How to clean an upholstered chair: velour, basket-weave fabric, eco-leather

An upholstered kitchen chair gets dirty faster than any other furniture in the home: crumbs, drops of sauce, marks from jeans. The good news is that most stains come off at home in a few minutes, as long as you avoid two common mistakes: rubbing and using lots of water.

Cleaning in four steps

1. Vacuum with a brush. Remove crumbs and dust first, otherwise a damp cleaner turns them into dirt rubbed into the fabric. Use a soft brush attachment and low power.
2. Blot the stain, don't rub. Blot a fresh stain with a paper towel or napkin, turning it to a dry side. Rubbing spreads the stain and damages the pile.
3. Test the cleaner on a hidden spot first. Test any cleaner, even soapy water, on the back of the seat or underneath. Wait until it dries: check that the colour hasn't changed and there is no ring.
4. Dry without a hairdryer. Hot air can leave marks and damage the filling. Let the chair dry naturally and don't sit on a damp seat.

How to clean each fabric

Velour

• Remove dust and crumbs with a soft brush along the pile, in one direction.
• Treat a stain with mild soapy water on a barely damp microfibre cloth. Use as little water as possible: velour soaked right through dries with marks.
• Once dry, brush along the pile: it will lift, and the cleaned spot won't stand out.

Basket-weave fabric

• Vacuum more often than smooth fabrics: dust gets trapped in the weave.
• Clean a stain from the edge to the centre so you don't spread it across the texture.
• Don't rub with a stiff brush: you can pull a thread out of the weave.

Eco-leather

• Most dirt comes off with a damp wipe or a soft cloth and soapy water.
• No alcohol, acetone or solvents: they destroy the coating, and it starts to crack.
• Wipe dry after cleaning.

The most common kitchen stains

• Coffee, tea, juice. Blot straight away, then soapy water on a cloth. The sooner you act, the less chance the stain will stay.
• Grease and sauce. First lift off what's left with a spoon or napkin without smearing it, then soapy water. On textile fabrics it is better not to heat grease: it goes deeper into the fibres.
• Marks from jeans. On light fabrics, soapy water and patience: they may not come off in one go.

When the rules don't apply

Everything above is general guidance. Properties and care depend on the specific fabric collection: some have a treatment that doesn't tolerate certain cleaners, some can be cleaned more boldly. So before the first clean, check the fabric maker's recommendations. The MeBelle manager can give you them from the collection name in your order.

If you are still choosing chairs, start with how they will be cleaned: velour, basket-weave fabric or eco-leather for a kitchen chair. The rules for a sofa are similar, but there are more stains: see how to clean stains off a sofa.

Mone chair Taco chair Sea chair

In brief

• Vacuum first, then the stain, not the other way round
• Blot the stain, don't rub; keep water to a minimum
• Test the cleaner on a hidden spot
• Velour: brush along the pile; basket-weave fabric: from the edge to the centre; eco-leather: no alcohol
• Let it dry naturally, no hairdryer