Sofa Stain Removal 101

Everybody knows that upholstered furniture is a magnet for stains, especially in homes with pets or children in residence. Stains on sofas and upholstery can be harder to remove than on clothing because you can’t just pop a sofa in the wash – and replacing a rug, curtains or sofa will be much more costly than replacing a t-shirt!

Here are a few tips for minimising stain damage.

Deal with spills as they happen and don’t leave them! There’s no need to panic over a little accident, just blot the spill with an absorbent cloth, without scrubbing at it. In some cases that might be all you need.

If it’s still there, try using household upholstery cleaner in an inconspicuous spot first. Or try some of our home products. Even if it’s stained, resist the temptation to rub at it as it could have the opposite effect. Try spraying a towel with water (not the sofa) and gently dry the affected area. Don’t ever put water directly onto upholstery as you could end up with a water mark.

Specific stains can need special treatment:

• Mud and dirt – just brush it off when it’s dried and don’t wet it.
• Blood: Make a solution with a pint of water and 30g salt then wet it, blot it and wet it again. If the stain is still there, you could also try a weak hydrogen peroxide solution – but test this somewhere you can’t see it first.
• Fruit Juice stains – blot these with a solution of ratio 1:3 vinegar to water.
• Red Wine - soak up as much of the stain as you can with a clean dry cloth and don’t be tempted to rub at it. Then, blot the stain with a diluted detergent water mix and soak up with a dry cloth. Hydrogen peroxide mixed with detergent in equal parts is a last resort (test it first on an inconspicuous area though.)

To keep stain damage to a minimum, go for a sofa with stain resistant fabric, and consider having it re-treated regularly. To spruce up your furniture after you’ve eliminated spills, and keep it looking in top notch condition, a professional cleaning service such as 1st Choice Chemdry can really make a difference!
Call us for more information on professional cleaning services for homes and business premises.

Flood Alert!

The weather has been back in the news recently with a spate of flash floods and storms that have affected just about every part of the UK. Here’s some advice on what to do when the weather’s looking decidedly difficult.

Flood Warning

If you’ve been told floods are highly likely in your area, and there is a flood alert/warning in place, keep a battery-operated radio to hand so that you can keep up with updates and forecasts, and get your flood kit ready. This should comprise your insurance documents, waterproofs, first aid kit, a torch, bottles of water and any items like prescription medication, baby care and personal care items. It’s also good to pack some non-perishable food items.

• If the flood is imminent and the alert is now a warning, turn your gas and electricity supplies off, move family members and pets to the highest part of the building and make sure you take your flood kit with you. 
• Put down any protection you have; airbrick covers, sandbags etc.
• Plug your water inlet pipes with towels or cloths, and disconnect appliances that use water, like dishwashers or washing machines.
• ONLY if you have time, move anything expensive or electrical upstairs. 

Already Flooded?

Sometimes there is no warning. And even if there is, there’s only so much you can do to protect yourself, so what do you do if you find your home flooded? The main thing is to keep yourself and anyone else in the building safe, even if this means you have to evacuate your home on the advice of the emergency services.

Call your insurance company as soon as you can, tell them what’s happened and ask them to organise a professional disaster recovery team.  Most insurers have 24-hour emergency helplines. If you haven’t had time to find your policy details it’s not the end of the world - although these will save time. You’ll be on their database and if you have a tablet or phone you should be able to find their emergency number online.

Always arrange repairs and emergency cleaning through your insurer as they may not pay up otherwise. 1st Choice Chemdry is used by many of the major insurance firms so you could ask for us by name if you prefer. They may pay the costs of recovery direct, but if they don’t, make sure that you keep receipts for work done. Take photographs of the damage to help your claim.

ALWAYS wait for a qualified person to deal with any electrical repairs, and don’t touch any electrical appliances or plugs while you’re standing in water.

Keep water damaged items so that you can claim for them if they need to be replaced, unless your insurer tells you to go ahead. Again, take pictures where you can. Use a permanent marker to show the water levels and list everything that was damaged, even down to the food in the fridge and freezer.