How do I know my leather sofa needs professional cleaning?

When a leather suite is bought in a shop, it is sold as a ‘no maintenance’ piece of furniture which is in accurate. It is probably lower maintenance than other suites but it still needs just as much care and attention as any other piece of furniture on a daily basis.  

The care you give can be very straightforward by wiping the leather suite down with a general-purpose leather cleaner, but it's very important a leather cleaner is used because using a harsh cleaning solution can harm the finish on the leather. 

After a period of time, usually 12 to 24 months and in some cases 36 months, if the leather doesn't get a lot of use, on the surface the suites appearance might be still in a reasonable condition but the leather will still need some professional attention particularly in the crevices and the stitching of the leather.  Sometimes those areas go unnoticed but it is important that this is removed because it starts breaking down with deteriorating the polyurethane finish over the top of the leather that is protecting it.

If a leather sofa is used on a daily basis that it will unfortunately come into contact with greasy and sweat from hands and human hair.  This is sometimes unavoidable but it is a pity for the sofa as sweat and grease will form an acidic base which will start to deteriorate the finish on the leather.

At the Art of Clean we have seen several cases where the leather has been left without any professional cleaning and the grease has built up and the leather has sadly deteriorated. 

It is like your car, it is sometimes better to get the car cleaned on a regular basis and then waxed and protected then to leave the vehicle for many months without cleaning it and then expecting a perfect finish when you take it to a car wash.

How do we clean leather at Art of Clean?

Firstly, your leather suite will be inspected for any imperfections or permanent stains.  We will then vacuum, paying particular attention to the crevices of the suite to remove any dry soiling. If your sofa is used daily by the family, then it will come as no surprise by how much hide in the corners and the back of the sofa cushions.

Once that is done, we will use a special mild cleaning agent and foam it up onto the leather.  In many cases we will use the foam in a sprayer (by using the foam it is much lower moisture than just using a mix of cleaning solution and water) this is agitated into the leather which emulsifies the soil and then is wiped away.  In many cases this process would have to be repeated.  

Great care has to be taken because high contact areas that this exposed from this to the sweat from your hands can sometimes deteriorate the leather and if care is not taken while cleaning you can remove the topcoat.  In cases where leather was cared for properly over the years, this is not a worry at all.

Once the leather is nice and clean we will then add a coat of protective finish which will be applied over the top of the leather thus protecting the leather from future spills and potential stains.

We advise our customer not to use the leather suite that evening but return to normal use the following day.

How can you care for your leather suite in between the professional cleans?

Wipe your sofa down on a regular basis and do not let dirt that build up on it.

Keep a vigilant eye for any colour transfer from trousers and jeans, if this is prone to staining by jeans, it maybe best to cover the seating places with a throw.

From time to time vacuum into the corners and the crevices and behind the cushions off this leather suite to remove any dry soil.

Careful when sitting on the sofa with trousers with buttons on it as it can harm the leather.

Insure a professional is called in that he is trained and qualified to clean your leather suite every 12 to 24 months and insure a protective coating is applied after the clean.

Art of Clean is a specialist cleaning firm in: 

Wood Floor Sanding,

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,

Rug Cleaning,

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning, 

CLEANING PRODUCTS

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information on our services contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or email us at info@artofclean.co.uk

What to do with your old sofa? Clean, reupholster or replace?

Sofas are no small investment, your looking at anything between a few £100 and a few thousand.

So when your sofa looks like its seen better days what should you do? Clean, reupholster or replace?

Here are a few options to help you make the best decision for you.

Cleaning

DIY cleaning - this is OK for a little spruce up but, as with carpet cleaning, your only going to scrape the surface of the issue, leaving much of the dirt deep in the fibers.  You may hit some other major drawbacks such as colour loss, fiber damage, cover shrinkage and very stubborn staining.  Without correct knowledge on upholstery cleaning you risk doing further damage.

Cost: £10 approx for cleaning products

Professional cleaning - following an inspection of the sofa good professional will give you a breakdown of what is realistically achievable by cleaning - decided by the degree of staining and fabric condition.  A successful clean, using either the hot water extraction or dry cleaning methods, should remove practically all the marks and leave your sofa looking close to new again.

Deep cleaning the fabric removes debris that would otherwise start to break down the fibres. The added benefit of having your sofa cleaned is your sofa will now last for many more years. This is not a chequered cushion, we've simply cleaned the three light areas to show the incredible difference. Remarkable, huh?

 What a difference a professional cleaning makes.

 

 Extraction cleaning upholstery

Cost: Approx £100-£200 or so, depending on size and condition

Reupholstery

DIY reupholstery - This can be a very satisfying and cost effective way of jazzing up an old sofa - sewing experience will be necessary!  Be under no illusions, this is not an easy job.  But getting the look you want for just the price of materials (that is; assuming your sofa is the right style and not in need of structural repairs), you can have a great looking piece in a matter of days.

I found this great blog that takes you step-by-step through the process 

http://do-it-yourselfdesign.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/how-to-re-upholster-sofa.html

The author says "Every part of my body ached after finishing this project, and I felt like I couldn't use my hands for 2 days" .....

Cost:  £200-£400 (depending on you choice of materials)

Professional reupholstery -If, like many, you lack the skills, confidence or time to reupholster yourself - but still want your individual style - then a professional upholsterer is needed.  Using your old sofa they can update and rejuvenate the upholstery and cushions, giving you a practically new, and often almost unrecognisable, reincarnation of your old sofa.

For outstanding work see Jones and Jones of Cambridge http://www.jandjfurniture.co.uk/

Cost: Approx £400-£500 and up (depending on material and size)

Replace

The quick and easy, though more costly, option.  There are a huge number of sofas out there for sale, in all shapes, sizes and styles.  And if you buy them on sale then you may grab yourself a bargain.

The drawbacks are cost, quality and style.

Buying a cheaper sofa will mean the materials are not so great, meaning the sofa will look good for a few years but will probably then need to be replaced. The frame will be cheap wood, probably even ply-board, the stuffing will not be high quality - sagging over time, and the upholstery will be synthetic.

Cost: £500-£1000 plus

If in doubt, call the Professionals.

Art of Clean are specialists in: 

Upholstery Cleaning 

Leather Furniture Cleaning,

Hardwood Floor Cleaning, 

Stone floor Cleaning,

Carpet Cleaning,
Rug Cleaning,

Working for domestic or commercial clients throughout Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

For more information about our services please contact our friendly team on 01223 863632 or visit www.artofclean.co.uk.

 

 

Upholstery cleaning Cambridge - cleaning chairs for The Lazy Otter

The Lazy Otter near Waterbeach, Cambridge, needed a few chairs cleaned from their dining room.  Upholstery unfortunately absorbs spills quite quickly, so although they had tried to the best of their efforts to keep the seats clean and fresh inevitably over time stains will begin to appear.

Cleaning the upholstery with shop bought upholstery cleaner will remove some of the stains, however it will be a lenghtly process without guarentee of success, espceailly on older, tougher stains.  So the Lazy Otter decided to send the chairs down to our workshop, where we could use our high powered machines to extract much of the build-up of dirt - not only topically but deep down too! - and dry the chairs quickly so that they don't remain damp and develop mold.

I think you'll agree the chairs came up well. They almost look newly upholstered! Best of all, because they were deep cleaned there will no longer be dirt wearing down the fibers so these chairs will last much longer.

If you have upholstered furniture that needs some TLC contact Art of Clean for further information and we can discuss the services we offer.  Call us on 01223 863632 or see our website www.artofclean.co.uk to find out more.

We are a professional cleaning company who specialise in Carpet Cleaning, Rug Cleaning, Hardwood Floor Cleaning, Stone floor Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning and Leather Furniture Cleaning for domestic an commercial clients.

Sofa cleaning - Why Choose to Hire a Professional?

Everybody's sofa will at sometime need a good clean.  Soft furnishings are perhaps one of the largest cash investments in most households, ranking certainly within the top five items, such as the family car, carpets, new kitchen, new bathroom fittings. Regular cleaning by an NCCA qualified cleaning technician and regular consumer maintenance will extend the life of the delicate upholstery fabrics significantly, as well as keeping them looking good.

Why use a professional upholstery cleaner?

Now, washing your own sofa covers occasionally is fine....however, over time the covers will start to loose their colour and can start to shrink.  Because the covers are fully immersed into water the dye will invariable start to move.  If only the cushions and arm protectors can be removed and washed then you will be faced with the problem that these will start to fade whilst the non-removable fabric will retain its colour...resulting in a two-tone appearnce.

So what can a professional do that is diffrent?


"These more delicate fabric constructions require a more gentle approach. Using detergents specially formulated for upholstery fabrics, an NCCA trained technician will be able to select the correct method to clean your upholstery fabrics safely and efficiently”. NCCA Website

Firstly they will assess the sofa material so as to plan the best cleaning method, it is important to assess whether the sofa requires a wet cleaning or dry cleaning process.

Here are the 8 steps we take to ensure you have the cleanest upholstery:

1. HIGH-FILTRATION VACUUM
First we vacuum with a high filtration cleaning system specifically designed for super-high performance professional cleaning. Very few upholstery cleaning companies in Cambridge take the time to thoroughly vacuum before the cleaning starts.


2. PRE-SPOT DIFFICULT STAINS
We will pre-spot all difficult stains. That is we will carry out specialist stain removal techniques on stains – or that we know will be difficult to remove using non-specialist techniques.


3. PRE-SPRAY AND AGITATION
Next we will apply a pre-spray specially designed to electro-mechanically lift oily dirt and pollutants from the fibres. At Art of Clean, we will gently massage the cleaning solution into the fibres.


4. UPHOLSTERY CLEANING HOT WATER EXTRACTION
The hot water extraction unit we use cleans much better because it heats the cleaning solution and then pushs it into the fibres. This helps to break up the dirt, bacteria and pollens in the fibres. The machine then produces a huge vacuum volume to draw the dirt and chemicals out of your upholstery. The dirty water and polluted air is vented outside to our cleaning unit. This allows your indoor air quality to remain very high. These steps are not always followed by other upholstery cleaning companies in Cambridge and therefore we offer a far superior service.


5. RESIDUE RINSE
We use the upholstery extraction machine to ensure a residue free rinse that ensures the integrity of your fibres and helps to retard re-soiling on your upholstery.


6. GROOMING
Where, appropriate we will groom your upholstery to leave it in best possible condition. This usually means we run a grooming brush over the fibres to ensure that they are tangle-free.


7. PROTECTION
This is excellent choice if you have a busy household or also if you want to ensure cleaner upholstery for longer. It makes regular upholstery cleaning easier and aids in effective removal of spills. Upholstery protector does wear off and would need to be re-apply every 12 to 18 months.


8. RAPID-DRY
Finally, we’ll use special dryers to aid rapidly drying of you upholstery so you use them much quicker than normal.

Contact Art of Clean for more information about the services we offer.  Call us on 01223 863632 or see our website www.artofclean.co.uk to find out more.

We are a Cambridgeshire based professional cleaning company who specialise in Carpet Cleaning, Rug Cleaning, Hardwood Floor Cleaning, Stone floor Cleaning, Upholstery Cleaning and Leather Furniture Cleaning cleaning for domestic an commercial clients throughout Cambridge, Essex, Suffolk, and Hertfordshire.