What Types of Upholstery Materials Can Be Steam Cleaned?
Steam cleaners are slowly becoming popular nowadays due to home DIY tips shared on social media platforms. Nevertheless, being viral on social media does make it less effective as a method of cleaning your furniture.
It’s becoming a trend to avoid using harsh chemicals when cleaning various surfaces. That’s one of the reasons why steam cleaners have emerged as the ideal machine to promote a clean and sanitized environment.
Steam cleaning proved to be an effective way to remove stubborn and tough stains, dirt, grease, and more. At the same time, it helps sanitize surfaces by removing allergens and pathogens.
Since it has become a practical cleaning method, steam cleaning techniques have also been applied to clean upholstery, fabric furniture, and even mattresses. However, before you dive into this latest craze, we figured we’d write a primer on how to use steam cleaners on various upholstery materials. Like any cleaning method, using an inappropriate one on material just ruins it. Check out the tips we prepared below:
Do Some Research First on What Upholstery Can be Cleaned
Preparation is the key to a successful steam cleaning process. It’s wise to first check the item’s care label (if it has one). You may also contact the manufacturer to determine if high-heat steamer cleaning is appropriate.
When buying a piece of furniture or a rug, we recommend that you keep the fabric content information and care label that comes along with it.
Synthetic Fabrics are Usually Steam-Compatible
Generally, cleaning fabrics like Ultrasuede and Sunbrella through steam cleaning end up with great results. On the other hand, heavy cotton can usually be cleaned with steam, but you have to be extra careful not to let the steaming unit shoot water onto it (only vapor) since that can lead to visible marks.
Be diligent in observing pre-steaming preparations
Steam cleaning is not an end-all solution to bringing back the luster of your upholstery. There’s a significant amount of preparation that needs to be done to ensure that steam cleaning can end successfully. First, you have to vacuum the object thoroughly. Then, you have to pre-treat the stains (if there are any) through scrubbing.
You may also sprinkle baking soda on mattresses to remove the bad smell embedded with it.
Bottomline
Steam cleaning is not just a fad. It has real benefits, and it might do your health some good to try it out. Steam cleaning is an effective way to remove dust and dirt while killing bacteria in the process. On top of that, it increases the life of your beloved upholstered furniture, which ultimately helps you save some money.
