If you’ve had a look around our blog already, you’ll know that we cover a huge range of topics here at Residence Style. But when it comes to your living room in particular, for most people the single most important focal point will be your sofa. It’s the place where you relax, gather and socialise with family, and possibly even enjoy a bite or two. But all that means it can endure its fair share of messes, and some of those can be harder to deal with than others! So, here are some of our top suggestions on how to protect your sofa from stains.
1. Rubbing alcohol
Rubbing alcohol is perhaps one of the handiest little cleaning agents available – it’s been used to tackle stains for decades, and it’s cheap to pick up too. One of the main reasons it can be so useful for sorting out the stains on sofas is because it works into the sofa fabric without damaging the exterior. That can make it a reliable way to tackle even the worst stains, like dreaded pen marks!
Using it is simple – it’s just a matter of dabbing the rubbing alcohol onto a clean cloth, and then dabbing firmly at the stain until it’s gone. If it’s a technique you ever find yourself using, don’t forget the essentials! First of all make sure to test it on a discreet area of your sofa, so that you know for certain it won’t make the stain worse. Make sure to use the cloth too, and don’t just apply the rubbing alcohol directly onto the stain. All that will do is keep it wet, and that won’t be helpful in removing it. Finally, just as with most other types of stains, work from the outside in – otherwise, you might just end up spreading the stain!
2. Baking soda and white wine vinegar
Baking soda is obviously the go-to for fabric stains, and with good reason – it’s excellent at neutralising acids. And when combined with white wine, that makes it a highly effective solution for dealing with red wine stains. Now, we know that you may have heard (and been suitably sceptical) about white wine being able to clean red wine, but you might be surprised to find that it’s not actually just one of those old wives tales.
Basically, the reason why it works is because the enzyme in the white wine strips the dark pigment from red wine, enabling it to be far more easily removed. Just as with rubbing alcohol, it’s best to be conservative when cleaning. A relatively small amount of white wine can simply be poured over to cover the stain (using no more than absolutely necessary) and then a cloth should make short work of it. If the stain remains stubborn, then you can turn to your old friend baking soda. Putting a bit of that on will raise the pigment of the stain, so you can deal with the rest of it.
3. Loose furniture covers
The two things we’ve covered above might be effective ways to deal with stains, but as the old adage goes, the best cure is prevention. That’s where loose sofa covers come in. The name is a bit of a misnomer – loose sofa covers are actually bespoke, and made to snugly fit your individual sofa. So, you might be asking, why call them loose?
Well, that’s because they can be easily removed at will, so that you can hand wash or machine wash them and effortlessly deal with stains. They provide excellent protection for your sofa from being stained in the first place, and save you a lot of time down on your hands and knees scrubbing at the mark. Essentially, they’re the next best thing short of somehow being able to cram your entire sofa into the washing machine. Best of all, if they do eventually get too stained after years or decades, then they can simply be replaced, keeping your sofa looking good as new for years to come.
