Make sure you use the attachment on the vacuum cleaner that fits the type of upholstery that you are cleaning. You want to ensure that you don’t damage or stain the fabric with the wrong attachment. [1] X Research source [2] X Research source [3] X Research source

A lot of stains, such as food, dirt, pee, and poop, can be cleaned from the steam alone. If you have a stain that is oil based, you might need a commercial cleaner such as Oxy Clean to get out the stain. You can also try mixing vinegar and rubbing alcohol or cornstarch and baking soda with water to treat the area. [5] X Research source

Don’t worry about getting the emulsifier and shampoo off the fabric. It will come out when you steam clean it. [6] X Research source Before you steam clean your upholstery, make sure the fabric can handle water based cleaning methods. You can find this information on the tag of your furniture. It should list the kind of cleaning method acceptable for that particular material. If you see an X on the tag, it means that water will permanently damage the fabric, which means you cannot steam clean it. [7] X Research source

You want to avoid that large carpet steam cleaners. Those are too bulky and don’t typically have fabric cleaning attachments. They will not work at all on your upholstery. [8] X Research source If you don’t want to buy a steam cleaner of your own, you can rent one from many department, hardware, and grocery stores. [9] X Research source

Avoid mixing too much soap into the water. It is much easier to wash an area a few times than it is to have to wash excess soap out of the fabric. [10] X Research source

You may only need to steam clean the sides of the pillow that are exposed. If you do steam clean all side, only do one side of a pillow at a time. You don’t want the pillow to lay on a wet side because it will take much longer to dry and could hurt the fabric. [11] X Research source

If there is a particularly dirty spot, you can go back over it once you have cleaned it once. You don’t have to wait for it to dry. [12] X Research source [13] X Research source [14] X Research source

If you still see some discoloration on the fabric, you may need to clean it again. This is more likely if the upholstery was extremely soiled when you started.

Make sure you don’t scrub the stain too hard with the sponge. You don’t want to rip apart the fabric of the upholstery with the excessive force of the rubbing. [15] X Research source

If you don’t have vinegar, you can also use vodka. The smell of either will evaporate once the fabric dries. [16] X Research source

Make sure you test the cleaner on a part of the upholstery that isn’t normally visible. You want to make sure the cleaner won’t hurt the fabric. If you have a wine or coffee stain, try Wine Away. It is made to specifically treat dark liquid stains. If the stain is still being stubborn, you may have to go through another round of cleaning until the stain is completely removed. [17] X Research source