Cleaning a Microfiber Recliner Chair The Right Way

Check the Tags Before You Start Cleaning

Before you start cleaning any upholstery, you need to make sure you know what can and cannot be used to clean it. The tag on the item will indicate what should be used to clean it.

• “W” indicates to use a water-based solvent to clean the material.
• “S” indicates that to clean the material with a solvent-based cleaner.
• “S-W” indicates you can use either a solvent-based or water-based cleaner.
• “X” indicates that the material should only be vacuumed.

Remove Junk from the Crevices

Many microfiber recliners have the cushions sewn in place so that they don’t move around as you sit on them. There are cracks and crevices that form around the edges of these comfy seats that can collect junk from time to time. Before you clean get started on the cleaning of the upholstery, everything needs to be removed from the crevices.

It’s best to use your hands to scoop out everything that you can rather than using your vacuum. There are times when they can collect that would cause damage to your vacuum if they were sucked up into it. You can always hit the cracks with the extension hose of the vacuum after all of the large items are removed if you want to make sure every crumb is removed.

Vacuum the Recliner

Once you’ve cleaned out the crevices, you’ll be ready to vacuum. You want to vacuum the entire exterior of the chair and the underside of it so that you can remove all loose dirt, dander and hair from the material. Microfiber is a fabric that tends to grip and hold on to items, especially hair and dander.

Carefully lay your recliner down so that the back of the chair is flat on the floor. It’s best to have someone help you with this step so that the front of the chair can be lifted while the back is pushed toward the ground to prevent the back from coming loose accidentally. Vacuum where the chair was sitting, under the chair, the springs and any area that you can see clearly. The material between the footrest and the chair is often thin and you need to vacuum the underside of this area to prevent hair and dirt from coming through when you clean this area later on down the road.

Sit the chair back upright and vacuum the rest of it from top to bottom. If there are any pieces that separate from the chair, such as the back cover or arm covers, take those off the chair and vacuum them separately and the areas below where they were sitting, as well.

Remove Tough Stains

Before you clean the entire recliner, you want to focus on the dirtiest areas first. Look for stains or grease spots from where people’s hands touched the same spot again and again. The easiest way to get rid of a stain on microfiber is to make a paste using three parts baking soda to one part water. Mix the two together and grab a toothbrush.

You want to use a toothbrush when cleaning microfiber because the brush head is small enough to let you get into the tiniest of areas with ease. The bristles are soft enough that they won’t damage the upholstery and they are often much cheaper than most cleaning brushes on the market.

Place a pea-sized amount of the mixture on the end of your toothbrush. Rub directly onto the area that is stained in small one-inch areas. It will take time to clean a large stain, but this method ensures that every area is covered and that the best results can be achieved. You can use a back and forth motion to scrub the area. Once you notice that the area looks as though the stain is starting to disappear, use a wet cloth and dab the excess mixture away. Repeat the process if the stain isn’t’ completely gone. Allow the microfiber to dry completely before going on to the next step. You don’t want to oversaturate the recliner or the foam or stuffing inside of it could become too wet and end up molding.

Clean the Rest of the Recliner

Once you have removed all of the stubborn stains, you’re ready to do a quick cleaning of the entire recliner. Vinegar is one of the most tried and true cleaners that people use. It can be used to clean just about any item, including microfiber. Fill a spray bottle three-quarters of the way full of warm tap water. Fill the rest of the bottle with white distilled vinegar. It’s very important that you use white distilled vinegar because if you use apple cider vinegar, you’ll be left with a scent that may not be as pleasant as you would like it to be. You won’t need a lot of vinegar, so you can buy a very small amount if it isn’t something you use on a regular basis.

Lightly spray roughly one-square-foot of the upholstery. Use a shoe shine brush that hasn’t been used before to lightly scrub the microfiber. The brush is easy to grasp, has numerous bristles and is soft enough to clean the microfiber without causing any damage to you. Continue one-square-foot at a time until you clean the entire recliner.

Vacuum the Recliner Again

Once you finish scrubbing the recliner, you need to vacuum it again. Dirt, dander, and hair that was trapped in the filling of the recliner came loose as you cleaned it. Vacuuming it one more time before you sit on it ensures it’s as clean as it can possibly be. You don’t have to worry about vacuuming under the recliner again because it should still be clean from when you vacuumed it before you started cleaning the chair.

Conclusion

You should clean your microfiber once a month if you want it to look great for as long as possible. This can help to prevent deep stains from setting in the material and make it easier to clean each and every time you clean it. These cleaning tips are very affordable, all natural and easy enough that anyone can do them.