Stains here and there on the couch happen to even the most cautious of us. Sure you can get them cleaned once in a while from a cleaning service but people are always on the lookout for cheaper ways to get things done and so many have used shaving cream to get those stains out of upholstery.
Whether it’s your dining chair, bed, lounge chair, office chair, or even gaming chair, you can make use of shaving cream to get rid of stains.
In this article, we’ll be revealing different methods to clean the different types of upholstery using a cheap shaving foam. This is a foolproof method that has worked for many.
How To Clean Upholstery With Shaving Cream?
Factors To Be Considered Before Cleaning Your Cleaning Your Upholstery With Shaving Cream
Before you head over to your bathroom cabinet to pick up that shaving cream bottle, there are a few things you must understand before applying this DIY trick.
1- The Cleaning Guidelines for the Upholstery
Every piece of furniture comes with some cleaning guidelines. They are often called codes, which is usually what the manufacturer writes on their tags.
The tag is found at the rear of the furniture and contains specific information about the furniture, among which the cleaning guideline is often stated.
These cleaning codes are about 5-6; however, every piece of furniture can only have one cleaning code. The cleaning guidelines are symbolized with 1 or 2 letters that have their meaning.
They include Code W, Code WS, Code X, and Code S, to mention a few.
2- The Type of Shaving Cream
When using this trick, it is vital to take notice of the littlest details to avoid making a cleaning mess. There are two types of shaving cream often used: gel and frothy cream.
The best option to select is the frothy cream when using this method.
The shaving gel is a no-no because it doesn’t contain as much moisture as the frothy shaving cream, so it won’t get absorbed into the fabric of the furniture easily.
3- The Quality of the Shaving Cream
Just because you are applying shaving cream on a piece of furniture does not mean that you could use any brand.
Your upholstery fabric can become damaged or bleached because of the application of low-quality shaving cream. You sure do not want that.
This does not imply that a cheap shaving cream would not do the job effectively. To ensure that you are on the safe side, do well to first try a patch test at an inconspicuous part of the furniture before applying it to the prominent stains.
This way, you can discover how your upholstery fabric reacts to the product.
How Long After A Patch Test Can I Apply The Shaving Cream?
After you try out a patch test at a less prominent place on your couch, it is essential to wait for 24 hours to discover how your furniture reacts to the ingredients of that particular shaving cream before going ahead to start the actual cleaning.
This is because you do not want to ruin your furniture just because you want to apply a method hurriedly.
How Upholstery Cleaning Codes Determine Cleaning Your Upholstery With Shaving Cream
Cleaning codes help to teach the owner and home cleaners, how to best maintain the piece of furniture, especially when you need to get it cleaned up, and this shaving cream method is not an exception.
Code W
The W here stands for wet cleaning. Whenever you see the Code W on any upholstery, it means that the fabric of the furniture is designed to permit the use of water or water-based cleaning products to be applied on its surface during its cleaning process.
Also, when water spills on this type of upholstery, there wouldn’t be any cause for alarm because no damage can be done to the fabric because of its ability to absorb moisture.
However, this does not imply that one can spray the Code W couch with a large quantity of water. That might lead to the degradation of the furniture.
Instead, dab stains on a Code W upholstery with a well-squeezed wet towel. That tiny amount of water or water-based cleaning product is suitable for getting the upholstery cleaned and maintaining the fabric’s longevity.
Can you clean the Code W upholstery with shaving cream? Yes, you can. Code W upholstery is a piece of water-friendly furniture, and shaving cream, a water-based product, can be applied on its surface without causing any harm.
Code S
The S here stands for solvent. This implies that this furniture cleaning method requires the use of non-water-based products or dry solvent cleaner.
This type of upholstery requires certain special products in cleaning stains off its surface. It is important to note that this upholstery is not water friendly.
Can you clean the Code S upholstery with shaving cream? No, you can’t. Code S upholstery requires only solvent products designed for furniture to be applied to it. Any other substance like shaving cream, which is a water-based product, will lead to the degradation of the fabric.
Code WS
WS here stands for wet and solvent cleaning. As the name implies, the use of water, water-based cleaning products, and solvent cleaners are suitable for cleaning the piece of furniture.
This means that you can employ one or both options whenever you need to get your furniture tidied up.
However, it is often advised to begin with water or water-based cleaning products before using the solvent cleaner if the stains do not come off ultimately.
Can you clean the Code WS upholstery with shaving cream? Yes, you can. An upholstery tagged Code WS is a piece of water-friendly furniture, and shaving cream, a water-based product, can be applied on its surface without causing any damage.
Code X
X here stands for no liquid cleaners. In essence, this means that the furniture is not designed to handle and absorb wet cleaning or solvents cleaning.
This piece of furniture is averse to any liquid as this would deteriorate its fabric. Instead, it requires making use of dry brush cleaning or vacuum cleaning to get rid of stains and mess.
When you have a spill, vacuum cleaning is the best option. And if there’s a glaring stain that needs to be removed, consult a professional furniture cleaning service to help deal with that.
Can you clean Code X upholstery with shaving cream? No, you can’t. As stated above, this type of furniture is intolerant to any wet cleaning, save vacuum cleaning and light brushing. Using a shaving cream might lead to shrinkage or discoloration of the fabric.
Method 1: Cleaning a Code W Upholstery
YOU’LL NEED
1- Shaving cream
2- Clean towel
3- Spray bottle
4- Water
5- Steam cleaner for couch
STEPS
STEP 1: Begin by trying out a patch test on an inconspicuous part of the upholstery.
STEP 2: When you realize that the shaving cream can be trusted, the next step is to dust the dirt off the piece of furniture.
STEP 3: Spray the affected spot with your frothy shaving cream.
STEP 4: Let the product sit on that surface for about 20-30 minutes.
STEP 5: Use a clean towel to wipe off excess cream on and around the affected surface.
STEP 6: Spritz a tiny amount of water on that surface and gently wipe to dry.
STEP 7: If the stain begins to lift off gradually, repeat the process to get a neat and satisfactory result.
STEP 8: When the process is completed, run a steam cleaner through the affected areas to absorb moisture.
Method 2: Cleaning a WS Upholstery
YOU’LL NEED
1- Shaving cream
2- Clean towel
3- Spray bottle
4- Solvent cleaners
STEPS
STEP 1: Begin by trying out a patch test on an inconspicuous part of the upholstery. When you realize that the shaving cream can be trusted, the next step is to dust the dirt off the piece of furniture.
STEP 2: Squeeze the liquid out of the upholstery by pressing a clean towel on it.
STEP 3: Do not let the surface get dried—dab moderate amounts of shaving cream on the affected spots.
STEP 4: Let it immerse into the fabric for about 20-30 minutes before using a moistened towel to wipe it.
STEP 6: Pour your solvent cleaner into a spray bottle and spritz moderately on the soiled surfaces.
STEP 7: Leave to dry.
Method 3: Cleaning Upholstery with Dish Soap, Vinegar, and Shaving Cream
YOU’LL NEED
1- Shaving cream
2- Dish soap
3- Vinegar
4- Spray bottle
5- Water
6- Clean towel
7- Steam cleaner for couch
STEPS
STEP 1: Dust dirt off the couch.
STEP 2: Use a clean towel to suck the moisture from the fabric of the upholstery.
STEP 3: Pour 2 full cups of dish soap into the spray bottle, mix with a cup of vinegar, and 5 cups of water.
STEP 4: Shake the mix thoroughly and spritz the surface moderately with the mixture.
STEP 5: Use a clean towel to wipe continuously till the stains begin to fade.
STEP 6: The next step is to dab a tiny amount of shaving cream on the surface and let it sit for about half an hour.
STEP 7: At this point, you’ll notice that the shaving cream and the dish soap-vinegar mix would have dried on the affected surface, and the stains would have been wiped off.
STEP 8: Finish the cleaning by running a steam cleaner through the piece of furniture (this only applies if your upholstery is heat-resistant).
How To Ensure The Shaving Cream Cleans Stains Effectively
Salvage the Stain Immediately
Employing this method works best when the mess is still fresh. Whether it is pet urine, wine spill, coffee spill, or bloodstain, working on the stain immediately is a surefire way to ensure that the shaving cream trick works effectively.
Final Thoughts!
Upholstery cleaning is quite tricky and if you do not understand the peculiarities of this piece of furniture, then you might make a cleaning mess -which no one wishes for.
In this article, we delved into the shaving cream DIY hack used for getting rid of stains on upholstery.
However, we didn’t do that without first exploring important intricacies of upholstery that you would definitely find handy, even beyond cleaning.
