Congratulations on your new sofa! With care and attention, good couchescan last for years and continue to look great too. What’s the most important ingredient? Common sense counts for a lot, but the tips below will also help you to get the most out of this essential piece of living room furniture.
Don’t Put It Just Anywhere
While layout and positioning in your living room may be determined by different factors, try to find a place for couches away from sources of intense heat or direct sunlight. Even leather sofas, which are often among the most robust and hard wearing, will suffer if they are overexposed.
No Trampolining or Kung-Fu Kicks
High-quality couches have construction that can withstand a lot, but that’s no reason to court disaster. Your Italian sofa is for sitting on, not jumping up and down! And sofa arms can only take so many kicks before joints start to work loose.
Cats, Nail Varnish, Cigarettes and Greasy Food
These are all threats to your new sofa! But on the other hand, life goes on and couch designsshould fit in your lifestyle rather than the other way round. Claws, chemicals, hot ashes and grease are best kept at a distance if you can. If you can’t, then read what follows.
Your Best Friend? A Clean, Damp Cloth
A spillage is likely to happen at some time, unless you enforce a very strict policy on the rest of the household! If it happens, try a clean damp cloth in the first instance to mop up the spillage. Don’t go overboard on soap and water. Too much water may seep into the sofa and may affect the frame.
Cleaning Products and Conditioners
Be very wary of using any product for cleaning. What’s ideal for kitchen sinks can make an ugly patches oncouches. Test any product you’re thinking of using on a small, inconspicuous part of your sofa to make sure there are no unfortunate side-effects before using it more generally.
Locate a Good Professional
A mistake that some people make is trying to repair more serious damage themselves, whether in terms of stains, rips or breakage. Even good qualityItalian leathersofas, which can be so forgiving, sometimes need the attention of a professional to restore them to their pristine glory. So keep that phone number handy, just in case!
