How do I clean this white, cloth couch?
November 21, 2012 6:59 AM Subscribe
I have this Crate & Barrel Petrie Couch in white, drinks were spilled. Manufacturer care instructions say to just use distilled water, this has not worked. What can I try next?
Googling online, people have taken the buttons out and taken the cushions to the dry cleaner. This seems a bit much, any other thoughts?
Googling online, people have taken the buttons out and taken the cushions to the dry cleaner. This seems a bit much, any other thoughts?
1. pour distilled water on stain
2. lay an old towel you don't care about over stain (stain will lift up into towel so it's going to be ruined if this works)
3. get an iron, turn it to high & high steam setting
4. press into towel
the stain should lift up into the towel with about 15- 20 minutes of pressing. I've used this to get coffee & wine stains out of our sofa; it's slow going but will work. Ours is more of a grey color so I can't speak to whether it gets 100% of the stain out, but we certainly can't see them anymore. (I think that this is basically the cheap version of using a Stanley Steamer - if you have an iron, give it a try)
posted by lyra4 at 7:03 AM on November 21, 2012
2. lay an old towel you don't care about over stain (stain will lift up into towel so it's going to be ruined if this works)
3. get an iron, turn it to high & high steam setting
4. press into towel
the stain should lift up into the towel with about 15- 20 minutes of pressing. I've used this to get coffee & wine stains out of our sofa; it's slow going but will work. Ours is more of a grey color so I can't speak to whether it gets 100% of the stain out, but we certainly can't see them anymore. (I think that this is basically the cheap version of using a Stanley Steamer - if you have an iron, give it a try)
posted by lyra4 at 7:03 AM on November 21, 2012
Afterwards, get spray-on Stainblocker (or related product). Maybe (IDK) not as good as the factory-applied stuff, but still a good first defense.
posted by IAmBroom at 7:46 AM on November 21, 2012
posted by IAmBroom at 7:46 AM on November 21, 2012
Was it red wine? A 1-1 combination of drugstore hydrogen peroxide and original Dawn dishwashing liquid will lift it out on contact, no scrubbing. Works on old red wine stains, too. The peroxide should be fresh.
posted by nanook at 8:10 AM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by nanook at 8:10 AM on November 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
What kind of drinks?
Oxyclean worked fabulously on our cream colored corduroy chair, had a rust and dirt stain on it from my fiance resting the moving dolly on it unprotected. Took a while, but I got the stain completely out. For a minute I was freaked out because the oxyclean spot was bright white (!!!) but that was just the suds in the fabric. Rinsing/drying the spot, there was no discoloration at all.
posted by ergo at 9:06 AM on November 21, 2012
Oxyclean worked fabulously on our cream colored corduroy chair, had a rust and dirt stain on it from my fiance resting the moving dolly on it unprotected. Took a while, but I got the stain completely out. For a minute I was freaked out because the oxyclean spot was bright white (!!!) but that was just the suds in the fabric. Rinsing/drying the spot, there was no discoloration at all.
posted by ergo at 9:06 AM on November 21, 2012
Best answer: That iron idea scares the heck out of me because I've always been taught that heat sets the stain. But hey, maybe it works.
I used Resolve Triple Oxy Carpet Cleaner to get red wine out of a fabric ottoman. It worked about a million times better than I hoped. I can't see the stain at all (the ottoman is beige, not white).
posted by mskyle at 12:13 PM on November 21, 2012
I used Resolve Triple Oxy Carpet Cleaner to get red wine out of a fabric ottoman. It worked about a million times better than I hoped. I can't see the stain at all (the ottoman is beige, not white).
posted by mskyle at 12:13 PM on November 21, 2012
Given that your link says NOT to use water: If this is furniture you care about keeping, do no further home remedies. Call an upholstery cleaning professional.
posted by sageleaf at 1:22 PM on November 21, 2012
posted by sageleaf at 1:22 PM on November 21, 2012
Response by poster: I used Oxyclean. The liquid was some sort of dark beer, the couch was also just sort of getting a little dirty too. It looks great now!
The iron and towel method did not work.
posted by geoff. at 12:01 PM on November 24, 2012
The iron and towel method did not work.
posted by geoff. at 12:01 PM on November 24, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
Club Soda
Oxy Clean
Stanley Steamer
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:00 AM on November 21, 2012