Upholstery Cleaning

Upholstery cleaning for homes and businesses

A sofa absorbs everything a room throws at it — skin oils, hair, food, drink, pet dander — and because it happens slowly, most people stop noticing. The giveaway is usually the arms and headrests going darker than the rest, or a cushion that no longer matches the one next to it. Upholstery cannot be cleaned the way a carpet is. Fabrics behave differently: some shrink, some watermark, some release their dye. So every piece is tested in an unseen area before we touch the visible surface, and the method is chosen to suit the fabric rather than the other way round. We clean upholstery in homes, offices and commercial premises across London, Kent, Surrey and the wider South East.

Residential upholstery cleaning

Most domestic jobs are a three-piece suite, a corner sofa, or a set of dining chairs. We clean in place, so nothing has to be taken away, and a typical sofa takes under an hour.

• Sofas, corner suites and sofa beds
• Armchairs, recliners and footstools
• Dining chairs and bar stools
• Headboards and upholstered bed frames
• Mattress surface cleaning
• Pet hair, spills and general everyday soiling

Commercial upholstery cleaning

In a commercial setting, soft furnishings are usually the first thing to look tired and the last thing anyone budgets to replace. Cleaning them costs a fraction of replacing them, and it can be done out of hours.

• Office breakout seating and reception furniture
• Restaurant, cafe and pub banquettes and chairs
• Hotel and serviced apartment furniture
• Waiting room and clinic seating
• Office chairs, cleaned in bulk
• Scheduled maintenance cleans on a rolling contract

How we clean upholstery

1. Identify the fabric. We check the manufacturer’s cleaning code where there is one, and assess the fibre, backing and construction.
2. Test. A colourfastness and shrinkage test in a hidden area, every time, before anything else happens.
3. Dry soil removal. Vacuuming and hair removal first — wet cleaning over loose debris just makes mud.
4. Clean to suit the fabric. Hot water extraction on suitable fabrics; a low-moisture method on delicate, natural or water-sensitive ones.
5. Groom and dry. Pile reset and air movement to bring drying time down. Most upholstery is dry within a few hours.

Fabrics we can and cannot treat

Cotton, polyester, microfibre, most blends and most modern sofa fabrics clean well. Wool and viscose need a gentler low-moisture approach, which we will use where appropriate. Some things we will decline, and we would rather say so up front than ruin a piece of furniture: dry-clean-only fabrics marked “S”, untreated silk, some antique and loose-weave upholstery, and anything where the test patch shows the dye moving. If we cannot clean it safely we will tell you at the survey, at no cost. Existing damage — sun fade, worn pile on arms, splits and pulls — is not something cleaning reverses. Set-in stains often lighten considerably rather than disappear entirely.

Upholstery cleaning across London and the South East

We cover Greater London, South East London, Kent and Surrey, and we are based in Whitstable. For what we do in each town, see Whitstable, Canterbury, Herne Bay, Faversham, Margate, Ramsgate, Ashford and Sittingbourne, or the full list of areas we cover. Send us a photo of the piece along with your postcode and we will price it, usually within 24 hours. Having the carpets done as well? See our carpet cleaning service — combining both into one visit works out cheaper than booking them separately.