It’s safe to say that the sofa in your living room probably bears the brunt of the ‘traffic’ in your home.
It’s where we spend most of our weekends, run through Netflix marathons, cuddle with our pets, play with the kids and host parties, which is why keeping it not just clean but looking pristine can be an uphill battle.
The battle is a difficult one, but it’s not impossible to win — not if you follow the steps we’ve listed below:
1. Vacuum every other day, if not daily
When it comes to keeping your sofa (or any space for that matter) spick and span, keep this mantra in mind: Short, frequent bursts of cleaning works a lot better than an intensive clean every once in a while.
This is the same cleaning philosophy that the Japanese use, which is how they’re able to keep their spaces clean with light cleaning daily instead of leaving small messes to snowball into bigger ones.
With your sofa, this could simply mean vacuuming for just a few minutes a day rather than doing one big time-consuming (and usually expensive) clean once or twice a year.
Vacuuming your sofa also helps keep bugs like dust mites — as well as other annoying elements like dirt and pet hair that may stick onto the couch — at bay.
2. Treat the fabric
Treating the material on your couch with conditioning agents at regular intervals is one way to keep your sofa clean and looking brand new for longer.
For example, if your couch is covered with fabric, treating it with a fabric protector spray which also makes it waterproof will help keep it stain- and mould-free for longer.
And if you own a leather couch, a leather conditioner twice a year to keep it looking fresh and shiny will go a long way in keeping your sofa looking amazing.
3. Use a throw blanket
The easiest way to keep your sofa clean? Throw a blanket over it.
It’s not the most sophisticated way to get the job done, but hey, it looks pretty and chic. Plus, we all know why it’s so effective: It’s a good dirt trapper and blocker.
The humble blanket works great as a cover that protects your couch, taking in all your spills and stains, and all it needs for a good clean is a simple toss into the washing machine.
4. Use a lint roller if you have pets
Ah, pets. Despite how much you love them, their fur is going to be the bane of your existence if you’re a house-proud home owner.
Keeping your sofa clean with pets in the house can be difficult, but not impossible.
To make clean an everyday occurrence rather than a once-in-a-while event when you have pets in the house, be sure to lint roll often (daily, if possible) to get their fur (and other messes like drool or mud stains) off the couch.
5. Keep a stain protector nearby
If your home is prone to spills and stains (that is, having kids around), it’ll help to have a spray-on stain protector close by.
Anytime a spill happens, just spritz and blot off.
Be careful to dab, not rub the stain in to avoid pushing the stain deeper into the fabric.
6. Fluff your cushions often
One simple way to keep your couch looking new is to fluff up its pillows or just change up your cushion inserts so they look plump.
You’d be surprised at how much of a difference this simple step makes, seeing we don’t realise how much time we spend compressing the cushions by sitting and lying on them
We denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs
Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise. except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure.