Everyone knows the importance of staying on top of household chores to prevent a mess from building up.
Tasks such as vacuuming the living room and ensuring your tables are dust-free are typically done a few times a week, but there’s one chore that often gets neglected.
For a lot of people, most evenings are spent unwinding on the sofa – but how frequently do you actually give it a thorough clean?
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Experts have now revealed exactly how often this needs to be done, and it might be more often than you’d expect.
This information is particularly useful for those who suffer from dust allergies, which is estimated to affect around five million people in the UK, reports the Express.
If you or your children have this allergy, your sofa could be triggering flare-ups if you’re not following these cleaning tips.
Thomas Bird, a textiles expert and owner of Fabric Online, said: “As dust mites prefer to live in warm conditions, they are often found in your bedding or soft furnishings.”
“While it is difficult to completely remove dust mites from the home, cleaning your sofa once a fortnight can help to reduce the likelihood of suffering from allergies within your own home.”
How to clean your sofa
Vacuuming
Make sure to vacuum your sofa at least once a week, focusing on areas where dust can gather like the edges of cushions. This can decrease the chance of dust mites gathering by removing their food source.
Brushing
For fabric sofas, a good brushing and beating can help to dislodge any dust that has settled into the fabric. It’s also a good idea to take any cushions outside and give them a good beating to remove dust particles.
Steaming
After you’ve given your fabric sofa a good brush down, steam cleaning is another effective way to pick up any remaining dust and bacteria. The hot steam will penetrate the fabric and kill off any dust mites and bacteria lurking within.
Washing covers
If your sofa comes with removable covers, it’s a good idea to wash these along with any cushion covers in hot water to kill off any bacteria. Just make sure to put them on a gentle cycle to avoid damaging the fabric.
Once they’ve been washed, let them air dry completely to prevent them from becoming mouldy.