How to remove odor from the couch, effective and simple methods

The unpleasant smell from upholstered furniture causes discomfort. It can come from old and new products, arise as a result of prolonged exposure to damp or spilling strongly smelling liquids. When deciding how to remove the smell from the sofa, you need to take into account what caused it, what material the upholstery is made of. Complex contaminants may require comprehensive cleaning.

Effective ways to eliminate odor depending on its type

To get rid of an unpleasant odor, you must determine where it comes from. The stench from damp furniture does not have a clear localization, from it as a whole comes a heavy musty smell. If liquids smell, their aroma will be most strongly felt directly in the place where they were spilled. The most abrupt and difficult to remove are spilled beer, pet urine. You can remove the smell from upholstered furniture by home and specialized means. The optimal method of cleaning and the proportions of the product depend on the type of material, the substance that caused the problem.

Before use, it is necessary to test the selected product on a small piece of the upholstery.

New sofa

From the recently manufactured upholstered furniture of the budget segment, a characteristic chemical aroma of glue, varnish, paint can come. To get rid of the smell of a new sofa, it is necessary to ventilate the room in which it is located. Well, if you can arrange a strong draft. The product itself must be thoroughly vacuumed, and inside (in storage boxes) put the adsorbent. Successfully cope with salt, mint, soda, lavender, vanilla sugar. Saucer with a sorbent must be left for 8-10 hours, and then replaced.

Old furniture

Old upholstered furniture begins to smell with occasional cleaning. For a long time the upholstery accumulates dust, absorbs odors. If the room is properly ventilated, and the smell of dampness does not come from the sofa, it will be enough to carefully knock it out and clean the upholstery.

When working indoors, dust will fly around the room so that this does not happen; it is recommended to cover the product with a damp cloth.

The unpleasant odor from the old sofa can also appear as a result of the development of mold. This happens in musty, poorly ventilated rooms. Shallow tissues and porous materials, to which most fillers belong, are most susceptible to fungus. If mold spots are clearly visible, it is recommended to replace the upholstery and sofa filler.

If the fungus is slightly affected, the product must be cleaned. The first step is to carefully knock it out. In the process, mold spores will fly away, so it is recommended that you clean the street using a respirator or mask. To remove the remaining microparticles of mold, you need to vacuum the surface with a nozzle for upholstered furniture. It is important to pay attention to seams, inaccessible places.

The most effective way to remove the smell of mold from the upholstery of the sofa is a wet, integrated cleaning. It is carried out as follows.

The upholstery should be thoroughly wiped with a sponge dipped in water with two tablespoons of vinegar or hydrogen peroxide. Do not allow strong wetting of the material.
Then salt is poured onto all soft horizontal surfaces (it will be needed near a pack). After 6-8 hours, you need to collect the grains with a stiff brush and thoroughly vacuum the product. Instead of salt, you can use soda or starch, but in this case you need to remove the sorbent after 12 hours. Sleeping large-leaf tea can become a fragrant adsorbent for dark upholstery - the tea leaves are squeezed out and laid out on the seat for several hours.

If poor ventilation or high humidity is maintained in the house, the mold itself and the characteristic unpleasant odor will reappear.

Pets

In the event that a spot of cat or dog urine is found on the upholstery, it is recommended to start getting rid of the unpleasant odor as quickly as possible from the sofa at home. Due to the complex structure of upholstered furniture, the smelling liquid can quickly penetrate deep into the filler, and it will be much more difficult to destroy the amber of the stubborn stain. Immediately after the appearance of the puddle, you must perform the following steps:

Blot the liquid with a dry cloth.
Sprinkle a place with baking soda, leave for 5-10 minutes.
Spray a mixture of water and vinegar on top of the powder. The ratio is 1: 1. Instead of vinegar, a solution is allowed: half a glass of 3% hydrogen peroxide and a teaspoon of detergent. The resulting mixture must be applied with a cloth to the stain and allowed to stand for 5 minutes, then blot with a damp, clean cloth.
Dry the treated surface thoroughly.

The most difficult thing is to clean the sofa from the unpleasant smell of cat urine. This method worked well:

The stain must be rubbed with a 10% solution of ammonia, do not touch for 30 minutes.
Apply laundry soap.
Rinse with vinegar (1 tablespoon of vinegar per liter of water).
Dry the surface.

If with the help of folk methods it was not possible to completely eliminate the problem, store special means can help.

To remove the smell from the upholstered furniture, when it is already firmly ingrained in the material, it should be comprehensive, cleaning the upholstery and filler. It is necessary to inject a solution of equal parts of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide with a medical syringe, and then you need to treat the surface, as in the case of a fresh stain. After cleaning, you need long-term drying, you can use heating devices.

Dampness

If the sofa stayed for some time in a closed, unventilated room with a high level of humidity, it could become damp. A damp sofa must be ventilated and dried on the street, with a fan heater or similar equipment. When processing, it is recommended to minimize surface wetting.

Reliable tools that will help get rid of the unpleasant odor on upholstered furniture:

A solution of vinegar (preferably apple) is sprayed onto the surface. Concentration: 2 tablespoons per liter of water. Citric acid is used in a similar manner.
Weak potassium permanganate solution (only for dark tissues). Apply with a sponge or spray.
Adsorbents: soda, activated carbon. Scatter on the surface, aged on the upholstery for 8-12 hours, then carefully removed with a vacuum cleaner.

The smell of dampness can indicate the appearance of mold. In this case, a comprehensive cleaning with the use of antifungal agents is required, while working it is advisable to use a mask, protective gloves.

Urine

If urine of a child or an elderly person enters the product, it is recommended to take immediate measures. The urea concentration in adults is higher, so removing the unpleasant odor from the couch requires a more complicated procedure:

Rub the stained place with alcohol or vodka, leave for half an hour.
Apply laundry soap for 20 minutes.
Rinse with a solution consisting of a liter of water, a tablespoon of vinegar.

It is necessary to dry the sofa. The upholstery will cease to smell like alcohol after airing. You can speed up the process using fragrances.

What to do if the sofa smells bad after children's urine:

apply laundry soap for 20-30 minutes;
rinse with a mixture of vinegar with water in a ratio of 1: 5 or use the same solution with vodka;
iodine is suitable for processing dark furniture; light upholstery is cleaned with citric acid.

Children's urine is excreted more easily. After the procedure, the upholstery is thoroughly dried. Ventilation will help get rid of the smell of vinegar on upholstered furniture. Additionally, after processing, you can use flavored salt, tea, coffee. The product must be wrapped in a light cloth, left to lie on the upholstery for 12 hours.

Spilled beer

Spilled liquid leaves spots on the light surface. A characteristic aroma appears. It is possible to remove the smell of beer from the sofa yourself without resorting to dry cleaning. Processing is recommended to begin immediately after contamination. You will need paper towels, a solution of water and vinegar.

Blotting paper towels, collect all the liquid. This should be done from the edges to the center.
Pressing the napkin to the stain, remove the maximum amount of beer.
Apply a solution of vinegar and water. Concentration: 3 tablespoons per liter.
To sustain 3-5 minutes.
Wipe with a damp, clean sponge.

The smell of vinegar from the sofa will be removed in a few days, but you need to ventilate the room as often as possible.

Vomiting

The mass which has got on upholstered furniture needs to be quickly removed with dry napkins. Collect should be movements from the edges to the center. It is important not to rub the liquid into the fabric, but to blot, collecting it on a napkin. Before you get rid of the smell of vomiting on the couch, you must completely remove it from the surface.

After cleaning the area, apply soda to it, wait 20-30 minutes.
Remove the powder with a vacuum cleaner.
Wipe upholstery with vinegar, alcohol.

If the leather sofa is dirty, you can use a soap solution. After cleaning, it is recommended to put a sorbent on the surface.

Universal folk methods

Professional tools are not always at hand. The advantage of folk methods is accessibility - the house always has something to remove the unpleasant odor from upholstered furniture. Processing is recommended to be carried out immediately after smelling liquid.

Soda. The tool can be used for upholstery of any color, suitable for moisture, animal urine.
Salt. Grains must be scattered on the upholstery, left for half a day, cleaned with a vacuum cleaner. Suitable when processing a new sofa from the smell of glue, varnish, chemicals.
Laundry soap is used to clean the leather sofa from unpleasant odors, stains of urine, beer, and vomiting are processed.
Vinegar. It is used in solutions of various concentrations. After application, it is necessary to ventilate the room. For light furniture, it is recommended to replace with a solution of citric acid.
Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide are useful for removing stains of urine, vomiting, and the smell of mold.
Potassium permanganate. It will help in the processing of damp furniture.

Removing odors from the sofa should be done with a weak solution that does not affect the color of the upholstery, wooden parts.

For cleaning leather and leatherette

Effective against most odors

For upholstery of any color

Mold odor

From damp

From the smell of a new sofa

Professional Tools

Before starting work, it is necessary to prepare the surface. It is advisable to vacuum the upholstery, wipe with a damp cloth. The procedure will help to avoid the appearance of mud stains. With the help of ready-made compounds, you can eliminate the smell from the sofa as soon as possible. The most effective are:

Vanish. Liquid remedy. The cap is mixed with water in a ratio of 1: 9. It is necessary to beat the mixture, apply, leave to soak for 30-60 minutes. The surface is cleaned with a vacuum cleaner.
Allergy free. It is sold in the form of an aerosol and is used to neutralize bacteria and fungi. Content is sprayed over the affected surface without laundering.
Magos Dream AO. The concentration of the solution ranges from 1: 5 to 1:20, suitable for odors of different strengths. It does not cause irritation upon contact with the skin; it is stored for 2 years.

Before you remove the smell from the sofa by professional means, you must study the precautions and use them in strict accordance with the instructions, only for the materials indicated. If necessary, use a mask, gloves during operation.

It is recommended to choose a means to neutralize, rather than mask the smell.

Prevention

The appearance of the problem is explained not only by spilled liquids. Upholstered furniture absorbs the aromas of food, tobacco, gradually accumulates dust. And in the case of a sleeping couch, keratinized particles of skin and microparticles of sweat additionally accumulate. It is recommended to regularly rid the sofa of odors and impurities. Effective upholstery protection measures include:

vacuuming regularly;
wet cleaning using soapy water and special products;
the use of removable covers, ideally with water-repellent properties (especially true when there are pets, kids, people of advanced age in the house);
airing, maintaining a normal microclimate;
quick cleaning in case of spillage of liquids, tipping of food to the surface.

Prevention does not protect against the occurrence of smelling spots, but will prevent the accumulation of dust, contamination of the upholstery and the appearance of a stale smell.

Common mistakes

To get rid of the unpleasant smell of the sofa and not to spoil the furniture, you need to consider the upholstery material.

When working with dark upholstery, chlorine-containing, bleaching agents cannot be used.
Salt is not suitable for natural wool, it destroys the structure of the material.
The silk case may be damaged by a stiff brush, soda, heat.
Synthetic coating is not recommended to be left in direct sunlight, blow dry.
The skin needs to be cleaned carefully, it is impossible to rub, use hard brushes. Tools not intended for use with this material may damage the coating. Do not overheat with a hairdryer, place near batteries.
Velor does not need to be rubbed with a stiff brush. Pile is quickly contaminated by pets; frequent vacuuming is required.

Even the simplest household product can not be immediately applied to the seat; previously, the upholstery reaction is checked in an inconspicuous area. Timely cleaning of furniture from dust and dirt prevents the appearance of unpleasant odors.