Caring for your sofa
Washing instructions for..
- House fabric
- Brushed Linen Cotton
- Best Belgian Linen
- 100% Heavy Weight Linen (2006-2007)
- Broad Weave Linen
- Velvets
- Leather
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We are sure you will want to give your sofa lots of care and attention to ensure it is able to look after you in return. Most of our sofas have loose covers so that you can remove them for cleaning.
Below we have given you some advice on how to care for your sofa, fitting your sofa covers and important instructions on how to clean and care for our various fabrics. This should mean you are able to give your sofa the love it deserves!
If you have any questions about caring for your sofa, do get in touch on contact@sofa.com or call 0845 400 2222.
Guardsman Fabric Protection
Please, please buy Guardsman Fabric Protection! If on a quiet evening you happen to spill a drop of coffee or your favourite rioja onto your lovely sofa, this may send you into a wild panic. If on the other hand you have bought Guardsman Fabric Protection this event will cause nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
This is because the treatment which we apply for you prior to delivery makes it far less likely that you will suffer a stain, by preventing hazardous liquids from sinking into your lovely natural covers. The treatment is just £55 for a 3 seat sofa and is entirely undtectable leaving no sticky residue or funny odours. If you are unfortunate enough to suffer a little splodge then simply absorb any liquid with a dry cloth and call Guardsman who will send a friendly cleaning man to remove the stain for free. If the stain is very persistent then Guardsman will replace the effected cover at no cost to you at all.
If you have opted for leather furniture you can also purchase a Guardsman Leather Warranty as well.
Cushion plumping
To ensure the longest possible life for your sofa it's important to keep your cushions in top condition by turning and plumping. Our seat cushions are made from a supportive foam wrapped in a luxurious duvet of white duck feathers. While this ingenious combination provides oozy comfort with a minimum of maintenance, the feathers will need to be plumped or smoothed back into place from time to time. The back cushions are filled with 100% duck feather, so they will also need occasional plumping.
Fitting your covers
You may well have discovered that your covers are attached with cleverly positioned Velcro strips. To ensure that your covers fit your sofa perfectly, please follow these instructions:
- First of all, loosely fit the cover over each of the corners of the sofa and then slowly pull the cover down to the base of the frame.
- Positioned in front of the sofa, tauten the cover fasten to the Velcrobase, working evenly in both directions.
- On your first attempt it is likely that you will not fasten the cover tightly enough and the Velcro will not reach at the rear of the frame. Carefully repeat the process until you achieve this and then ensure the fastenings on the sofa interior area are also secure.
- Replace cushions covers with zips and return to the sofa.
Weight of Covers
If machine washing your covers (Brushed Linen Cotton and Best Belgian Linen), you should be sure not to overload your washer, as this can lead to damage to both your covers and you machine. Please be sure to check the load capacity of your machine against the weight of the covers below. It may be necessary to wash the individual base and cushion covers for your sofa separately.
All weights are approximate, and sofa styles and fabrics will vary slightly.
- Armchair = 4kg
- Two Seat = 6kg
- Three Seat = 8.5kg
Fabrics
House Fabric
- This fabric must only be dry cleaned.
- You can use a warm iron (up to 150°C).
Brushed Linen Cotton
For best result we recommend drying-cleaning your covers. These fabrics are natural so are liable to shrink slightly when wet washed. The lighter colours should not lose their colour if washed in a delicate cool wash. The darker ones will likely run a little so to minimise this we recommend cold hand washing.
- For best results we recomend dry-cleaning.
- You should use a mild washing programme and we recommend that you use the mildest process on your washing machine - this will normally be 'delicates' or 'hand wash' and must NOT be more than 30°C.
- Be careful not to overload your machine. You may need to check the load capacity of you machine - see above for weights of covers.
- You should use a mild detergent without bleach or optical whiteners.
- You should fit covers while they are still damp - do NOT let them dry completely.
- Do NOT dry them in direct sunlight or on heaters or radiators.
- Do NOT tumble dry your covers!
- Warm iron (up to 150°C)
- For best results we recommend dry-cleaning.
- Hand wash with cold water
- You should use a mild detergent without bleach or optical whiteners.
- You should fit covers while they are still damp - do NOT let them dry completely.
- Do NOT dry them in direct sunlight or on heaters or radiators.
- Do NOT tumble dry your covers!
- Warm iron (up to 150°C)
Best Belgian Linen
For best result we recommend drying-cleaning your covers. These fabrics are natural so are liable to shrink slightly when wet washed. The dyed varieties will retain their colour if washed correctly. The un-dyed colours - White Sand and in particular Natural Flax - may lose some of their natural pigmentation over time and when washed. Dry cleaning will minimise this effect.
Dyed
Un-dyed
- For best results we recomend dry-cleaning.
- You should use a mild washing process and we recommend that you use the mildest programme on your washing machine - this will normally be 'delicates' or 'hand wash' and must NOT be more than 30°C.
- Be careful not to overload your machine. You may need to check the load capacity of you machine - see above for weights of covers.
- You should use a mild detergent without bleach or optical whiteners.
- You should fit covers while they are still damp - do NOT let them dry completely.
- Do NOT dry them in direct sunlight or on heaters or radiators.
- Do NOT tumble dry your covers!
- Warm iron (up to 150°C)
N.B. If you placed your order for 100% Linen Duck Egg or Natural Flax prior to 25th December 2007, these fabrics are only suitable for dry cleaning - please see instructions for 100% Heavyweight Linen.
100% Heavy Weight Linen (2006-2007)
- This fabric must only be dry cleaned.
- Warm iron (up to 150°C).
Broad Weave Linen
- This fabric must only be dry cleaned.
- Warm iron (up to 150°C).
Velvets
Velvets are very luxurious but relatively sensitive, so we recommend the utmost care when looking after these fabrics. A characteristic of velvet is the distinct pile that produces the amazing sparkle visible on these fabrics. With time, this pile will show signs of use particularly on the silky velvet producing a 'crushed' effect which is very usual for velvet and part of its natural beauty. Velvet is sensitive to liquids so to avoid unduly disturbing the pile we strongly advise against using any liquid to clean this fabric, however tempting this may be (this includes damp cloths etc).
Cotton Matt Velvet
Silky Cotton Velvet
- These fabrics must only be dry cleaned.
- Velvet is very sensitive to liquids and should be kept dry at all times.
- Cool iron (up to 110°C) on the reverse side of the fabric.
Leather
All our leather sofas have fixed covers. However, the cushions have zips which allow for the careful removal of the cushion fillings which can be turned to allow even wear. There are a number of branded products to clean leather as well as oils which will ensure its long-term softness and suppleness. Typically you should clean and oil your sofa from every 6 months to once a year on top of the regular dusting that leather will require.
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