Every time someone sits on a sofa, air is pushed out of the cushions and drawn back in, and the filling keeps a share of whatever dust was in the room. Skin flakes build up in the seams and along the arms, and that is what dust mites feed on. A clean lifts a lot of this out of the fabric and the top of the filling.
The tag under the cushion
The code on the tag under the seat cushions tells us what the fabric will stand. A W is fine with water-based cleaning. An S should not get wet and we say so before touching it, and an X means nothing but the vacuum. If someone has cut the tag off, which happens a lot, we test inside a zip or under the skirt of the sofa. Leather needs different products and belongs with a leather specialist.
Dust first, then the rinse
We vacuum the whole piece with a brush head, cushions off, working the crevices where crumbs, hair and grit gather. Dog hair gets loosened by hand first, since it weaves itself into textured fabric and holds dander with it. Arms, headrests and the front edge of the seats get a pre-spray for body oil. Then comes the rinse, with the upholstery tool on the same machine we use for carpets, at lower pressure and with far less water, so the filling stays close to dry.
Airing it
We stand the cushions on edge, apart from each other, so air reaches both faces. An open window for the afternoon makes a big difference. In a flat where the windows only tilt, leave the extractor fans on and the living room door open. By the evening most sofas can be used again. Nothing scented goes into the fabric, so for an hour or so the room smells of damp fabric and after that of nothing at all.
What it costs
A two-seater is £57 and each extra seat £26, so three seats come to £83. For an armchair it is £33. Dining chairs are £13 each and office chairs £11. A corner sofa is counted by its seats. Scotchgard on a sofa costs £13 per seat, applied once the fabric is clean.
| Clean | Price |
|---|---|
| Two-seat settee | £57 |
| Armchair | £33 |
| Mattress clean | £35 |
| Dining chair | £13 |
| Curtains, short drop | £35 |
| Curtains (long drop) | £42 |
Sofas in Battersea lets
Furnished flats around Clapham Junction and in the Nine Elms towers can go through several occupants in a few years, and a sofa that has had three sets of tenants has three sets of dust in it. If you have just moved in, it makes sense to do the sofa before your own cushions and throws go on it. The mattress and the curtains collect the same household dust and can be done on the same visit. Marks the clean leaves behind get treated as stain work. Every figure we charge is listed under prices.
Questions we get asked
The sofa came with our rented flat. Is it worth cleaning when we move in?
If it has been through a few tenants, yes. The dust and skin in the filling do not show, although the arms and seat fronts usually carry the body oil. Check the lease for anything about furniture, then book it with the bedroom carpets so the minimum charge does not come into it.
How is a corner sofa priced?
By the seats. The first two cost £57 together and every further seat adds £26, so five seats in an L-shape make £135. If yours is an unusual shape, describe it on the phone and you will have a firm figure before we come.
Can a velvet sofa be cleaned?
Usually. Polyester velvet cleans well. Cotton velvet can mark and crush if it is over-wetted, so it gets a test on a hidden panel and a very light rinse. While the pile is still damp we brush it all one way, which stops it drying in patches that catch the light differently.
Will cleaning get rid of the dog smell?
It improves it a lot. Some of the smell sits deep in the filling, where cleaning only partly reaches, so a sofa the dog has slept on for years will be much better and may still not be perfect. We do not cover what is left with perfume.