Want to get yourself a stylish velvet sofa that sits majestically in your living room? Well, don’t let the fact that you have kids stop you from making your home beautiful.
There are a few standards for maintaining velvet sofas to preserve the softness of the fabric and keep it looking as good as new even after many years. With just a few precautions and cleaning ideas, you can take care of it with ease and uplift your living room too!
Tips and Tricks to Keep Your Velvet Sofa Shining
Velvet is known for its softness and its grandeur look, and to maintain its appeal for as long as possible, there are some simple steps you need to take.
House Rules for Children
If you have small children in your home, then they are bound to run around the house, jump on the sofa, and cause some unsolvable issues. That’s why it is vital to have some house rules when it comes to the dos and don’ts.
- Enforce the rule of ‘no eating’ on the sofa if you have very young children. Sometimes, even children who are around 14 years of age may inadvertently drop a greasy burger and make a whole mess. Be it even biscuits, chips, or any other dry items, cultivate the habit of not eating on it. Sometimes, even these dry cookie crumbs and chip pieces may get stuck at the back and will make it difficult to clean.
- Keep some easily cleanable chairs near the sofa for the children to shift when they want to eat.
- Create a rule of no liquids anywhere near the sofa. Your child may be standing just behind it and could spill water on the velvet. Therefore, it is best to keep the liquids away.
- If you have tiny children who are in the habit of scratching and drawing on anything they see, then make sure that they don’t get on the sofa with a sketch or even a pencil in their hand. While they can start drawing on it with crayons, which is catastrophic, they may also make a scratch with the pens.
- As we are talking about scratches, the best advice would be that the children learn that the sofa is not something that is to be played with. You cannot watch the children all the time, and that’s why tell them that it’s not a place to play, draw or eat.
Regular Vacuuming
According to the sofa experts at KoalaLiving, for any kind of fabric sofas, vacuuming regularly is a must and this becomes even more important when it comes to velvet sofas. Though you may try hard to keep it clean, there will be some dust particles that settle on the fibers that aren’t easily visible. Regular sedimentation of these dust particles will make the velvet sofa to look dull and old.
Therefore, make it a habit to vacuum it as often as possible, at least once a week. If you see a lot of dust collected during the vacuuming time or when you actually see a difference in the color of the velvet, take up a vacuum and clean it soon. Once you are done the vacuuming, brush the fabric lightly to let the fibers settle and give it a refreshed look.
Using Throws and Blankets
Throws and blankets have multipurpose uses to keep the velvet sofas safe. Firstly, though you may prevent your children from sitting and eating on the sofa, what happens when they pass over it with a tray with their shaky hand and spill some liquid on it? Well, it’s alarming.
To avoid such unpredictable situations, you can have some throws and blankets positioned to cover a major portion and also to give it a cozy look. In such worst situation of spilling, the throws will take the major hit, and before the liquid could seep through to the sofa, you can quickly come and do the damage control.
Secondly, you can instruct your children to eat away from it, but what about the kids of other people? During such situations, too, you can use the throws and blankets as a first-step plan to avoid any mishaps.
Use Cleaning Methods Based on Your Sofa Type
When you buy fabric sofas, it comes with an attached manual or at least a simple card that advises you on the best way to clean it. Some fabrics shouldn’t be cleaned by using the usual cleaning liquids, and for some, it is best to get the help of professional cleaning services.
For example, materials like rayon or silk velvets, it is hard to clean out the stains, and you should enlist the help of a cleaning company as soon as possible.
Therefore, make sure to follow the exact method to take care of it as advised by the manufacturer to keep it clean and healthy.
Don’t Ever Rub on the Stains
This is something you need to teach your kids and any other people in your home. When a kid spills some juice on the sofa, the first instinct is to rub the stain to make it go away. This only makes the situation even worse and gives rise to a big ugly stain that becomes more difficult to remove.
Sit your family down and tell them what to do in case of such a situation. Ask them to rush and take a blotting paper and press it intermittently on the stain to avoid further damage and call you immediately.
Don’t apply too much pressure on the stain as it could damage the fibers in that area. Once the liquid has been blotted out, use a hairdryer from a distance to dry it out and to avoid any stains to set. If the stain has set already, then you need to resort to the home DIY ideas like baking soda and lemon.
Before you use any such items, ensure that it doesn’t cause any unwanted reactions with the velvet or cause the color to fade.
Turn and Shake the Cushions Often
As you sit for long hours on cushions, it is bound to shrink in size. But, no worries. With just a few taps and turns, the cushion will look fresh and comfy as before.
Also, turning the cushions and plumping them regularly will help to maintain its original shape and avoid getting it deformed.
Don’t let your dream of owning a velvet sofa die out because of kids! Follow these cleaning instructions and enforce a few house rules and have a dashing sofa that becomes the envy of your friends!
