues and collect up other dust and filth that sofas collect also.
Vacuuming the rest of your living space will also help prevent dust build-up on the sofa too, so don’t neglect this.
Prevent Stains
Stain prevention is probably the most important concern for light furniture, as a stain can really spoil the whole aesthetic of your suite.
Don’t eat or drink on your sofa, or apply nail varnish or makeup as these can all create stains that will be nearly impossible to remove.
While it can be difficult to prevent your children, friends, or significant others from abiding by these rules, trying to impress upon them the importance of this as a ruined sofa can be really upsetting and distressing.
If you have pets, train them to not jump on the sofa, or get them a nice comfy bed of their own to keep them off your beloved furniture and preserve its quality.
Use Stain Remover
If the worst should happen and a stain does find its way into the material of your sofa, don’t just allow it to sit there!
While some stains are notoriously difficult if not impossible to remove, don’t give up all hope until you’ve tried a good stain remover as this could save your sofa from the clutches of spilled wine or ketchup.
Make sure to use a stain remover designed specifically for furniture however to ensure you get the best results and don’t add to your problems.
Hide Or Cover It
If you know you’re hosting a party of decorating you have a few options open to you to preserve your sofa in the heart of such festivities.
One option which can be useful is to temporarily move your sofa to a different room or even into storage depending on how long and chaotic the party will be.
This can be costly but it’s a small price to pay to prevent damage to an expensive or sentimental piece of furniture.
Another option is to cover the sofa with sheets to prevent any spillages that may occur from actually ruining your sofa.
You can get creative with this option and use coverings themed to your particular party or if you have pets you could have a regular blanket that is a favorite of your pets to keep them off the sofa while still allowing them to sit on it with you and cuddle.
Move The Sofas Around
Sunlight can affect the color of your sofa and this is nearly unavoidable unless you consider moving your sofa around and trying to prevent it from getting bleached, particularly if only certain parts of the sofa are in the sun.
Fading colors can make your sofa look worn, so consider moving things around and rearranging your room from time to time to prevent this issue.
Occupy Different Seats
Another thing you can do to preserve your sofa is to not always sit in the same place! Naturally sitting in the same place will add stress to your sofa and if this only occurs in certain areas, this will cause uneven discoloration that can be difficult if not impossible to fix.
React Fast To Staining
If something gets spilled on your sofa, don’t panic, and certainly don’t try to ignore it either!
The longer any liquid or food is left untreated on your sofa the more damage the sofa will sustain and the more difficult it will be to remove the stain!
The key is to act swiftly and try to prevent the spread of whatever is causing the stain while trying to absorb it and simultaneously refrain from rubbing the stain in and worsening it.
It’s a delicate and difficult procedure but if you act quickly, particularly for leather sofas, disaster can be averted!
