How to Freshen Up an Older Couch

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rug Doctor for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Is your couch looking a bit dingy?

With 6 kids in my house, I definitely understand. My family recently survived an out-of-state move and while we were (mostly) none the worse for wear the same couldn’t be said of my couches.

We did a great job of protecting our furniture in the moving truck. Nothing broke. Unfortunately, to protect things we used moving blankets and they are not the cleanest things to be wrapping around fabric couches.

When we unloaded our couches all the kid-marks that were there before our move were combined with dust and dirt from the actual move making our couches look a bit sad.

I wanted to freshen everything up so that would could get a clean start in our new home.

To freshen up fabric couches you have a few options.

Option #1 for Freshening up Couches

This option is good if your furniture just needs slight freshening. Our couches didn’t fall into this category this time around but we’ll be doing this in a few months when we just need to slightly freshen things up after some everyday wear and tear.

Step 1: Spot clean couches. There’s always a few marks here and there that could be cleaned up. Just use some warm water and cleaning solution (spot check it first before using it on a large area).

Step 2: Sprinkle your couch lightly with baking soda. You can use a sifter for this if you have one.

Step 3: Vacuum up the baking soda.

Your couch will be left nice and clean and smelling fresh.

Option #2 for Freshening Up Couches

For couches that need a little extra care (like mine did), you’ll want to go with option #2. I try and give my couches a deep cleaning at least once or twice a year. It keeps everything nice and clean and I feel like it helps my fabric furniture to last longer.

Step 1: Rent a Rug Doctor carpet cleaner. You can find Rug Doctor rental sites at over 40,000 locations all over the U.S. I found mine in my local Walmart. They have professional quality machines for a fraction of the cost of hiring a professional to come out and clean your carpets or upholstery.

After using the Rug Doctor machine I want one of my own! I was excited to find out that the Deep Carpet Cleaner and the Portable Spot Cleaner can be purchased online at rugdoctor.com, amazon.com, or at other retailers.

It is definitely on my wish-list now. 

Step 2: Fill the Rug Doctor with water and Rug Doctor cleaning solution. This is so easy to do. I’ve used several carpet cleaners in the past and this was definitely the easiest. 

Step 3: Spot check an inconspicuous spot on your couch before use. I just cleaned a small area on the side of my couch to make sure it worked well on my fabric. 

Step 4: Use the Rug Doctor to deep clean the upholstery on your couch. I found it easier to completely remove whatever cushions could be removed and clean them on the floor. 

I worked on the couch cushions first then moved on to the other upholstery on the couch because I wanted the cushions to start drying since I knew they would take longer. 

Step 5: Let your couch dry completely (we brought in some fans to help the process along) then dress it up with some throw pillows or a blanket to add a pop of color. 

Check out how dirty the “before” was:

And check out how great the “after” looks:

I love how such a simple change can make such a big difference. We are still unpacking boxes so we aren’t completely put together yet but my couches are clean and it’s starting to look like we actually live here. 

It was so convenient to be able to clean my couches at my own pace, versus having a stranger coming into my house at a scheduled time. 

I’ve used Rug Doctor to clean my carpets several times and the cost savings is well worth it. Most Rug Doctor carpet cleaners rent for $29.99, depending on the area, which can save you hundreds of dollars over having a professional do the job. Rug Doctor definitely makes things easy and I’m always a fan of saving money. If cleaning carpets or upholstery is on your to-do list, find a rental location near you.

How do you freshen up older furniture?

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Rug Doctor for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.