Coffee and tea, food, pets, crayons, ink, the list of things that can stain your upholstery is almost endless. Depending upon what type of material your upholstery is made from, most cleaning chores will be pretty straightforward. Like all household chores and do-it-yourself projects, there are some cleaning tips and techniques that will help to make your job easier.

Cleaning leather upholstery

Some types of upholstery require the services of a cleaning professional

1. If your quality leather furniture is suffering from want of a good cleaning follow these tips to restore it to like new condition.
2. You may want to check the tag on the bottom of your leather furniture to determine what type of leather and finish it has and then clean it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Vacuum the furniture thoroughly. If your vacuum is adjustable, use a lower setting to avoid damage to the leather.
4. Mix a few drops of a mild soap with water and wipe down the leather upholstery.
5. Rinse the cloth or sponge thoroughly and wipe the leather again to remove all traces of soap residue.
6. Buff the leather dry with a soft cloth or chamois.
7. Apply a coating of a good leather conditioner according to the instructions.
8. If there is an ink stain on your good leather furniture, it is best to use a commercial leather spot remover to remove it. If you want to use a homemade solution, try a mixture of cream of tartar and lemon juice to blot the ink stain.

Cleaning fabric upholstery

1. As with leather, vacuum the fabric thoroughly to remove the heaviest dirt.
2. If the fabric is heavily soiled, you may want to use a steam cleaner.
3. Use as little water as possible with the steam cleaner and vacuum up as much water from the wet upholstery as you can.
4. Remember to vacuum the upholstery again after it has dried well.
5. As with leather upholstery, fabric upholstery comes in many different combinations of natural and manmade materials. It is best to try to identify what the upholstery material is and base your cleaning methods on that information.
6. Any fabric with more than 50% cotton content usually needs to be cleaned with special techniques and solvents so consult a professional before attempting to clean it.
7. For removing spots and stains, use a mild fabric spot remover to presoak them.
8. Use very little water to blot them up.
9. Avoid getting water on metal parts of the furniture. Dry them immediately if they get wet and apply a light coating of a light machine oil.

Tips

Leather furniture is almost always a combination of leather and vinyl, naugahyde, or fabric so clean each section of your fine furniture accordingly.

Always check the furniture label to determine the make up of the leather or fabric and look for any manufacturer cleaning instructions.

Test any unfamiliar commercial or homemade cleaning solution on a hidden area of the furniture before use.

Most wood furniture today is made from a combination of veneers and high tech sheet goods like premier grade finished hardwood plywood, medium density fiberboard, or melamine. Those products require specific repair procedures. In cases where solid woods are used, either softwoods like pine and redwood, or hardwoods like mahogany, oak, walnut, and cherry, repairs of such defects as dents and scrapes are pretty straightforward. The type of finish the furniture has plays a part in the type of repair as well. Oil finishes are easier to repair, in general, where lacquer or shellac finishes involve different techniques and more attention to detail.

Preparation

Hopefully, your furniture damage is not this severe!

1. Determine the type of finish your piece of furniture has.
2. Clean the woodwork thoroughly.
3. You can use a mild solution of warm water and mild detergent or a product specifically formulated to clean fine woodwork. Do not ever use a furniture wax product to clean the wood.
4. If you are uncertain what cleaning product will work for your piece, test it first in a small, inconspicuous area. Be aware that antiques require special treatment in order to preserve their value.

Repairing dents

1. A dent from a blunt object is easy to repair in most cases.
2. Inspect the dent first. If the wood fibers are not torn, you can use a damp cloth and a heat source, typically an iron, to raise the grain of the wood.
3. Dampen a cloth in cool water and place it over the dent.
4. Turn your iron on warm. Place it over the damp cloth and hold it in place. Steam will begin to rise from the cloth.
5. Raise the cloth after a minute or so and check the dent. When it is raised to the same level as, or a little higher than, the surrounding wood surface, remove the cloth and dry the surface gently.
6. You may need to sand the former dent to make it flush to the surrounding surface and smooth it for the finish. Use a fine grade of sandpaper, then steel wool.
7. Remove all the sandpaper grit and steel wool remnants.
8. Apply a small amount of the finish material that the piece of furniture is finished with.
9. Blend it into the surrounding area.
10. Depending on how much you sanded away, you may need more than one coat of finish. Sand between coats.

Repairing scrapes

1. Make sure you clean the wood finish as above.
2. For a scrape that is limited to the wood finish only, you can touch it up with a number of different products like Old English.
3. Touch up the scrape carefully with a furniture touch up stick matching the color of your existing piece.
4. With some touch up sticks you may not be able to apply a finish over the top of them because they contain some wax.
5. Buff the scrape gently with a soft cloth. If the scrape is still visible, you may need to repair it following the directions for a dent above.

Tips

For small cracks, you can pull the sliver of wood up slightly and work a small bit of white wood glue in to it with a sharp object like a knifepoint. Press the sliver back down and clamp it if necessary. Use pads or rags to protect the surface.

You can use an ammonia/warm water solution, alcohol, or acetone to clean some wood surfaces but be sure to test it first in an inconspicuous area like inside or underneath a drawer or door or underneath the piece.

Use alcohol or ammonia on shellac finishes, lacquer thinner on lacquer finishes, and paint thinner or mineral oil on oil finishes to thin or clean them.