Tips for Spring Cleaning your Furniture

Is there anything better than a fully cleaned house, windows open to catch the fresh breeze? Well, yes. A beach-side lounge chair and a mojito, but the clean house is a close-ish second. Everyone has their spring-cleaning checklist, though I’ve noticed furniture is often missing from those lists. Which is a shame, because furniture deserves the same attentive cleaning the rest of the house gets each year.

Cleaning furniture regularly (aka, a minimum of once a year, though more is always good) can help extend your furniture’s life. So here are a few things to add to your spring-cleaning checklist this year — I promise it won’t take long! You can get out on your patio and into the sun soon.

Upholstery

In an ideal world, everyone would clean stains off their upholstery the moment they happen. But who are we kidding? I have a dog, cat, and three kids — so that’s obviously not always going to happen. During spring cleaning, I do a few things to keep my upholstery looking as close to new as possible:

Wash cushion covers.

If your cushion covers have a zipper, that means they’re removable. So, do just that and wash the covers on cold with a small amount of mild detergent. Hang dry (DON’T put them in the dryer) — I wait until they’re only a little damp, just shy of dry, then put them back on the cushions to finish drying.

Steam clean the couch body.

For the rest of the couch — or when cushion covers aren’t removable — I steam clean with an upholstery cleaning solution. Though this is only for synthetic fibres. For cotton, linen and other natural fibres, I use a microfibre cloth and a teaspoon of powdered tide in a bucket of water to blot out all the stains.

Leather

Leather contains natural oils and moisture that dries out over time. As leather dries out, it becomes stiff and prone to cracking. Regular maintenance and conditioning prevent the dreaded cracking. It’s easy to do, too — just grab some leather cleaner and conditioner (I use Chemical Guys) and follow the product instructions.

Ideally, you should condition your leather twice a year (every six months). So, spring cleaning is a great time, then again around thanksgiving.

Cushions

You know that cliché where someone sits in the same place on a couch or padded seat, and they make this little divot or dip in the padding that never goes away? Well, you can prevent that by fluffing and rotating your cushions and pillows. This ensures even wear, preventing the dreaded dips. Check out my social post later this week to watch me fluff mine!

Technically, for best results, you should rotate and fluff your cushions on a regular basis. Spring cleaning is a good time to do it intentionally, just in case you forgot throughout the winter, which, would be understandable.

Rugs

You probably vacuum your rugs, area and otherwise, regularly, which is great! Keep doing that. However, even after vacuuming, dust particles, pests, and more might remain behind, getting absorbed into fibres. This can lower the longevity of your rugs and might even reduce the overall hygiene of your home. Ew.

So, let’s talk about how to clean those potential petri dishes. If you have wool or large synthetic rugs, ask a professional to clean them. This might be bringing smaller area rugs in or calling them to come to your house for larger rugs. For washable rugs, now is the time to toss them in the washer and hang them to dry. (As with the cushion covers, don’t put them in the dryer!)

Wood

Your wood furniture needs a little love every once in a while, too. Sometimes the dust, grime, and residue from our everyday lives sticks around on surfaces, covering up the natural grains (for stained wood) or inner lustre of the wood. Giving these wood pieces a good polish and condition rejuvenates the wood and brings it back to its original beauty. Grab your favourite polish or conditioner and give them a good shine.

If you’re like me, whose family has a blatant disregard for coasters, you may have some watermarks and stains. All is not lost! Check out this link to get those rings off.

Lamps

The final piece of furniture, and arguably one of the most important pieces to care for! Afterall, they brighten our rooms and our lives. So, as your final furniture spring cleaning task, take a damp cloth and give each of your lamps a gentle wipe — from the shades down to the base. This removes the dust and helps them shine bright.