Top 5 Ways to Show Your Lounge More Love

Australian spend an average of 60+ hours watching broadcast (not streaming!) television a month.

That’s a lot of couch time.

Give your lounge the love it deserves with our five top tips to get your couch looking the best it has in years.

5 Tips for Taking Care of Your Fabric Lounge

1. Beware of kids

Anyone with children knows that they have the uncanny ability to find ways to create mess and destruction in their wake.

When it comes to your couch, here are a few things to keep an eye out for:

• Your lounge isn’t a jungle gym – try your best to keep the kids from jumping or crawling across the lounge where possible.

• Food is a no-no. From first-hand experience, this one can be tough to implement. Just the other day, I discovered a blueberry in the crevice of my favourite recliner – it wasn’t pretty. Make sure meals are eaten at the dinner table as much as possible.

• Stains are inevitable, unfortunately. Our site has some great tips for removing common stains children can make. Consider using something like Scotchgard on your fabric lounge for added protection against stains. Fabric protectors like these are great insurance for your lounge.

   

2. Be a stain removal expert

Accidents happen every now and then.

The most important thing is to act quickly to avoid the stain being absorbed into the fabric.

Our stain removal blog has detailed methods for treating specific types of stains but here is some general advice.

• Avoid rubbing the stain at all costs; gently blot instead.

• For solid stains, remove the food pieces first before dabbing the stain with a paper towel. Use water with a little dishwashing detergent to treat the remaining mark.

• Immediately dab liquid stains with a paper towel and treat with water and a little dishwashing detergent.

• Use an appropriate fabric cleaner.

A great idea to prevent stains and wear is to keep a machine washable throw blanket on the lounge.

3. Keep your lounge away from direct sunlight

If you want to stop the lounge from fading, your best bet is to position your couch away from direct sunlight.

Sunlight has the potential to fade any type of fabric, so if you can’t keep your couch away from light, then ensure that you’ve installed window blinds that you can close throughout the day.

Rotating your furniture position has other benefits too. While most of us have a favourite spot to sit, this can cause uneven sagging or additional pressure on certain areas. Switch spots every now and then or change your lounge position around if you can.

4. Maintenance is key

As a general rule, a lounge should last between 7-15 years. Good maintenance can definitely prolong its life. Here are a few pointers.

• Don’t allow shoes, pets, sharp items, or eating on the couch.

• Vacuum your fabric lounge regularly with the upholstery attachment to reach the dust between crevices.\

• Be careful which chemicals you are using on your lounge - opt for a pH-balanced cleaner that will not tarnish the material or cause unnecessary damage.

   

5. Call in the professionals

For a regularly used lounge, you should be having your lounge cleaned annually by a professional who knows how to treat stains and effectively freshen up your lounge.

Your Electrodry technician will tailor a cleaning solution to suit your fabric, ensuring the best possible result.

Our cleaning process leaves lounges drier than other systems so that your couch is ready for use in just 4-6 hours.

It’s one less job you’ll have to do yourself and better yet, you’ll have the peace of mind that your lounge is the cleanest and healthiest it could possibly be.