How Often Do We Need to Steam Clean Sofa? Where do you relax at home after a hard day at work? Or where do you entertain and gossip with your guests when they come to your place? No doubt, it’s the well-loved sofa where you can sit, nap and drink coffee, and a lot more.
When your sofa is filled with crumbs, got stains here and there, and giving off a foul smell, it’s time to get your upholstery cleaned. This is where a good steam cleaning comes to the rescue. It will not just ward off the grime, odor, and hard-to-remove stains but also clean your sofa to a shine.
But the real concern here is how often should you steam clean your sofa?
Why cleaning your upholstery regularly is a necessity?
We all want to have a clean and healthy home and an often overlooked area here is that the filthiest and most soiled item of your home is probably the couch you are resting on.
Now, why does that happen?
We never forget to wipe down the counters, mop and sweep the floors daily and even clean our bathrooms. But are we that dedicated to cleaning our furniture upholstery? Our attention is mostly away from the couch, sofa and rugs.
As a result, these places become the breeding grounds of bacteria, mold, fungus, and a host of other allergens in the home.
Why dirty sofa upholstery can bring health problems?
Sofa along with other upholstery in our homes trap a lot of dirt and allergens in their soft fibers. This helps in keeping up the quality of air that we breathe for a short span till the fibers become crammed with contaminants. This, in turn, causes a lot of health risks including breathing problems.
For instance, think of the amount of time you spend on the couch compared to the frequency of cleaning it. As you can think, dust, spillage, dirt, and other harmful germs can stay on your sofa till they spread to other parts of your home.
If you have pets in your home, the risk is further aggravated. Your sofa upholstery will attract dandruff, pet hair, urine, and feces like a magnet. Each of these factors has its negative impact on the indoor air quality in the homes, triggers allergens, and makes us ill.
How often should you clean your sofa?
First of all, it’s worth mentioning that there’s a huge difference between regular vacuuming and steam cleaning. When you clean the surface of your upholstery as a part of your daily routine, you can only manage to remove some dust particles from the surface.
It is very effective in preserving the furniture by removing the dirt on the surface. Otherwise, it would wear down the soft and delicate fibers of your upholstery over time. Spot cleaning is also useful in reducing stains and soiling from the sofa.
But the biggest risk that your upholstery can bring is never visible to the naked eye. Deep dish the fibers of the sofa, some allergens and bacteria cannot be ruled out without steam cleaning.
The general rule of thumb is when you have pets and children in your home, it’s a must to clean the upholstery once in 3 to 4 months.
Even though some people suggest that you can opt for deep cleaning once a year, it is applicable only when you don’t have a pet or kids at home.
If this is not the case, you should consider steam cleaning your sofa at least thrice a year. With this cleaning interval, you can rest assured that your couch will be clean and free of harmful bacteria all through the year.
What are the factors affecting the frequency of steam cleaning your sofa?
Deep cleaning your sofa from time to time will extend the life of your sofa and improve its appearance to a great extent. Some factors are affecting the frequency like the general traffic, illness, and other such issues in your home and the presence of harmful chemicals and particulates.
If your furniture is subjected to a lot of traffic, it’s obvious that it will get dirty faster. With this, your household also runs the risk of various illnesses brewing within.
Moreover, if you have some already existing health issues like asthma and lung infections, it would be necessary to steam clean and sanitize your sofa by a professional. Lastly, aerosols and paints can also leave back their residue in the fabric of the sofa and they may be extremely harmful to your health.
Why is professional steam cleaning necessary?
Regular vacuuming along with spot cleaning is very important for your couch and sofa and they should never be overlooked. But deeper steam clean is indispensable for the durability of your sofa. It is effective in removing toxic allergens and bacteria without any toxic formulations.
Even though many are tempted to steam clean their upholstery by themselves, it’s better to avoid it.
To have an effective cleaning of your sofa and couch, having a professional can be your best bet. This is because a professional exactly knows about the various issues that can arise and what should be done for avoiding them.
Moreover, a professional knows how to extract moisture efficiently since leftover water can lead to significant issues later on.
How Often Do We Need to Steam Clean Sofa? – The bottom line
People hardly ask themselves how often they should be cleaning their upholstery. In some cases, they may have not cleaned their sofa at all. With regular cleaning, you will not only improve the overall appearance of the room but clear off the allergens like pet dander and dust also.
Dirt along with grit grind can pit against the furniture upholstery and over time, it will give a shabby and worn appearance making splits more likely.
When furniture is not cleaned regularly, it will look much older and wear out much faster. To arrange for cleaning rather than preparing to buy a new sofa set to keep your upholstery shining like new.