Sofas in smaller living rooms
Ongar homes are mostly apartments, duplexes and townhouses, and the living rooms are sized to match. The sofa often does several jobs: a modular corner unit that fills one wall, a sofa bed that doubles as the spare room, or a two-seater squeezed in beside the dining table. In an open-plan room it sits a few steps from the hob, so it gets cooking splashes as well as the usual wear.
Most of the sofas we see here are only a few years old, which helps. The fabric is usually sound and the marks haven't had long to set. The video on this page was filmed on an upholstery and sofa job in Ongar. Here's what's worth knowing before you book.
Sofas bought online, with no label
Plenty of sofas in newer homes were bought online or arrived flat-packed, and they don't always come with a proper care label. Sometimes there's a label with a fire-safety notice and no cleaning code at all. That isn't a reason not to clean it, but it does mean we test more carefully.
If you still have the product page or the order confirmation, the fabric description on it helps: polyester, velvet-effect, linen-look, boucle. Otherwise a close-up photo of the fabric is enough for us to give you an idea. On the day we test a hidden part of the frame and check for colour on a white cloth before cleaning anything visible.
Microfibre, and why the code matters
Microfibre and other soft polyester fabrics are common on modern sofas. They're hard-wearing and many clean up beautifully. But plenty of them carry an S code, meaning solvent cleaning only, because water can leave rings and stiff patches as it dries.
So we always look first:
| Code | Meaning | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| W | Safe with water | Hot-water extraction after a test |
| WS or W/S | Water or solvent | A careful clean using less water |
| S | Solvent only | We won't wet-clean it |
| X | Vacuum only | No liquid cleaning at all |
If an S-coded microfibre sofa is what you have, we'll tell you before booking rather than turn up and decline.
spotless.ieSofa beds and modular units
Modular sofas come apart into sections, which makes them easier to clean thoroughly: we can reach the sides that normally face each other and the crumbs trapped in the joins. Each section is cleaned and the cushions stood up to dry.
Sofa beds are cleaned as a sofa, with the mechanism folded away. The thin mattress inside can be done too, if you ask, and it's priced separately.
Footstools and storage pouffes that came with the sofa can go in the same quote and are quick to do.
Removable covers are common on both. Leave them on. A cover washed in a machine usually shrinks or fades, and it won't sit right on the foam afterwards.
Apartment, duplex or townhouse? Send a photo of the sofa, the label if there is one, and which floor you're on. We'll reply on WhatsApp with a fixed price, usually the same day.
Kids, pets and a small living room
In a small home, the sofa is where everything happens, so it collects more than its share: juice and crumbs from children eating in front of the telly, hair from a cat that sleeps on the back cushions, a dog's favourite corner. We vacuum hair off before any water goes on, pre-treat the arms, seats and headrests, and clean the whole sofa so it ends up one colour. Recent spills usually lift well; old urine in the foam can leave an odour behind, and we'll say so from your photos.
We clean fabric only, so a leather or faux leather sofa isn't one for us.
Drying in an apartment
Most sofas are dry within a few hours. Apartments can be slower if every window is shut, so open one, leave the trickle vents open and keep the heating on in winter. We set up air movers and stand the cushions on their edges. In a duplex or townhouse, leaving the internal doors open lets air move between floors. Keep pets and children off the cushions until they feel dry, because damp fabric picks up dirt quickly.
Ongar and the rest of Dublin 15
We cover Ongar, Clonsilla, Littlepace, Blanchardstown and the surrounding estates. For carpets, see carpet cleaning in Ongar and our Dublin 15 overview. Next door there's upholstery cleaning in Clonsilla, and our Blanchardstown upholstery page covers the wider area.
Parking in Ongar developments is usually limited to visitor spaces, so tell us what's available; the machine then goes up in the lift, or up the stairs if there isn't one. A two-seater costs less than a modular corner unit, and the fabric and its condition count too, but the figure is settled before you book. We're fully insured on every job, and Ciprian trained with Prochem in carpet cleaning in 2018. Mattresses can go on the same visit (mattress cleaning). For more on fabrics, see our upholstery cleaning page and sofa care guide.
