Prolonging the life of your upholstered furniture

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We all love our upholstered furniture as it gives us comfort when we’re watching our favourite Netflix documentaries or films.

If your furniture is used often you need to ensure you’re looking after it to prolong its life.

Top tips for looking after your upholstered furniture

Here are our top tips for keeping your furniture in tip-top condition for years to come:

  • Avoid sitting on the arms of your sofas and chairs as any extra weight can damage the frames.
  • Keep seat and back cushions in tip-top condition by plumping and straightening them daily.
  • To ensure your furniture wears evenly over time, rotate cushions regularly and make sure to sit on every seat – not just your favourite spot like Sheldon’s spot on The Big Bang Theory!
  • Keep your furniture at least 50cm away from direct heat sources like radiators, fires and air conditioning.
  • To help prevent your upholstery from fading over time, avoid overexposure to sunlight
  • When moving your furniture, ensure you lift sofas and chairs by their bases to protect the frames – don’t drag or pull by the arms as this can damage the frames.

Things that can damage your upholstered furniture

There are a number of things that can damage your furniture, a few you may not expect:

  • Dye transfer – Certain clothing dyes, like indigo use in denim can transfer and seep into fabric and leather upholstery.
  • Abrasion – Heavy clothing fabrics like denim and other textured fabrics can be abrasive to your upholstery and wear it down.
  • Cosmetics – Body products like hair gel, tanning lotions and other cosmetics can damage your upholstery. So, make sure you don’t sit on your sofa just after a tan, or you’ll end up having a brown sofa!
  • Sharp items – We don’t mean kitchen knives or anything like that, but instead objects like belt buckles, jewellery and of course pet claws, can snag on fabrics and cause tears and pulls – if you see a snag cut it with scissors, don’t pull it!
  • Heat – As mentioned above, heat, especially from direct sunlight, can cause your upholstery to fade and deteriorate over time

Find your nearest Furniture Medic if your furniture is in need of repair and we’ll be able to give you a quote.