Inside: Get the stains out of your furniture with this DIY Upholstery Cleaner. It only takes two ingredients and is great at getting out grass stains, dirt, & more.
I tend to love light colored fabric in my house. This includes my couch and my dining room chairs. Not only do I have two white couches, I also allow the dogs to get up on them. They love to go outside and play and then they come in and jump up on the couch to rest. It’s not unusual to find them both sleeping up on a couch.
This doesn’t bother me at all because a couple of years ago I found the best DIY Upholstery Cleaner. If the couches or my dining room chairs are stained it only takes a few minutes to get them clean again. All sorts of grass stains, dirt, and food stains have come out of my couches and chairs.
I recently used my favorite DIY upholstery cleaner on my dining room chairs. They hadn’t been cleaned in a long time and they had food stains on a few of the chairs. The chairs are a very light cream, so I have found it doesn’t take long for food stains to show up on them.
If this is your first time using the upholstery cleaner on this fabric I highly recommend you test the fabric first. Different fabrics and colors can react differently to the cleaner. Use a small amount of the cleaner to try in a little area of the fabric that isn’t normally seen. Next, after testing it, give it 12-24 hours for the fabric to dry. If it still looks good then proceed to clean a larger area.
You will want to start by mixing up the cleaner. Mix 1/2 cup Dawn Dish Soap and 1 cup hydrogen peroxide. Once the Dawn soap is mixed in well add to a small spray bottle.
Lightly spray the upholstery that you need to clean. I have found this works best when you do small areas. If you are trying to get out a large stain try doing about a foot at a time. Next, let the upholstery cleaner sit on the fabric for 2-3 minutes.
After the cleaner has soaked in for a few minutes take a microfiber cloth or old rag and gently scrub. The stains should just disappear. If the fabric feels very soapy you can get the microfiber cloth wet and gently blot the area.
If you have another section to do move on to the next section. Then allow the fabric to dry for 24 hours before using. You can just store the leftover upholstery cleaner for the next time you need it. Then it will only take you a few minutes to get all the stains out.
You can see a huge difference in just a few minutes. Check out the before and after.
DIY Upholstery Cleaner
1/2 cup Dawn Dish Soap
1 cup Hydrogen Peroxide
Mix together the dawn dish soap and hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle. Spray on upholstery and let sit for a minute or two. Next, scrub lightly until the stain is gone with a microfiber cloth or old rag. Then, allow to dry for about 24 hours before using.
Do you love to make your own homemade cleaners? Check out 7 amazing cleaners you can make yourself.
Want to remember this? Pin this homemade upholstery cleaner to your favorite Pinterest cleaning board.
Materials List
- dawn dish soap
- hydrogen peroxide
- Rag or microfiber cloth
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I’m trying it out on my microfiber chair. I used an old toothbrush on it and it looks like it’s working pretty good. It’s kind of soapy so since I’m lazy I will be doing a rinse with my carpet cleaner rather than blotting.
quick question, do you use the hydrogen peroxide that you would use on a cut or do you get the more powerful hydrogen peroxide that they sell at beauty supply stores
Hi Trisha, I just use the kind you would put on a cut. I usually buy it at CVS or Walgreens.
Great tip and one that I will try. One suggestion or clarification would be to use a white or light colored cloth for cleaning the stain. It can be possible to have some dye transfer if you use a dark cloth to clean a lighter fabric. Thanks for your tip!
Great suggestion! Thanks!
Could I clean the upholstry in my va with this? Wondering if I would have a soapy mess?
I would try it in a very small area first, but I don’t see why not. If you are concerned about it being too soapy you can always put in a little less dish soap. Let me know how it works if you give it a try.