Vinegar. Baking soda. Dish soap.
Blot. Dab. No, not like that.
The discourse around the best way to get stains out of furniture (without renting equipment or paying a professional, that is) clearly depends on who you ask. But as much as cleaning TikTok or your grandmother swear by their home remedies, at the end of the day, the most versatile hack for cleaning your own upholstery might just be to get a real upholstery cleaning machine.
Graduating from a spray bottle to an actual upholstery cleaner shouldn’t feel much more extra than using a vacuum instead of a broom and dustpan. Constant spraying and blotting is not only unnecessary work on your end, but could end up making the spots more obvious than before.
Homemade cleaning concoctions can be miracle workers in emergency situations, but probably aren’t the most practical for regular tending to stains. The best ingredients to use and the appropriate amount of elbow grease to apply are heavily circumstantial, depending on the size, age, and type of the stain as well as the type of fabric. It often feels like what allegedly worked for one person on the internet just ends up aggravating your crime scene even more, like drawing a water ring along the edges of the dabbing area. Oh, and now your couch smells like dog pee and vinegar.
Commercial cleaning sprays come with their own set of caveats. More intense chemicals can be a little too good at lifting for more fragile materials like suede or linen, leaving behind discoloration or pilling to the point of no return. Many spray cleaners are foaming and recommend allowing the pile of foam to sit for minutes, which isn’t the safest approach for homes with pets or children, anyway.
Cleaning by hand rarely reaches deep enough to affect set-in stains. That coffee spill from two years ago is perfectly comfortable as a permanent detail on your comfy chair, thank you for asking.
At-home upholstery cleaners come in two forms: ones that use suction and water and ones that use steam. Your biggest deciding factor will probably be the type of fabric you’re dealing with. Most upholstery and rugs should have a tag or online manual laying out wash instructions, which often indicate if that material can get wet, if that wetness should water or some type of detergent, or if it should be steamed.
Even upholstery that can handle water or soap can still be damaged if it gets completely soaked. A good wet upholstery cleaner should have customizable moisture management that allows you to set the amount of water being dispersed. These administer vacuum-like suction as they clean, both to snag any solid debris from the spill and to help the puddle dry.
While ignoring “hand wash only” or “dry clean only” instructions on clothing may not show drastic consequences yet, furniture is a much bigger investment. So fabrics that prefer to not get wet at all, like suede or velvet, should be cleaned accordingly, with a high-heat, low-moisture approach. Steamers still have a water tank, but heat that water past its boiling point and force it through the attachment in the form of pressurized steam. The vapor is able to dig into fibers and not only loosen the stain, but can kill allergens like dust mites or bacteria that cause odor — a possible solution for those invisible stains that still reek.
Whether it’s a West Elm splurge, antique velvet find, or the classic budget pick in college dorm grey, here are the best upholstery cleaners for keeping your furniture clean:
Both cleaning TikTok and pet TikTok back this little green machine hard. Bissell’s portable multipurpose upholstery cleaner uses a dedicated spot formula, water, and a high-suction brush tool to lift stains from carpets and rugs, furniture, and car interiors. Rather than soaking the spot, the nozzle lightly sprays liquid and then sucks it back up, proving its effectiveness by letting you watch the dirty water go back up into the tank. One last pass with the tool dries the moisture it just dished out.
Users are particularly impressed by its success on dried or even years-old stains that stain spray couldn’t touch. Mashable’s Haley Henschel, who caved after seeing the device work wonders on TikTok, says it saved her cheap Wayfair couch.
That jewel-toned velvet sofa seems like a grand idea until the first spill won’t disappear no matter which way you rub it. Traditional upholstery cleaners that soak with water and soap are typically advised against on delicate fabrics like velvet, leather, suede, and even light-colored linen that shows water stains. A low-moisture, high heat approach like steam is the safer option here.
Investing in the Dupray Neat steam cleaner for your upholstery and mattresses also extends to deep cleaning stubborn gunk like grout grime, oven grease, and more. The 275-degree puff almost acts like a power washer, offering a satisfying visual after each pass (as shown in the GIFs on Dupray’s website(opens in a new tab)) while simultaneously deodorizes and sanitizes.
“The sooner, the better” is the most successful time frame for going after most new stains. A portable upholstery cleaner that doesn’t require wrestling with a cord, like Bissell’s cordless Pet Stain Eraser, is easy to whip out in mini emergencies. It’s also clutch for car owners who don’t have easy access to an outdoor plug.
No one should expect Bissell’s handheld offering to be able to go stain for stain with full sized machines. But for the compactness, its suction is decently powerful and its spray range is decently wide. You’ll get 15 to 30 minutes of cleaning on one charge.
While cold is the go-to water temperature for treating stains like blood and food or drink, hot water is better at loosening many non-food stains like grease, dirt or mud, and for the times when the bucket reflex fails, vomit.
The ProHeat version of Bissell’s keeps water at a consistent temperature and can be controlled through different attachment nozzles depending on the location and depth of the stain. The only catch? The ProHeat doesn’t heat the water, so be sure you have the red faucet knob turned on while filling.
Spot cleaning here and there may not feel worth dragging out full-sized machinery. The handheld version of Hoover’s upright PowerDash strikes a nice balance — weight-wise and price-wise — between a mild cordless cleaner and a heavy duty one.
Weighing in at 6.5 pounds, the PowerDash Go Pet+ is nearly three pounds lighter than the Bissell Little Green. Reviewers on Amazon note that it really is compact, making it easy to target carpeting on stairs. Small stains are where this one hander maxes out, though, so don’t rely on it to transform an entire sofa.
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