I want a clean couch.

February 8, 2011 8:34 AM

I need helping cleaning this filthy couch. Give me your best cleaning tricks!

We bought this couch a year ago and always have a hard time getting it really clean. When we bought it, we didn't make the "fabric + cats + baby = dirty" calculation. Here are two pictures. The surface seems to be made of a kind of catch-all felt. When we vacuum the couch it always leave these small debris (we tried with two relatively powerful vacuums).

posted by ddaavviidd to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

It looks more like you just have fuzzies and not in need of actual stain removal.

It might take absolutely forever, but have you taken strips of packing tape and patted the sticky end over the surface of the couch?

Lint/pet hair rollers also work like this.
posted by royalsong at 8:38 AM on February 8, 2011

Is it just the bits of debris making it look gross, or is the couch actually dirty with things like, well, dirt? Or cat pee/baby spit-up?

If it's just the debris, have you tried a lint roller? One of those with the sticky gel you can wash off and reuse, not the tape ones.
posted by phunniemee at 8:39 AM on February 8, 2011

Response by poster: Sorry for the confusion. It's just the visible debris. A lint roller doesn't really pick them up because they're too big (I tried both the tape and 'velcro' kinds). I'll give packing tape a try.
posted by ddaavviidd at 8:41 AM on February 8, 2011

Try an actual lint brush not a roller. They're shaped like hairbrushes, only instead of bristles they have felt/corduroy fabric that's brilliant for stuff like that.

(Kudos to you, btw, for having the restraint not to ask for "sofa cleaning hacks")
posted by mkultra at 8:48 AM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]

For getting debris and cat hair off my microfiber couch I use the back of a rubber cat groomer.
This one, specifically. I drag the back edge over the fabric and it pulls up everything. Your fabric is different than mine, but perhaps you have something rubbery and stiff around the house you could try.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:48 AM on February 8, 2011

Maybe a bit overkill, but you could always rent one of those upholstery/carpet cleaner dealies from the grocery store, and try that. With the water/soap involved in that process, you may find you lift up more of the shmutz than with just a vacuum or a lint roller. It costs about $60 to rent for the day, but make use of it. Do the cars, carpets in the house, the couch, whatever else.
posted by LN at 8:50 AM on February 8, 2011

Can the cushions be zipped off and washed?
posted by Sys Rq at 9:00 AM on February 8, 2011

Get a washable couch cover.
posted by mareli at 9:03 AM on February 8, 2011

You could also try a pill shaver.
posted by Andrhia at 9:36 AM on February 8, 2011

I use this d-fuzz-it thing for my sweaters. It's time consuming, but it does get all the tiny lint and stuff that's way too small (or persistent!) to be picked up by a pill shaver or lint roller. They sell them at The Container Store.
posted by Surinam Toad at 10:35 AM on February 8, 2011

Wow, that's pretty serious lint. I like the lint tools that have a stiff nap in 1 direction. Try a couple different ones, they vary.
posted by theora55 at 10:36 AM on February 8, 2011

I used to have an orange and white cat and a black corduroy covered futon. It was the lintiest, furriest piece of furniture ever. This dustbuster did wonders. It worked WAY better and faster than the old dustbuster or tape or lint brushes. It actually worked better than taking the cover off and washing it in the washing machine.
posted by artychoke at 3:02 PM on February 8, 2011