· Furniture Cleaning · 7 min read
2 Painless Ways to Clean Sofa without Vacuum Cleaner

What is the most used furniture in your home? Ask yourself, most people will say it’s a Couch/Sofa. A sofa is an essential part that enhances the beauty of a home.
Starting from sitting to eating, chilling to sleeping, almost all activities you can do on a couch. So at least once a month, you should do deep cleaning. How to do that?
Many of us think cleaning a sofa is a costly process. It needs expensive equipment or a professional cleaner to clean. But there is nothing like that.
Without using any expensive equipment, professional cleaning, or commercial cleaner, you can clean the sofa with some natural ingredients that are already available in your home.
How to clean a couch when you don’t have enough equipment? We will tell you the process of cleaning a sofa without a vacuum cleaner here.
Equipment You Will Need
As we told you, we will tell you about the sofa cleaning process without using any vacuum cleaner, sofa washing machine, or steam cleaner.
We will tell you how to clean sofa naturally with natural ingredients that are totally safe to use on sofa upholstery.
If you want to follow our cleaning process, take some essential accessories like:
- Bicarbonate Soda (Baking Soda)
- Clean Microfiber Cloth
- Warm Water
- Bowl/Bucket
- White Vinegar
- Hydrogen Peroxide
- Stiff Brush/ToothBrush
- A Broom
- Mask
- Hand Gloves
- Goggles
Method 1: Dry Cleaning
Before you use any commercial cleaner to clean sofa stains, you have to follow a regular cleaning routine.
- Clean up all the spills with a dry cloth
- If there are any wet spills, try to blot up as much as you can immediately
- Take a broom and clean all the dry dirt and dust with it
For pet owners, this regular maintenance can help prevent buildup. If you have a microfiber couch with pet hair, you might want to check out how to clean pet hair from microfiber couch for more specific tips.
Method 2: Deep Cleaning
Now we will use some natural ingredients and make an effective solution to deep clean the sofa. We won’t use any chemical or commercial cleaner; all the ingredients we will use are available in your kitchen.
Or if you don’t have them, then you can easily buy them from any local store.
Preparing the Solutions
Solution One:
- Take one gallon of warm water in a bucket
- Add one cup of vinegar into it
- Add a few drops of dish liquid
- Mix all the ingredients until bubbles show up
Solution Two:
- Take one cup of Bicarbonate Soda in one bowl of warm water
- Add two tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide into it
- Add a few drops of lemon juice/dish liquid
Using Solution One
- Take a clean cloth, dip it into the solution, wring well, and mop away the entire sofa
- Leave the solution on the sofa for twenty minutes
- If there is any stubborn stain, take a sponge dampened with the solution and place it on the stain
- Let the sponge soak the stain, and then rub the affected area gently
- If the stain is still there, repeat the process
- Now take a dry microfiber cloth and wipe away the sofa - it will clean all the residue
- Leave the couch to dry naturally
For tougher stains like water marks, you might want to check how to get water stains out of couch for more specific techniques.
Using Solution Two
We can use bicarbonate in two ways. One is only bicarbonate soda, and another is adding some more ingredients with it.
First Process with Bicarbonate Soda:
- Sprinkle some baking soda all over the sofa and let it sit for a few minutes
- After the baking soda has absorbed all the dirt, use a broom and clean the sofa
Second Process - Using the Bicarbonate Paste/Liquid Solution:
- Dip a cloth/sponge into solution two, wring it well and wipe away
- Leave it for twenty minutes and let the solution soak the dirt
- Now take a microfiber cloth and clean the residue with it
- If there is any stain, place the dampened sponge on the stain and leave for ten minutes
- Now, spray some white vinegar and wait another five minutes
- Let the sofa dry naturally
You can use similar techniques to clean the couch with baking soda and vinegar for an even deeper clean.
Cautions When Cleaning Your Sofa
Before you use any solution, wear a mask, goggles, and hand gloves. All the cleaning agents, baking soda, white vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide have acid, so you should avoid touching them.
These can create irritations to your skin, eyes, and nose. If you have allergies, then it can highly affect you. So make sure you wear protective gear before you start the cleaning process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use laundry detergent to clean my couch?
Yes, you can use laundry detergent to clean your couch. Laundry detergent is an effective cleaning agent. You can use it to clean cloth, dishes, carpets, couches, etc. It can deep clean the sofa in a few minutes. But make sure it has mild acid. Some detergent has huge chemicals that can damage the couch.
How can I clean my fabric sofa naturally?
Cleaning a fabric sofa naturally is very easy. You can make a cleaning solution with some natural ingredients and use them to clean the sofa naturally. First, dry clean the fabric sofa, take half a cup of rubbing alcohol, half a cup of white vinegar, and one cup of warm water in a spray bottle. Now, spray the solution directly on the upholstery, leave it for a few minutes.
For more fabric-specific cleaning methods, you might find how to clean fabric sofa without water helpful.
Can you mix baking soda and vinegar to clean?
Yes, you can mix baking soda and vinegar to clean. Baking soda and vinegar both are incredible; when you combine them, a better solution comes out that you can use to clean. But remember, you can’t store it in any container for a long time. It can explode. Mix them and use them immediately.
How can I clean really bad stains from a cloth sofa?
It’s simple. Cleaning really bad stains isn’t difficult these days. You can clean them with a store-bought stain cleaner, or if you want to try something safe and natural, you can make a DIY solution. Take one cup of vinegar in one gallon of warm water. Add a few drops of dish liquid and mix them. Dip a cloth into the solution, wring well, and mop away the cloth sofa.
How long does it take to professionally clean a sofa?
Different processes take different times. When you take help from a professional, he will take care of it. The professional cleaning process will take an average of 30-40 minutes to clean a sofa.
Special Situations
Cleaning a Used Sofa
If you’ve purchased a secondhand sofa, you might want to sanitize it thoroughly before use. Check our guide on how to clean and sanitize a used couch for detailed instructions.
Dealing with Unpleasant Odors
Some sofas, especially those made of suede, can develop odors over time. To address this issue, you can refer to our guide on how to get smell out of a suede couch.
Treating Specific Stains
Different stains require different treatment methods:
- For vomit stains, see how to clean vomit off leather couch
- If you’re dealing with bed bugs, check how to get bed bugs out of couch
Conclusion
Cleaning sofa without a vacuum cleaner is possible and very simple. You can do it with a commercial cleaner or follow the process and cleaning solution we have talked about.
It won’t take much time, nor will it cost you much. You can clean your sofa without using any equipment like a vacuum cleaner, steam cleaner, or sofa washing machine.
Follow the simple steps we have shared above and clean your sofa regularly to keep it clean and hygienic.