From your carpets to your drapes to your furniture, all fabrics need to be cleaned. Cleaning upholstery, or the fabric on your furniture, removes the dirt and oils that are transferred to couches and chairs through regular use. Because furniture upholstery can be delicate and colors can fade easily, it’s often a good idea to let professional sofa cleaners handle the job. They’ll determine the type of fabric — usually cotton, linen, wool, suede or microfiber — and the appropriate method for cleaning it, either steam-cleaning or applying a dry-cleaning solvent. In general, cleaning an entire piece of furniture includes a pretreatment, cleaning, and neutralizing rinse to the body, plus removing and cleaning all cushions and cleaning all crevices.

An upholstery cleaner may clean the entire piece of furniture, on a regular schedule or by request, or do spot treatments to remove pet, food, drink, or oil and grease stains. Furniture can also be deodorized to remove the smell of pets or tobacco smoke. Furniture that’s used often, like that in your family room, should be cleaned once a year to keep it fresh and extend its life. Sofa cleaners often also offer repair services to mend tears in fabric or patch holes in leather.

The cost to have your upholstered furniture cleaned depends mostly on two factors: the size of the furniture and the type of fabric. The national average cost of upholstery cleaning ranges from $120 to $150. Most people have multiple pieces cleaned at once, but sofa cleaners will come to your home for just one heavily soiled couch or to spot-treat stains. The smaller the furniture, the lower the cost: A lounge chair may cost an average of $50 to clean, while a couch costs an average of $135 and an L-shaped sectional costs an average of $190. Delicate materials such as antique fabrics or suede upholstery are more expensive to clean than sturdier ones. Having the sofa cleaner do repairs will also add to the cost. Repairs such as mending a tear in fabric or patching a hole in leather may be charged by the task or by the hour; in general, repairs cost an average of $15 each. Special or delicate fabrics may cost additional fees, too.

Even if your furniture doesn’t appear dirty or stained, your couches are collecting just as much dust, pollen, germs, pet hair and dander, and even food crumbs as your carpets. In general, the same professionals who clean your carpets and drapes can also clean your couches. Carpet cleaners usually offer upholstery cleaning services as well, and may offer a discount if you have your carpets cleaned at the same time. Alternatively, you can choose from a range of professional upholstery cleaners in your area who specialize in cleaning different types of upholstery fabrics, including delicate antique fabrics and other hard-to-clean materials such as suede. In addition to deep-cleaning the entire piece of furniture, sofa cleaners can spot-treat food, pet, and oil and grease stains. Most professionals also offer services to sanitize and deodorize your furniture and apply protectants to prevent future stains. As with carpets, experts recommend that you have your upholstered furniture cleaned once every year or two, depending on how much use it gets and whether you have children and pets.