To throw the whole sofa away? How to clean??

[Readyforbedbysix]

Sorry, I know my title was dramatic.
18 months ago I got a pale grey fabric corner sofa (dfs angelic if anyone wants to look up).
It was clean for about 5 days then just got wrecked. It is not machine washable however I have to wash the covers every few weeks. I have 2 children under 3.
Aside from putting a throw on it, how can I keep it clean? The covers do come out clean but the washer is wearing them down a bit, a zip has split on one of the covers and it’s starting to go a bit bobbly. And there’s slime on one of the covers (coincidently the corner bit that I can’t flip over) which won’t come out in the wash. AND the hard bits like the arm etc have got water marks/chocolate finger marks etc.
What products/techniques would you use? Inbetween machine washing I occasionally use washing detergent and water and just scrub with a cloth and that does remove some dirt but not all

Oxy upholstery cleaner. Quid from home bargains. Its a foam that you spray on, scrub hard with a bristly brush, let it dry then hoover it out.

Throw over seats / backs and arms (or blankets over arms) and no eating / drinks / shoes / pens on it

We do occasionally eat on it but can guarantee something is spilled / dropped but at least the throws can go in the wash.

DS did attack it with a rogue red lipstick once, managed to get that off with fairy liquid

So annoying for you. Could you get covers to pop over until you want to get a new one and kids are bigger?

Well the obvious answer is to reduce the amount of dirt in the first place. Are the DC eating and drinking on the sofa? If so stop that. Shoes? Pets?

Have you asked if DFS can supply a new set of covers?

I don't think those covers are meant to be machine washed every few weeks - the stainproofing will have broken down. Could you get them professinoally cleaned and stain proofed, and then get some arm covers and a blanket tucked around the seat cushions?

What is making it dirty? Food/shoes/drinks/ paint? Slime will probably need a different kind of solution to get it out.
That Dr Beckmann carpet cleaner with the brush on top of the bottle is the business.

I have a pale grey sofa and small children. I just accept the stains as a fact of live. And cover the worst with a throw.

Can you dye them so that they are not pale grey?A darker colour will show the dirt less. I used Dylon to dye my Ikea covers in the washing machine, went from pale beige to a rusty red- it worked very well.

You can also buy replacement covers - have a look online and see if there is anything that is suitable. Here is an example:
covermysofa.com/products/trees-teal-sofa-cover?variant=30329900892237

Or a patterned one like this: covermysofa.com/collections/sofa-chair-covers/products/mist-grey-sofa-cover

I think if you have a plain pale grey, non washable, fabric sofa with two very small children you have to accept it’s going to look grubby unless you cover it. This is why I have a dark coloured patterned one! I’d start by banning drinks, chocolate etc anywhere but the table though.

By me we have professional carrier cleaners that also do upholstery. They do corner suites for £80 and are amazing. Every year I think " time for new stairs carpet" and the last four years they have brought it up like new. They did my sister couch and it was amazing. I would really suggest looking for somebody like that and as soon as it's clean cover it with throws. I use fleece throws and have a spare set so it's always covered.

Cor blimey, I’m moderately house proud and I don’t wash my sofa covers that often!
I think when you have small dc you either need to be quite hardcore about monitoring food/drink anywhere but the table or just accepting that stains will happen! We just had IKEA sofas when ours were quite small because we didn’t want to stress too much when drinks were inevitably spilled, sticky fingers made their way on to it, play dough got rolled onto it etc.
But food/drink/shoes are a good way to start. It only lasted 5 days before looking wrecked though? That’s quite some heavy duty treatment!!

I’d worry the constant washing of covers not meant for the machine may no longer be fireproof

Sell the children, call a upholstery cleaner, kick out DH as he’s probably causing just as many marks as the kids. Pour yourself a glass of wine and relax on your beautiful sofa.

Honestly I had a similar sofa. It was never ever clean. I ditched the filthy flea bitten thing after a couple of years and bought leather. It cleans and is immune from children and DHs.

What Theotherrudolph said.

You either choose a dark coloured cover, or leather (wipeable) or you don't let the dc have food / drink / chocolate or whatever craft stuff they are getting on there, in the room ~ keep it as an old fashioned 'drawing room' or 'parlour' and keep the dc out. Or, you accept it is disposable and that you don't mind it being wrecked.

I have a Morphy Richards 12 in 1 steam mop. It becomes hand held and has a number of attachments, one is an upholstery wand. I steam mine and they come up like new. I don’t use any products with it, just vacuum first, steam clean and leave to dry. It takes a couple of hours to dry.

Warm water and Bio Washing Powder... works for me!

Crikey - how does it get that dirty in the first place unless it's being used for more than just sitting on.

Try Sterling Carpet and Upholstery cleaner. I was given a can by the sofa manufacturer in Long Eaton that I’ve bought several sofas from. They told me it’s what they use in the factory if items get marked before sale. My sisters dog upchucked on her brand new rug, she used Sterling to clean it and it was like new afterwards.

I had a light grey sofa, then dd came along. So many stains that wouldn't come out in the wash. Covered it with throws but felt so embarrassed when people came over and the throw slipped off and the filth (stains) were revealed.
Stains included: breast milk, coffee, honey, sticky finger marks, sweat, urine, vomit (you get the pic) and they all seemed to join together in big patches.
Found a cheap and ugly but functional sofa on Amazon for 400 quid with delivery and set up. It is not pretty but it literally can't get ruined. You can leave foam on it to clean and there are no patches. The fabric can be easily vacuumed and all of the crumbs stay on the surface (material is like a carpet) any remaining stains can't be seen on the brown. I'll be not replacing it until I'm sure I will have no small children living in the home.
Instead i have a Pinterest board of all the lovely sofas I can choose from when the kids are grown up.

I have the joy of a v expensive velvet upholstered bed frame and a very old pissy doggo, that I can't physically relegate to the kitchen because he cries 😕. Hence I find washing up liquid diluted on a sponge v helpful plus 'elbow grease' as recommended by the 'Hinch' 🙄

It sounds like you are there for the sofa instead of the sofa being there for you.
You shouldn't have to think about it, never mind constantly clean it. You're wasting energy.
I'd just let it get stained and then replace it when the kids get older. Not something pale grey.....

You have two young children. Accept this sofa will never look good, just wipe off the nastiest bits and buy a new one when they're old enough to be trusted (mid twenties?)

I've got pale grey sofas and two boys aged 3 and 18 months. I bought a VAX carpet/upholstery cleaner from Argos for £100 and it's great, hasn't failed to remove any stains yet. I find the worst stains are actually just water marks on the seat pads (both kids have were extremely dribble as little ones), and all you have to do is wet the whole cushion and then suck the water out. I've chucked throws over the seat pads so this isn't really a problem now.

I'm really not precious about them either. We have quite a few friends with similar aged kids and they are round here often, but they still look pretty good.

I have a vax carpet cleaner that has upholstery attachments. It is an absolute life saver, it cost about £270 I think but has definitely saved me money. You can also buy sofa covers that cover the whole sofa on Amazon etc. I havent personally found any products that work well.

Dr Beckmann carpet cleaner with the brush on the bottle works miracles!