What better time to cuddle on the couch than winter?
Upholstered furniture brings a sense of comfort, coziness, and warmth to a home – especially so during the winter. There is no other time of the year when your cushy sofa and soft armchairs look as inviting and lovely as during the cold season. The low temperature, chilly winds, and persistent snow prompt you to stay indoors and seek relaxation and enjoyment in the warm comfort of your home. And this means spending more time on the couch, of course.
With so much use, however, it’s inevitable that your soft furniture gets dirtier and shabbier during the winter months. The upholstery absorbs dust, bacteria, spills, and odors, stains appear on the surface, and your furniture starts looking dull and worn out. To restore its attractive appearance and excellent condition, you need to clean and refresh your upholstered pieces – without delay.
Contrary to popular belief, spring is not the best time for upholstery cleaning – your furniture will benefit a lot more from sprucing up – preferably by experienced professionals – in the end of the cold season.
Here are the top reasons why winter is the perfect time to clean your upholstery (and why professional cleaning is your best bet):
Why Should Your Upholstery Be Cleaned in the Winter
It is generally recommended to deep clean upholstery every 6-12 months. Winter is the perfect time to complete this task for a number of reasons:
- You and your family spend many hours indoors, enjoying your time together – eating, drinking, playing games, and relaxing on the couch or in your comfy armchairs by the fireplace. All this activity, however, causes a lot of wear and tear on your soft furniture and may often result in ugly stains on the upholstery;
- The holiday season brings a lot of extra traffic in your home – gatherings, parties, family reunions, etc. With so many people going in and out of the home, dancing and feasting in the living room, sitting on the sofa and chairs, etc. your soft furniture sees a lot of abuse and gets dirty very quickly. (Besides, you’ll certainly want your upholstered pieces to look their best when entertaining guests, so you may want to consider professional cleaning before the holidays as well);
Family time on the couch.
- During the cold weather, the windows are kept closed most of the time and less fresh air enters the home. As a result, dust, bacteria, and pollutants accumulate in greater amounts in the indoor environment and get absorbed in the upholstery. Considering how much time the average family spends on the couch, these contaminants can become a significant health hazard – they are released into the air anytime someone sits on the upholstered furniture and may easily lead to illnesses or allergies when breathed in;
- Drying time is a critical factor when deciding when to clean your upholstery – you want the fabric to dry as quickly as possible to avoid the risk of mold or mildew developing. A lot of people think that things dry faster in the summer (when it’s warm and sunny outside), but in fact the opposite is true in regard to items that are left to dry inside the house. Due to home heating in the winter, the air within the house is warm and dry, so it absorbs moisture at a faster rate. Therefore, your upholstery will dry faster in the cold months, reducing the chance of mold growth and allowing you to resume normal use of your furniture within several days.
The more soil builds up in your upholstery, the harder it is to remove. Some spots may even become permanent stains if left to settle in. Besides, the longer dust and dirt remain in the upholstery, the more damage they can do to the fabric. It is, therefore, advisable to clean your soft furniture on a regular basis (vacuum the pieces once a week and spot clean stains as soon as they appear) and consider professional cleaning after periods of intense use (such as after the holiday season, for example). Professional upholstery cleaning will not only keep your furniture looking fresh and inviting all the year round, but will also prolong the life of your pieces and help improve the air quality in your home.
Why Professional Upholstery Cleaning Is Your Best Option
If deeper cleaning is needed to restore the good condition of your upholstery, the job is better left to the professionals. They have the specialized equipment, expert skills, and professional know-how to complete the task in the safest, fastest, and most efficient way possible.
Here are some of the major benefits of professional upholstery cleaning:
The pros will restore the perfect condition of your upholstered furniture in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
- Professional cleaning prolongs the life of the upholstery by keeping it fresh and free of dust, stains, and debris (thus protecting the fibers and reducing the signs of wear and tear on your furniture). So, while hiring upholstery cleaning services may seem like an unnecessary expense, it will actually save you a lot of money in the long run as you won’t have to worry about the cost of replacement;
- Quality upholstery cleaning results in a healthier living environment – all allergens, bacteria, and contaminants are effectively removed from the fabric and any dirt and dust that might have accumulated on the furniture for the last few months are washed out, leaving you with a fresh, odor-free home;
- Professional upholstery cleaning companies have state-of-the-art equipment especially designed for the job – high powered upholstery cleaning machines, specialized cleaning products, etc. The special equipment makes the cleaning process faster, easier, and much more efficient;
- Professional cleaners are highly trained and have rich experience in dealing with upholstery cleaning, spot treatment, and stain removal. They are familiar with the specifics of different types of fabrics and know what cleaning products and techniques will be most appropriate for your upholstered furniture. What’s more, the experts use non-toxic, environmentally friendly cleaning solutions that contain no harmful or potentially dangerous ingredients, so they’re safe for everyone, even for kids and pets.
Having your upholstery professionally cleaned in the winter is an effective way of keeping your home clean, fresh, and healthy all the year round. Just make sure you find an experienced, trustworthy upholstery cleaning company to work with – then your sofas, chairs, and other upholstered items will look and feel their best and brightest in any season.
