After hours of diligently comparing and researching different options, you’ve found the perfect low maintenance sofa for your living room – and it looks great, if you do say so yourself.
But will it still have that showroom shine after years of stains, spills and Sunday snoozes? To see how to extend the life cycle of your furniture (saving you money and effort in the event of rebuying), read on.
1. Tighten the screws
Loose screws do more than cause wobbly seats – they can sign your furniture’s fate at the scrap heap.
Thankfully, loose screws are easily fixed – just get a screwdriver and tighten them up yourself. Just be careful not to tighten them too much or strip the screwhead, as this can do more harm than good.
2. Refill the seat cushions
The foam in your seat cushions will inevitably break down over time. As a result, you’re left with a sagging seat that seriously cuts into your comfort.
But not to worry. All you need to get your sofa looking fab again is some wadding (for detachable sofa cushions) and some Poly-Fil (for fixed sofa cushions). For the full instructions on how to restuff seat cushions, visit our blog for more information.
3. Plump sofa cushions daily
Plumping is the least time-consuming, but also one of the most effective ways to keep your sofa looking its best for longer.
In essence, it helps to even out your sofa filling, which may have been forced into seat corners after too many sit-downs. Just note that some seat fillings are better at evening themselves out than others (foam is a good example of this), so bear this in mind before you buy or restuff your sofa cushions.
Not sure how to plump sofa cushions? If you have detachable seat cushions, take them out of their setting and give them a good shake to loosen up the filling all over. Do this about once a day, if you can.
You will also want to rotate your cushions regularly so that your sofa cushions achieve a consistently plump look. If you have fixed sofa cushions, of course, you won’t be able to move them around, so think about alternating your favourite sitting spot every now and then instead.
4. Read the cleaning instructions
Many sofas come with handy cleaning tags that advise owners on how to wash their fabric sofa.
The little symbols you’ll find on there might be small but they are by no means insignificant. In fact, use the wrong cleaning materials and you could seriously damage your gorgeous sofa and, in turn, shorten its lifespan – despite your best intentions.
That’s why we advise checking your sofa (cleaning tags are usually underneath the frame or along seat cushion edges) before you start any cleaning job. To see what the wording on your cleaning label means, check out our helpful sofa maintenance blog post.
5. Cover it up
Blankets, cushions and sofa covers provide the perfect protection from the everyday wear and tear of sofa life. They are also significantly easier to clean than furniture fabric – just pop them in the washing machine to reveal a fresh new layer to your furniture.
If you’re on the look-out for a low maintenance sofa fabric, we recommend our Aquaclean range (so-called for their stain-resistant, quick-wicking fabrics). Dip into the range to see which fabric suits your style; we love the Abbey Rose in Chalk and Raspberry for their fanciful, but mess-free, appeal.
6. Send it to the experts
If you’ve plumped and scrubbed for as long as you know, but your sofa is still looking worn, it’s time you called the experts.
At Plumbs, our expert craftsmen refresh upholstery, stitch new fabrics, tighten up woodwork and more to give your old sofa that ‘fresh out of the showroom’ look once more.
To see more about what Plumbs can do for you, head over to the Plumbs website.
