I finally got the couch I’ve been wanting. At long last, I have the grey sectional with a chaise lounge on it that I’ve been lusting after for years. It seemed like the perfect size and fit for our family, and I love that it’s big enough that we can all comfortably sit/lay together for family movie nights.
The one thing I don’t love about it, however? It stains easily. Like super easily. It’s microfiber, which looks nice, but is extremely prone to stains and water spots. Meaning, even if I just drip water on the couch it will leave a visible water ring there after it dries. Uh oh. That’s a big problem for me because we always eat and drink in the living room and on the couch, and obviously we are going to do a little bit more than just drip water on the new couch from time to time. And if, God-forbid, you actually spill something besides water on it? Well, you might be able to get the stain out pretty easily, but the dreaded water ring will still be there. And then you try to get rid of the water ring, thus making a larger water ring. Maybe microfiber wasn’t the best choice for us. Regardless, I still love the couch, but it means I had to find a way to spot clean it without leaving water rings all over it.
So what’s the secret? For some reason, after all of my searching on the interwebs, I’ve realized that it’s baby wipes. Baby wipes, a little rubbing alcohol, and a blow dryer. That’s all you need to get water rings out of your microfiber furniture. I’m not exactly sure what it is in the baby wipes that is so great, but it they really do work!
Here’s what you do:
- Step 1- Blot/rub the stain with a baby wipe.
- Step 2- When stain appears to mostly be gone, spray the area with some rubbing alcohol. Blot/rub some more with the baby wipe until the stain/water appears to be gone.
- Step 3- Use the wipe to “feather” out the wet area you just cleaned. We want to prevent a water ring from forming, so don’t leave a harsh edge of where the dry couch meets wet.
- Step 4- Before the area starts to dry on it’s own, use a blow dryer on a medium setting and carefully (but quickly) dry the area completely. You don’t want it to try on it’s own!
If you can still see the water ring you may need to repeat this process again.
(I had to do it twice on most spots).
Once you’ve done it correctly, the stain/water ring should be completely gone!
See? No more unsightly spot.
You can do this on all of the water rings/stains on your microfiber furniture, or if it’s really bad, you can do the entire cushion that needs cleaning. You would use the same process just on a larger scale. Try breaking it up into manageable sections though- too big of an area will be hard to tackle and will probably start to dry on it’s own before you’re ready for it to, which will just be a losing battle against the water rings.
This little cleaning tip worked great using my Huggies Clutch ‘n’ Clean wipes! Aren’t they the cutest? You can read more about them here.
Just another amazing use for baby wipes.
Happy cleaning!