Easily Remove Furniture Stains With This Kitchen Cleaning Staple

With many messes that occur in the home, you can easily clean up dropped food and spilled drinks on your floor with a simple broom and mop, but when it comes to cleaning fabric, it's not so simple. With stained clothes, you can throw them in the washer, but when the mess happens on your furniture, it makes the job much more difficult. Thankfully, you can easily remove furniture stains with dish soap.

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As with any spill or leakage on fabric, your first course of action is to clean it as soon as it happens. Ideally, you'll see it occur, but if not, you'll want to attack the mess as soon as you discover it. Whether it's a sauce, drink, or even a pet stain, the longer it has time to seep into the upholstery, the more difficult it will be to remove. The next thing to do is blot the wet area with a paper towel or cloth. If the stain has already set in, apply a steamer to loosen it up with the heat. Then, remove any peeling remnants with a microfiber cloth. Once the residue is gone and wet areas have been blotted, it's time to grab the dish soap.

How to use dish soap on your furniture

Dish soap is made to cut grease and clean surfaces. Surprisingly, it can do the same on furniture upholstery without ruining or discoloring the fabric. Just add a few dabs of dish soap that is petroleum-based, such as Dawn, into warm water and mix. This is important because water or detergent-based dish soap can damage the fabric. For an added boost, add 1 cup of vinegar.  Then dip a cloth into the mixture. For upholstery, use a firm back-and-forth motion to scrub out the stain.

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Amazingly, dish soap is even safe for leather furniture. Mix a couple of drops of dish soap into warm water and use a soft microfiber cloth to clean the area. Don't use vigorous, straight movements, which can wear away at the finish. Instead, use small circular movements with a soft touch. The same method works on furniture made from faux leather and plastic.

Once the stain is removed, allow the furniture to dry thoroughly. You can speed up the process by placing a fan in the direction of the furniture. If you are cleaning leather furniture, drying is vital. The longer leather remains wet, the more likely it will become weakened, which can lead to tears. Grab a towel or cloth, and dry all wet areas by hand.

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