Facing a stain on your upholstery, the first thing that you can do that is going to give you the best success, is to treat that stain right away. The older and dryer the stain, the more difficult that stain will be to remove from your upholstery.

Get the excess. As you first step up to tackle any type of stain, be careful to scrape excess liquids, oils, or materials from the stain before applying any type of cleaning. Using a butter knife, a plastic spoon, or simply a paper towel covering your fingernail, you will be able to scrape and soak up most of the liquid that is causing the stain. You then will be able to focus on the upholstery and not have a bigger stain from the excess materials.

Always do a patch test. It is important to make sure you test the cleaner on the upholstery in a place that won’t be noticed. If you are cleaning an upholstered chair for instance, try using a piece that is underneath the chair where it is stapled to the frame. If the upholstery changes colors at all, you know it is going to change the color of the upholstery while you are working on the stain. 

Not too Wet. As you are working on any type of stain on upholstery, it is important to remember not to make the upholstery too wet. Putting too much on can spread out the stain making it more difficult to work on. Be sure to keep blotting, wiping and dabbing the stained area as you are working on it to keep the upholstery from getting to be too wet. If you find that your upholstery is too wet all at one time, using a wet dry vac can pull out excess moisture if you are certain the upholstery can stand up to the suction created by this vacuum. 

Outside in. Working on an upholstery stain, be sure to always work from the outside of the stain to the center of the stain. When working from the outside in, you are going to prevent the stain from spreading out further as you are cleaning this stain. 

Paper towels. While you are working on any type of stain on upholstery, you will need an ample supply of paper towels or clean towels so you can see if the coloring from the stain is coming out of the upholstery while you are using any method of cleaning. 

Blotting. After you have finished cleaning any upholstered stain area, be sure to continue blotting up the excess moisture, even adding weight to a towel so that the moisture can be absorbed from deep within the materials. 

Rinsing. One thing that many people often forget when they are fighting a stain that has an oily, greasy, or waxy base is that you should rinse the stain with a solution of half and half water and vinegar. This will cut through that stain and keep the stain from sticking to the upholstery. Be sure to use this in a dabbing and blotting motion so you can get all of that deep down stain on your upholstery out.


What will you need to clean stains on upholstery? Here is a listing of the most often used cleaning supplies needed:

• Clear bleach free liquid detergent - you are going to use about a tablespoon per pint of water. Generally you are going to use just warm water unless indicated in the stain guide for upholstery. Be sure that your liquid detergent does not include bleach or any form of bleach, as this can be harmful to your upholstery. Always rinse with water after using a water and detergent solution.
  
  
• Isopropyl rubbing alcohol is another cleaning solution you can use on upholstery, dabbing and blotting the area, never pouring it directly on the upholstery.
  
  
• Dry cleaning solutions. Most all upholstery fabrics can be cleaned using a dry cleaning solution. Dry cleaning solutions are available at various hardware or grocery stores. Be sure to follow the instructions on the upholstery tags, and the dry cleaning product to ensure success in getting that tough stain out. Dry cleaning solutions should be dabbed on and blotted off, then left to dry. If you have covers for pillows that can be taken off, you should leave them on so you are working with the stain in its original form and the upholstery will not be stretched or shrunk. 
  
  
• Nail polish remover that does not contain oil is another common cleaning solution for cleaning upholstery. 
  
  
• Acetone and ammonia are additional cleaning solutions that you can use to get stains out of upholstery with. Dab and blot the stained areas until you have brought out the stain. Be sure to rinse the area well with clear water when you have finished.
  
  
• Peroxide. Most often you will find that a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution is going to help you fight out tough stains in your upholstery and it will dry without leaving stains on many upholstery fabrics. 
  
  
• Vinegar. Using a solution of half and half of vinegar and water, or a more uncommon acetic acid, are both solutions that can be used to clean stains on your upholstery.

As you first step up to tackle any type of stain, be careful to scrape excess liquids, oils, or materials from the stain before applying any type of cleaning. Using a butter knife, a plastic spoon, or simply a paper towel covering your fingernail, you will be able to scrape and soak up most of the liquid that is causing the stain. You then will be able to focus on the upholstery and not have a bigger stain from the excess materials.