How To Clean Your Couch To Look Like New

ByEmily Updated on Everyday

I had every intention on buying a gorgeously fabulous couch for my home but let’s be honest…when you have kids it’s going to get messy. So when my husband and I first got married and then pregnant right before moving and needed new furniture, we opted for a more practical couch rather than the pretty one. We were guaranteed that our new couch would clean right up with a simple spray of rubbing alcohol and a rag, so we were sold.

The first time our new baby spit up on the couch, I ran and got our spray bottle of rubbing alcohol to get the stain out and it DID NOT WORK.  It got a little bit out but the stain was still visible. My dreams of a home where I had kids with clean furniture were slowly fading away.

When our first son was starting to walk, he would use the couch to walk along for support, sometimes drooling all over it. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a microfiber couch, but every drop of water, drool, anything will stain the fabric.Clean your microfiber couch

I lost it one day. I was either going to figure out how to clean that couch right or I was going to call someone to come clean it…or burn it.

I tried a few Pinterest recipes like the blue Dawn dish soap concoction and the many vinegar options (my husband HATED having a couch that smelled like vinegar while I tested those) but the one thing that worked and that I still use to this day is Folex.Folex Carpet Cleaner

Let me tell you about my love of Folex. I am not affiliated with them at all, am not paid to mention them, and they’ve never sent me ANY product (although I’m willing to accept if they offer). I’ve been using Folex for years on my carpet and in my car for spot cleaning because it is literally the only stain remover that works and fully gets the stain out-it doesn’t resurface a few weeks later. It’s water-based and non-toxic, so it won’t leave behind a residue OR harm your kids/pets. You can find it in your local hardware store OR buy it HERE.

So one day, I wondered what it would do on my couch. I tested a spot on the underside of one of the cushions (always test a spot first!) to see if it would ruin the fabric. Once it dried and looked fine, I went to town on my couch. It. Worked. My couch looked brand new. Guess what? We still use that couch 8 years later and will until it’s falling apart or when our kids are over the age of spills and messy fingers (never?).

Here’s how I clean our microfiber couch:

1 Spray your cushion with Folex. All over the cushion. I do one cushion at a time to prevent drying in between.
2. Rub your cushion with a rag. Really scrub hard on the stained areas.
3. If your stains are stubborn, really saturate the area with Folex and scrub again.
4. Allow to dryCleaning Microfiber

The only tip I have is to make sure to cover the entire cushion with a uniform amount of Folex. With microfiber, the reason they tell you to use rubbing alcohol is because it’ll dry fast. Microfiber stains when there are spots of liquid on it. If you cover the entire cushion with the Folex and rub it all over, there will be no lines or spots left because it will all dry evenly after it’s been cleaned.

I hope this works for you too, I’ve had friends use it on fabric-covered barstools, headboards, even dog beds! Folex really is amazing, and it does wonders for my couch. This isn’t just for microfiber, either! Folex truly does work on all sorts of fabrics to get almost any stain out. I’ve even used it successfully on a red wine stain!