Upholstery Care Guide

Our living rooms are the heart of our homes, so we appreciate that after you’ve spent time deciding on your upholstery, it is only natural that you’ll want to make sure your investment is looked after. By following the simple guidelines below you can be sure that you are giving your upholstery the best possible opportunity to repay your investment. While fair wear and tear in domestic use is excluded, we offer a 5 year structural guarantee on everything we sell. Please see the separate guarantee document within your customer information pack.

We would recommend that if you have not already chosen to, you also consider our excellent value Fairway 5 Year Fabric or Leather Care Plan, which protects your upholstery from any accidental damage, including spills, stains and scratches.

This protection can be added to your order right up until you take delivery – full details are available from your sales consultant or, for online orders, by calling 01752 408941.

Download our Upholstery Care Guide by clicking here

Colour variation

• Variations in colour can occur between the fabric or leather upholstery samples in our showrooms and the specially ordered or stock items we deliver to you.
• Similarly, when ordering items from images in brochures, catalogues or other printed matter, due to the limitations of printing processes, variations in colour of the delivered products can occur. These are normal and do not constitute manufacturing faults.

Positioning your new furniture

• Your upholstery may be delivered fitted with transit castors. These are normally for transportation purposes, so follow the manufacturer’s recommendation to remove them and fit the supplied lifetime castors, as this will enhance the look and stability of the product.
• Where your new upholstery is being located directly on to wooden floors, we would recommend the use of protective felt or castor cups to prevent scratching.
• Action furniture should only be used once it has been assembled correctly and suitably sited on a level surface to provide stability.
• If your upholstery has recliner actions, you should make sure you leave sufficient space around the pieces for the back of the chair or sofa to recline fully.
• If you have chosen leather upholstery, ensure it is not positioned close to direct heat sources such as open fires or radiators, as this will accelerate wear and may cause cracking.

General care guidance for all upholstery

• Protect all upholstery from long periods of direct sunlight as this may result in both fabric and leather fading or, in the case of fabric, rotting.
• To prevent excessive soiling and accelerated wear, cushions should be turned daily, switching positions where possible.
• Cushions will initially feel firmer than on our display models and can soften by up to 20%
• Many of our upholstery ranges feature casual cushion designs, which require regular plumping to help them maintain their shape. Ideally, this is done daily, or at least once every few days. While we all have our favourite places to sit in our living room, try to make sure that you vary position to even out wear across your upholstery.
• Light coloured upholstery can be susceptible to ‘dye transfer’. Avoid wearing clothing which is not colourfast when using your upholstery - for example, denim garments are very often not colourfast. Soiling from non-colourfast fabrics can be difficult to remove completely. Similar care should be taken with newsprint as this can also transfer to fabrics, causing marking.
• Do not sit on the arms of sofas or chairs and ensure that recliner actions are extended gently, as well as not being twisted while in use.
• All upholstery products are only suitable for use by persons up to 18 stone (115kg). Use by persons heavier than this will invalidate any manufacturers’ warranty and your Fairway Furniture 5 year structural guarantee.

Care & cleaning of your fabric upholstery

• Accumulated dust accelerates wear and dulls colour, so vacuum clean your upholstery once a week using a suitable attachment. Make sure you remember to vacuum under the cushions, but
• take care not to brush the fabric excessively as this will damage the fibres.
• Some fabrics and finishes used on upholstery will mark more than others and will absorb fluids, including natural oils, such as perspiration and hair grease. In particular, headrest areas and arms are the most susceptible to marking in this way. Protective headrest covers and armcaps can be used to minimise the risk of this becoming a problem.
• All fabrics will show evidence of shading, but velvet and chenille fabrics are most susceptible. These will shade, crease and show evidence of pressure marks through use and this is a characteristic of these fabrics and does not indicate a manufacturing fault. To minimise any change in appearance, perform regular soft brushing of the fabric.
• Where fabric covers are removable for machine washing, follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully. As a general rule;
  • All covers should be washed at the same time to prevent uneven colour changes.
  • Covers should be washed at a maximum of 40 degrees centigrade.
  • Covers should be turned inside out, washed separately from other fabrics and not allowed to soak.
  • Use pure soap products only; do not use modern washing powders, as they contain whitening agents. Most importantly, do not use bleach.
  • Do not tumble dry and only iron gently whilst damp.
  • Avoid over washing as covers will fade and shrink slightly with each wash.
  • Some scatter cushions are ‘Dry Clean Only’ so check their cleaning instructions separately.
• If your upholstery has removable, dry cleanable fabric covers, send the covers to a reputable firm of dry cleaners, ensuring that they are aware of any instruction labels sewn into the cover. It is very likely that, following dry cleaning, there will be a slight colour variation between the removable and fixed sections of upholstery, so you should be aware of this prior to commencing any cleaning programme.
• Where covers are not removable for dry cleaning you should seek specialist advice. Please ask in store for details of recommended local cleaning specialists.
• When dealing with spot stains to fabric upholstery, be sure to try cleaning agents on an inconspicuous area to test reaction. Acrylic velvets, such as ‘dralon’ can be sponged lightly with warm water. Be sure not to over wet. Wet rubbing of fabrics may affect colourfastness and should be avoided. Blotting rather than rubbing will help to avoid damage to the fabric pile.

Care & cleaning of your leather upholstery

• Leather is a natural product made from animal skins. These are not uniform in either texture or finish and can therefore display various marks and scars. These and are unique natural characteristics and distinguish leather from man-made substitutes such as vinyl.
• Leather is produced in a variety of different finishes. Aniline and semi-aniline leathers will both mark and absorb fluids more easily, including natural oils, such as perspiration and hair grease. Fully corrected leathers will also be affected in a similar way where the protective coat has become worn through use.
• All leather will stretch with use and show natural creasing. Regular cleaning is essential, by carefully following the cleaning instructions in this guide and also those from the manufacturer.
• Accumulated dust accelerates wear and dulls colour, so vacuum clean your leather upholstery once a week using a suitable attachment. Make sure you remember to vacuum under the cushions where they are easily accessible.
• Both leather and bonded leather finished products are susceptible to damage or delamination to the finish if contaminated by bodily fluids (including naturally occurring oils in hair), hair styling products, or cosmetic applications (such as make-ups, hand creams, tanning lotions etc.). You should therefore ensure that regular cleaning is carried out in accordance with the instructions below.
• Most leather and bonded leather upholstery should be cleaned regularly using a water-dampened cloth. Repeat the process and then dry with a soft cloth. Pay more frequent attention to arm pads and head rests, so as to remove residues of perspiration and hair grease, which can damage the leather’s protective coating.
• A general lack of care and cleaning of leather and bonded leather products will significantly accelerate wear and invalidate both the manufacturer’s and Fairway Furniture guarantees.