Sofa fabric care advice
General fabric care
Looking after your fabric is easy and we've put together a few guidelines to help and we're happy to answer any additional questions you might have.
Dust and dirt cause fabric to wear faster so hoover regularly with an upholstery attachment. Flip, rotate and fluff removable cushions regularly to ensure even wear.
Feather and foam cushions have superb recovery qualities but need to be fluffed to restore loft. Some feather loss is normal. Hoovering between the cushion and the casing can help prevent feathers from coming through the fabric.
Tight cushions (fixed cushions or foam cushions) will stretch and wrinkle, or ‘puddle’ with use. This is remedied by smoothing the fabric.
To minimise fading, keep upholstered furniture out of direct sunlight. Dark fabrics and natural fabrics are most susceptible to colour fade. Check the colourfastness rating on each fabric.
Spot cleaning is not recommended on natural fabrics as rubbing, cleaning products and even water can leave marks or remove dye. Please test synthetic fabrics before attempting to spot clean. If any spot clean is attempted please ensure you wet the whole panel, not just the stain. This can help, but not always prevent watermarking. Always follow the care instructions fixed to your furniture.
If you are concerned about armrest use we have custom armrest covers for most of our sofa designs. Please ask for details.
An annual professional cleaning will keep your furniture looking great. There are many companies that will come to do this in your home, and we are happy to recommend some in your area.
Download our quick guide to all fabrics
Synthetic fibres are robust - they are made of strong man made materials and often have higher rub counts. They don't hold onto stains in the way that a naturally dyed fabric might. They often have high colour fastness ratings. Often, they are blended with a natural fibre like cotton to add a supple softness.
The Oekotex Standard 100 is a certification that identifies fabrics that have passed chemical safety requirements. The label began as a German, Austrian and Swiss collaboration and it means every thread is tested for harmful substances and the article is harmless for human health. It is a traceable label.
Aquaclean fabrics with a special technology offering a double guarantee of hygiene. The formula protects against viruses (ISO 18184:2019) and bacteria (ISO 20743:2013) and is designed to combat the presence of mites, preventing the onset of allergies and other associated problems. These are also PFC free, which means they have no perfluorocarbons and Oekotex Standard 100 Certified.
For families and pets, durability and cleaning are key. These fabrics have good abrasion ratings (rub tests) to resist rips and tears and are made from synthetic fibres. The Aquaclean fabrics are specially designed to be easy to clean. Removing most household stains is easy and requires only soaking & continuous wiping with water. Watch our Aquaclean video for advice. Aquaclean is PFC free meaning there are no per fluorocarbons that are often used in stain resistant fabrics.
All our fabrics in this section can be washed according to the instructions. Please note the individual symbols - some are hand wash, some cold water wash and some warm water wash. We always advise that upholstery fabric is cleaned by a professional to avoid crushing the fabric, the backing or stitching. If you do wash at home please use natural, neutral soap, never use detergents which often have brighteners and chemicals that can damage upholstery fabric. Please note that tap water can stain or discolour fabric due to its mineral content.
These fabrics include recycled fabrics, fabric made with Seaqual yarns, fabrics made with production processes that save water or are zero waste, fabrics that have no heavy metals or are halogen free. We also include our fabrics with the Made in Green label by Oekotex, which guarantees that the fabric has Oekotex standard 100 label AND has been manufactured using sustainable processes under socially responsible working conditions.
Natural fibres like cotton, linen and wool are breathable, feel great and tend to get softer with use. Fabrics with more than 75% natural fibres can have an interliner instead of direct FR treatments. Natural fabrics can often be washed, see specific instructions for each fabric.