As you wake up in the morning and enter the living room, you are stunned by a horrible sight.
There, in the middle of your couch, is a massive ugly stain!
Where did it come from and how can you get it out of your couch’s fabric before it stains the couch forever?
You search your home and all you find is your old carpet cleaner machine. Is carpet cleaner effective in cleaning a stained couch?
If you don’t have any fabric cleaning machines available, then you can use carpet cleaner on your couch for most stains. However, check the label and make sure there’s no bleach in the carpet cleaner solution. You may want to dilute the carpet cleaner with some water before placing the handheld hose couch.
Carpet cleaner may or may not work, it depends on the stain.
However, carpet cleaner solution or even fabric or upholstery cleaner will not be able to remove all types of stains from fabric.
For tough stains, like red wine, spaghetti sauce, or blood, you’ll have to find alternative solutions.
Can You Use Carpet Cleaner on a Couch?
Yes, you can use carpet cleaning machines on your couch. Use the hose connected to the bottom of the carpet cleaner to remove the stain from the couch.
Many carpet cleaners come with a brush and hose/upholstery attachment that must be used to clean all parts of the sofa and prevent any damage to it. If your equipment did not come with these additional materials, they are readily and cheaply available if you know what kind of vacuum you have.
Carpet cleaners are heavy, so do even try lifting it up and onto the couch.
Best Ways to Use Carpet Cleaner to Clean Your Couch
Using the handheld hose instead of the entire carpet cleaning machine is just one tip to using a carpet cleaner to clean your couch. Before using a carpet cleaner, you need to get rid of the excess dirt, crumbs, and debris on your couch via other methods.
To clean your couch effectively with a carpet cleaner, first remove all the dirt and grime and particles that are on the couch.
Do not let them get sucked up by the carpet cleaning machine.
You should dab a little of the carpet cleaners solution onto a washcloth and test if it is safe to use on your couch.
You can do this by blotting a tiny amount of the carpet cleaning solution onto an area of the couch that no one will see.
We suggest the area where the wood and metal are underneath the couch. The couch inside the empty space where the wood and metal are.
By testing the solution, you won’t accidentally leave ugly large permanent streak marks on couch cushions.
Cleaning codes W, WS, S, and X demonstrate how that couch is meant to be cleaned, with W deeming water and water-based cleaners safe for use, WS identifying water-based solvents as optimal, and S requiring a water-free dry solvent.
A sofa with an X cleaning code requires professional cleaning.
What Other Items Can I Clean?
When it comes down to it, a carpet cleaning machine is designed to scrub a rug or a carpet and remove stains, dirt, grime, oils, and small particles from the fabric.
So any thick fabric that will not rip apart under the cleaning power of a carpet cleaner can be cleaned by a carpet cleaner.
You might not want to clean your clothes with a carpet cleaner, but you can certainly clean the non-leather upholstery in your car, large thick winter comforters, and heavy curtains.
Do not place curtains or comforters on the floor and roll over them with the carpet cleaner.
Instead, use the hand tool attached to the carpet cleaning machine and use the tool to spot clean the fabrics.
Beware of Bleach Ingredients
Some carpet cleaners solutions have bleach as an ingredient. These types of carpet cleaning solutions are usually made specifically for white carpets.
But if you don’t have a white carpet or couch, then there’s no need for you to buy a carpet cleaner with bleach.
But, just to be sure, check the ingredients and make sure that there is no bleach on the list.
Can I Use a Carpet Cleaning Machine on My Leather Couch?
Cleaning stains off of a leather couch can be difficult. There are some cleaners that work on leather and some that will damage the leather.
Carpet cleaning solution is not designed to be used on leather.
The solution should only be used in fabric, cotton, acrylic, and polyester rugs and similar fabrics.
If you have a leather couch, do not clean it with a carpet cleaner. In fact, do not use any chemical cleaners on the couch.
Do not clean a leather couch with water either.
You have to use a special leather conditioner or leather and vinyl cleaner.
When you buy a leather couch, you should have bought leather cleaner on the same day.
What If the Carpet Cleaner Doesn’t Work?
Most clean solutions are designed to take out dirt, some food stains, grass marks, and white wine.
But cleaners are not designed to remove all types of stains. Is the stain a body fluid like urine or blood? Is it dirt or mud?
Is it a tough food stain like spaghetti sauce, grease, or red wine?
Once you establish which type of stain is on the couch, you can create the perfect cleaning solution to remove it from the couch fabric.
Carpet cleaning solution may not work for certain substances, like blood or red wine.
How to Clean Blood Out of a Couch With a Carpet Cleaner
You accidentally got a little blood on your couch. You coated the stain in carpet cleaner but the blood won’t come out and the iron smell is still there.
Removing blood from fabric is extremely challenging and you’ll have to try a few solutions before the stain and the smell finally come out.
Here’s what you should do:
First, do not scrub the bloodstain. Scrubbing can actually push the blood into the cushioning of the fabric.
Grab your carpet cleaner and switch out the cleaning solution for cold water. Cleaning solution is not needed for this issue.
Now, retrieve some hydrogen peroxide from underneath your bathroom sink and pour a small amount on the stain.
The blood on the couch will foam up when it comes into contact with the hydrogen peroxide. Use the carpet cleaner’s hose to vacuum up the blood/peroxide from the couch.
Continue to pour a small amount of hydrogen peroxide on the bloodstain and then use the carpet cleaner hose to vacuum it up.
Do not drag the hose across the stain.
Handheld Carpet Cleaners
So you don’t want to use your large carpet cleaner on your couch?
Many carpet cleaning manufacturers also sell hand held fabric cleaning machines. These cleaners are easier to use and to lift.
It is also far easier to clean smaller spaces with handheld carpet cleaners.
Small spaces include stairs, rugs and carpets underneath furniture, as well as spot cleaning curtains and upholstered furniture.
Conclusion to Using Carpet Cleaner on the Couch
You can use a carpet cleaner to clean a couch, as long as it doesn’t have bleach in it.
You should test the carpet cleaning solution first before you get a nasty surprise.
If you’re cleaning blood off of a couch, use hydrogen peroxide and not the carpet cleaning solution.
Before cleaning a couch with a carpet cleaner, remove all the dirt and grime with a wet paper towel or washcloth.
