Sofa and upholstery cleaning, in your own home
Sofas take more daily punishment than almost anything else in the house: hands on the arms, heads against the back cushions, dinners on laps, pets, children, and years of sitting in the same spot. Fabric hangs on to all of it, until a sofa that's perfectly sound underneath starts to look tired.
A proper clean brings it back, and it happens in your own living room, so there's nothing to collect and no days without somewhere to sit:
- The fabric checked first. Care label, fibre and colour-fastness, before any water goes near it.
- Stains pre-treated. With a product suited to the fabric and the type of mark.
- A thorough rinse. Hot-water extraction through a small upholstery tool, lifting soil out rather than pushing it around.
- Help with drying. Cushions stood on end and air movers set up beside them.
- A straight answer. If a fabric shouldn't be wet-cleaned or a stain won't shift, you'll know before we begin.
We clean two- and three-seaters, corner and modular sofas, sofa beds, armchairs and recliners, fabric dining chairs, footstools, ottomans, headboards and every kind of cushion. Our page on upholstery and sofa cleaning across Dublin goes into recliners, sofa beds and dining chairs in more detail.
spotless.ieFabric types and care codes
The biggest risk with upholstery isn't the dirt; it's using the wrong method on the wrong fabric. This is how the common ones behave:
| Fabric | What to know | How we approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Polyester and microfibre | The most common sofa fabrics; hard-wearing, though microfibre can water-mark if it's cleaned badly | Clean well by extraction, groomed while damp so the surface dries even |
| Cotton and linen | Natural and absorbent; can shrink, and brown if over-wetted | Low moisture, quick passes, faster drying |
| Chenille | Soft, tufted and textured, often a blend | Gentle agitation so the pile isn't distorted |
| Wool and wool blends | Durable and naturally soil-resistant, but sensitive to heat and alkaline products | Wool-safe products and cooler water |
| Velvet | Natural or synthetic; shows every mark and crushes easily | Checked case by case; some velvets shouldn't be wet-cleaned |
Look for the cleaning code on a label under the seat cushions or stitched to the frame. A "W" is good news, because water-based cleaning is fine. "W/S" allows either water or solvent. An "S" calls for solvent only, and an "X" means the fabric should only ever be vacuumed. We only wet-clean fabrics that can take it, and where there's no label, a hidden spot is tested first. Removable covers stay on the cushions while we work, so they don't shrink or end up a different shade from the frame. Our sofa cleaning guide explains the codes and everyday care in more depth.
How we clean a sofa
- Inspect. We look at the fabric, the label and any stains, and tell you what to expect.
- Vacuum. Crumbs, dust and pet hair come off first, including down the sides and under the cushions.
- Pre-treat. Stains and the grubby areas (arms, headrests, the seat you always sit in) get a pre-spray suited to the fabric.
- Extract. The upholstery tool rinses the fabric with hot water and solution, and the machine's vacuum pulls it straight back out with the dirt.
- Dry. Cushions go up on end and the air movers go on.
- Look it over together. We go through the result with you before we leave.
Ciprian, who founded Spotless, does the cleaning with his small crew. He completed his Prochem training in 2018 (certificate no. 2018/020; see the certificate), which makes him fully trained in carpet cleaning, and upholstery uses the same extraction principles on a smaller scale. Every visit is fully insured, too.
Stains on sofas: what to expect
Every sofa is different, but as a general guide:
- Usually come out well: food and drink spills, body oils on the arms and headrests, muddy paw prints, and most recent marks.
- May only lighten: red wine, coffee that's been there a while, make-up, sun cream and old pet stains.
- Hard or impossible to shift: biro and ink, dye transfer from new jeans, bleach marks, and stains set by heat or a household spray.
Where we're unsure how a fabric or a stain will react, we try the treatment on a hidden area first, such as the back of the skirt or the underside of a cushion, then on the edge of the mark itself. You see the likely result before we go further. For a fresh spill, press a clean white cloth onto it with a little cold water, don't rub, and leave the supermarket sprays in the press. Our guide to sofa stains covers the common ones.
If you've already had a go
Plenty of sofas have met a hired machine or a bottle of spray before we see them. Too much water leaves brown rings as it wicks back up, leftover shampoo makes the cleaned patch get dirty faster than the rest, and hard scrubbing fuzzes the pile. Residue and water marks can often be rinsed out by extraction; shrinkage and set stains usually can't, and we'll say so from your photos.
Want a price for your sofa? Send a photo of the sofa, the care label and any stains on WhatsApp, and we'll reply with a clear price, usually the same day.
Pets, children and the family sofa
The dog's favourite corner usually shows up as a dark, slightly greasy patch where its coat rests every evening. That responds well to pre-treatment and a rinse, and the hair is vacuumed out before any water goes on, so it doesn't turn to paste. Muddy paw prints come out easily once they're dry. Urine that has gone through to the foam is a different matter, and our pet carpet cleaning page explains why old accidents can leave a trace.
With small children, the usual suspects are juice, milk, yoghurt, crayon and the odd bout of sickness. Most come out well if they're dealt with early, so blot what you can and send us a photo. Keep pets and children off the sofa until it's dry, and a washable throw over the seat afterwards will save it a lot of wear.
Drying, airing and moving furniture
Upholstery cleaned this way is damp, not wet, when we leave. A few hours is typical before it's dry to sit on, though deep cushions and natural fibres on a raw, wet day can need longer. To help:
- keep the room warm and open a window if you can
- leave the cushions standing up until they're dry right through
- don't put dark throws or cushions on damp fabric, in case the colour transfers
- let it dry fully before anyone curls up on it for the evening
Feather, fibre and foam cushions
What's inside the cushion affects drying. Feather-filled cushions take longest and need a good plump as they dry, so they don't settle into lumps. Fibre fillings can clump if they're soaked, and foam blocks hold on to water, which is exactly why we control the moisture rather than flooding the fabric. If a cushion inner has gone flat or crumbly, cleaning the cover won't revive it, but replacement inners are easy to source.
Moving furniture
We clean sofas where they stand. If a piece is against a wall or radiator, we'll pull it out far enough to reach the back and sides, then put it back. Electric recliners are unplugged and the mechanisms kept dry, and we don't take furniture apart. If you'd like the stairs and landing done on the same visit, see stair carpet cleaning.
Rentals, furnished lets and moving house
Furnished lets are hard on sofas: several sets of tenants, plenty of takeaways, and nobody treating it as their own. Landlords and letting agents often book a sofa clean at the end of a tenancy along with the carpets, so the place is fresh for the next viewing. Tenants moving out of a furnished flat book it to leave the furniture as they found it. If you're moving into a house where the sofa has been left behind, a clean before you settle in makes it feel like yours.
When a sofa is beyond a clean, our furniture removal service can take it off your hands, and if a whole flat needs emptying first, see property clearance. For the carpets, our guide to end-of-tenancy carpet cleaning explains the timing.
Price, preparation and the areas we cover
How pricing works
We price by the piece and its size: the number of seats on the sofa, each armchair, each dining chair, and any extra cushions or footstools. Heavy soiling or a lot of stains add time, so photos give the most accurate figure. You'll have a fixed price before we arrive, and you can add carpets, a rug or a mattress to the same quote.
Before we arrive
- take off throws, blankets and loose cushions you don't want cleaned
- clear anything stored underneath or down the sides
- say where the van can park, ideally near the front door
- point us to a tap and a free socket
- put pets in another room while we work
Where we clean sofas
We're based in Dublin and clean upholstery across Dublin and all of Leinster. Our YouTube channel has real sofa jobs from around the city, and several areas have their own pages: Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Rathgar, Dalkey, Carrickmines, Castleknock, Lucan, Ongar, Blanchardstown, Clonsilla, Dundrum and Terenure. Outside Dublin, see carpet and upholstery cleaning across Leinster.
