Sofa & upholstery cleaning in Greater Seattle

Upholstery cleaning questions

Can a linen sofa be steam cleaned or will it shrink?

A linen sofa does not go through the full steam-cleaning treatment: linen and cotton get a gentle refresh only, and that is what we do for a linen sofa, in your living room, across King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. The refresh takes out the dust, bacteria and everything else living in the fabric; we leave out the strong stain chemistry, because the chemistry strong enough to break down a set-in stain would wreck the fabric. So a linen sofa that needs freshening up comes out well, and an old set-in stain is one we will tell you about honestly before we start rather than after. The care label is usually under the seat cushions or on the underside of the piece — if you can't find it we quote the standard price for that type and size and confirm the material on site, and if it turns out we can't clean it at all, we don't charge for it. Linen sofa steam cleaning, fiber by fiber

Why didn't the supermarket cleaner get the coffee stain out of my sofa?

Because the color of a coffee stain needs acid-based chemistry, and most household cleaners are alkaline-based — alkaline does not remove that color, no matter how much of it you use. A stain on a sofa is usually several different materials sitting in the same spot, each needing its own chemistry, so taking one part out leaves the rest behind. Coffee, and any other natural dye, is the acid-based case. A professional carries the whole range — alkaline, acid-based, solvent-based — and knows which of them may go on which fabric, because on some fabrics alkaline products must not be used at all; that fabric question is why the same stain is handled differently on synthetic, on cotton or linen, and on wool. We won't promise every stain comes out — one that has already been scrubbed with a store-bought cleaner can be locked into the fiber for good. If a spot appears or returns within 48 hours, call us. We’ll come back and re-clean it for free.

Can I just rent a machine and clean my sofa myself?

Yes, you can — and for a fresh spill on a synthetic sofa that is the right call: blot it with water and a towel, don't scrub, and don't reach for a spot cleaner. Past that, two things make a rental machine disappoint. Extraction is the first: a rental unit sprays fine and recovers badly, and whatever isn't pulled back out sinks deeper and takes the dirt with it. Chemistry is the second: the machine comes with one all-purpose detergent for every fabric and every stain, and most household products are alkaline-based, which does not remove the color of a coffee or other natural-dye stain however much you use; a strong cleaner rubbed into the fabric's own dye lifts the dye out instead, and lifted dye is permanent. Detergent left in without a rinse also attracts dirt, which is why a DIY-cleaned piece often looks worse a month later — and one cushion cleaned on its own dries with a ring around it. What we bring is a treatment matched to the fabric and to each stain, the full range of products rather than one, extraction that actually recovers the water, and a rinse so nothing is left in the fabric. Linen and cotton get a gentle refresh only, wool a more modest result, and silk or viscose we turn down — none of those is a rental candidate. What a rental machine does to a carpet

How much does it cost to clean a sofa?

A 3-seater sofa is $155, a loveseat $105, an armchair $85, and a 5-seater or sectional $250. That is one price for the whole piece — armrests, back, seat cushions, back cushions and throw pillows — cleaned in your home. Stains and pet odors are included at no extra charge; pet hair is the one add-on, and you see it in the calculator rather than at your door. Minimum order $170 for carpet and upholstery. The calculator on this page gives the exact price for your pieces before you book.

Can you clean just the stained cushion instead of the whole sofa?

No — we clean the whole piece, seam to seam, and that is not an upsell: a patch cleaned on its own dries with a ring where the minerals collect at the wet-dry edge, and a whole-piece clean leaves no edge for a ring to form.

Which sofa fabrics do you clean, and which do you turn down?

Synthetic fabric gets the full clean — stains, pet stains and odors, all of it. Linen and cotton get a gentle refresh only, because the chemistry that breaks down a set-in stain would wreck the fabric. Wool we clean, with a more modest result than on synthetic. Silk and anything with viscose in it we turn down: those need a shop with machines that wash, wring and dry the piece right away, and nobody can do that safely in your living room. Leather we don't clean at all — not cleaning, not restoring, not reupholstering.

How long does a sofa take to dry after cleaning?

You can use a sofa again after about 3–5 hours, and it is fully dry in 12–24 hours. Open a window if you can — Seattle damp slows it down a little. The reason it is damp at all is that the method pulls the water back out with the dirt in it; whatever isn't pulled back out sinks deeper and takes the dirt with it.

Is there a minimum for upholstery cleaning?

An upholstery visit starts at $170 — that is the minimum order for carpet and upholstery work, so one small piece on its own may not reach it, while a sofa, or two or three pieces together, does. Travel is free across King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, so the same sofa costs the same in Seattle as in Tacoma. The calculator tops a smaller order up to the minimum and shows the figure before you book.