How to Clean Velvet Furniture – The Right Way

• Velvet furniture is extremely luxurious and versatile. Even the pickiest ones find it appealing.
• Still, the stereotype about velvet upholstery exists – people say it requires high-maintenance and exceptional care.
• However, we’ll break that myth by showing you the right way of how to take care of velvet furniture and clean it.

Velvet fabric furniture is probably one of the most luxurious ones. Place a bright and rich color velvet couch at the center of your dull living room, and an overall interior will level up in a flash! 

Original velvet fabric is made of woven tufted silk. However, such material is pretty expensive, so people started to make some variations of it adding cotton, wool, linen combined with synthetic fiber velvets, such as polyester. Being much more budget-friendly, this type of synthetic velvet has become extremely popular in the furniture industry.

Couch or sofa is probably the most popular furniture where velvet upholstery is used. Although there are opinions that velvet furniture requires high maintenance, we can assure you that there’s nothing unusual or extreme in cleaning velvet couch. To put it simply – as in taking care of any other furniture, cleaning velvet sofa also requires some simple tips and tricks to keep in mind.

Okay, enough talk – let’s take some action!

How to Clean Velvet Fabric: General

IMPORTANT: Before we dive into the whole how do you clean the velvet furniture process, it’s important to note that authentic and original velvet (an expensive one) is taken care of differently than synthetic velvet upholstery. Therefore, before you apply any of the methods explained below – make sure you have investigated your furniture label and made sure that it is indeed made from synthetic materials. Otherwise, we highly recommend you hand the cleaning job to the professionals as natural velvet fibers are much harder to clean at home having no special equipment.

Velvet upholstery is pretty delicate and requires periodical care. In order to keep the royal look of your fancy furniture much longer – we recommend you follow this super easy cleaning routine at least once a week:

1. Clean the dust off. At least once a week, vacuum clean your velvet upholstery as this will clear away all the dirt, dust, as well as hair and crumbs from your food leftovers. 
2. Brush your velvet sofa. I know it sounds like too much but, believe me, this will only take 2 to 5 minutes for you to do so! Simply get yourself a sofa cleaning brush and brush your velvet upholstery following the direction of the velvet fibers. It’s a kind of therapy!
3. Investigate the stains. Now, if you notice any old or new stains while cleaning your couch – move on to the next paragraph and act immediately! (Unless your couch is made of original velvet. In this case – call the professionals and book a dry cleaning service).

How to Clean Velvet Fabric: Removing Stains

Want it or not, things happen and the stains appear on your lovely velvet couch when you least expect it. Well, it is what it is! Luckily, removing the stains from the velvet furniture is not that troublesome. However, there are still some things to remember.

First of All – Rapid Reaction

• Once you notice any stains on your furniture – act immediately. Do not wait for your friends to leave or your movie to end – the situation is pretty urgent. The faster you react – the more likely the stain will disappear.
• On the contrary, the longer you wait, the more difficult the stain will be removed. Your goal is simple – to not let the stain soak into the material.

Second of All – Cleaning Detergents

IMPORTANT: Pay attention to the wash care label. It is important to double-check what materials are your couch or sofa is made of before you apply any cleaning detergents on it. You don’t want to ruin your expensive furniture, do you?

• Cleaning detergent No. 1: lukewarm water and soap. Simply dissolve some soap into the 1 – 2 cups of water (depending on the size of the stain), and use this solution to rub off the stain.
• Cleaning detergent No. 2: dishwasher and water. The idea is the same – pour a few drops of dishwasher into 1 – 2 cups of water until it starts foaming. Use only the foam for a cleaning.
• Cleaning detergent No. 3: special upholstery cleaning solution + water. You can find such cleaning detergent in any store. In this case, you can also consult with the professional and get some advice on how to use any particular cleaning solution.

TIP: No matter which cleaning detergent you’ll choose, it’s wise to test it on a less visible area of your furniture first.

Third of All – Cleaning Process

For that you’ll need:

1. A vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment
2. Sofa cleaning brush
3. White cloth that’d absorb the fluid
4. Homemade or special cleaning solution (recommended in the previous paragraph)

• Start with vacuum cleaning your couch or sofa. Make sure there are no crumbs and dust left on it.
• If the stain is wet – use the white absorbent cloth to sop up all the excess liquid. Blot gently the dirty area until the majority of the liquid is removed.
• Wet the stain using a cleaning solution. Take another clean cloth, soak it into the cleaning solution, and gently blot the stain until it is removed. Important: No rubbing or hard pressing! You don’t want the stain to soak into the fabric.
• Air-dry your velvet upholstery. If you have time – simply open the windows and let the stain air-dry itself. Do not take any further action until it air-dries completely. 
• Vacuum clean the surface. After the stain is removed and the surface is dry – time to restore the beauty of your velvet couch! Use a vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment, and vacuum clean the whole surface following the direction of the velvet fibers. Alternatively, use the soft upholstery brush and gently brush the surface in the same direction as the fibers are woven.

General Maintenance of the Velvet Furniture

Having a velvet couch is a true pleasure – not only it is an admirable view to your eyes, but also an amazing feel to your skin. Velvet couches are super soft and nice to touch. However, since velvet upholstery is usually made of bright and shimmering color, therefore there are some valuable tips you should remember to avoid the color fading of your dazzling furniture.

• Cover your furniture. If your furniture is designed for everyday use – you might want to preserve its initial form by placing some nice blankets or similar coverings on it (at least on those parts where people mostly sit). 
• Avoid direct sunlight. This is a thought that should run through your mind even before buying the velvet furniture. Do you have a place where the direct sunlight would not reach your luxurious furniture? It is really important because the sun will most likely make the color of your couch fade away. Ok, don’t be disappointed! If you do not have space without direct sunlight anywhere in your home – simply think about some additional blinds or curtains to put on your windows.

Congratulations, you have finally cracked the so-called difficult and troublesome velvet cleaning process! It wasn’t that hard, was it? Like everything in this world, cleaning, maintaining, and protecting your velvet furniture require just some extra a little bit of your attention and some extra effort. Therefore, if you are considering purchasing this marvelous piece of furniture – go for it!

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