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Julia asked: My son just had an accident on our microfiber couch! How do I ward off watermarks?
Watermarks can quickly ruin the beautiful texture and look of microfiber upholstery. While it helps to avoid saturating the surface, watermarks can be avoided and even removed with just a few simple steps.
You Will Need:
- Mild dish detergent
- Water
- Hair dryer
- Soft cloths
Steps to Remove the Water Marks:
- Most watermarks are the result of previous cleaning, but if they are from an “accident” that has occurred on the upholstery, it will be necessary to clean the area first.
- To accomplish this, mix a small amount of mild detergent with water.
- Moisten a soft cloth with the mixture and use it to gently wipe the area clean. Avoid saturating the upholstery as it will take longer to dry and increase the chances of leaving a mark.
- When the soiled area has been removed, rinse with a clean cloth moistened with clean water.
- To avoid watermarks, use a hair dryer to speed the drying process.
- If the watermark remains from a previous cleaning, remoisten the area with water and dry with a blow dryer to hasten the drying process.
Additional Tips and Ideas
- For stain removal and microfiber cleaning, see How to Clean a Microfiber Furniture.
Remove watermarks from previous cleaning by cleaning with water AGAIN? Nonsense. She should use alcohol and a scrubbing sponge.
Best way to get any decent stain out of microfiber (dog slobber…tea…pop..ect.) is alcohol and the rough side of a clean sponge followed by a hair dryer.
I agree with the previous poster; alcohol makes water marks all but disappear. It’s the only method that worked for me. Followed with a hair dryer.
This article contains bad advice for the majority of microfiber fabrics.
Some (rare) microfiber material will stay water safe, but the vast majority are not. Always use rubbing alcohol or clear vodka. If the fabric becomes hard, you can use a brush of medium softness to separate the little fibers back to their separated state.