Upholstery and Sofa Cleaning in Porto

Sofa and couch cleaning at home

A sofa in daily use holds dust, skin oils, sweat and crumbs that a vacuum will not lift. The fabric darkens on the arms and on the seats everyone always picks, and takes on a smell the people living with it no longer notice.

We clean by hot water extraction. The machine pushes the cleaning solution into the fabric and pulls it straight back out with the dirt it has loosened. The fabric is cleaned right through and the filling is not soaked. It is all done at your home, in the room where the sofa sits, with nothing taken away.

How the day goes, from the first message to drying time, is in our guide on sofa cleaning at home.

Fabric, leather and faux leather

The method depends on the material, and the material is not always what it looks like. So we always start with the label and a test.

Reading the care label

The label is usually under the seat, beneath the cushions or in a seam of the covers. It gives the fabric content, such as cotton, polyester, linen or viscose, and removable covers carry the washing symbols. Send us a photo of it when you book, or a close up of the fabric if the label has gone, as it often has on a sofa that came with a rented flat.

Why the test always comes first

The label tells you what the fabric is made of, not what state it is in. Years of sun, wear and household products change how it reacts, and some fabrics, such as certain velvets, linen and viscose, can mark, shrink or lose colour with water. So we test a hidden area, under a cushion or on the back of the sofa. If there is a risk, we tell you before going ahead and the decision is yours.

Leather and faux leather sofas

Leather does not take hot water extraction: it is cleaned with products and a method made for leather. Faux leather, called napa in Portugal, can be cleaned too, with the method chosen once we have seen the piece. Either way, cleaning lifts dirt and stains, but it does not bring colour back to worn leather or repair faux leather that is already cracking.

Sofa stains: what to do in the first few minutes

What you do in the first few minutes matters more than any product. One rule covers almost everything: blot with a white cloth or kitchen paper, without rubbing, working from the outside of the stain inwards.

Coffee, tea and wine

After blotting, and only if the label allows water, press a cloth dampened with cold water on the stain and blot again. Use very little water: soaking the fabric pushes the stain into the filling and can leave a ring. Skip the salt and the internet tricks.

Grease and pen ink

For grease, lift off the excess with kitchen paper. Water does not dissolve it, it only spreads it. For pen and marker, do not wet or rub it, because the ink runs. Surgical spirit and nail varnish remover take ink out of some fabrics and ruin others.

Pet and toddler accidents

Lift anything solid first, without pressing it in, then blot the liquid with several sheets of kitchen paper until they come up dry. No bleach and no ammonia based cleaners, whose smell can draw a pet back to the same spot. With these accidents the liquid sinks into the filling, and that is where the smell stays.

What not to do

Do not use hot water from the tap or kettle: heat sets some stains, such as milk, blood, egg and urine. Hot water extraction is different: the solution comes straight back out. Do not scrub hard, do not use bleach or random stain removers, do not mix products and do not dry the spot with a hairdryer. A stain left as it was is far easier to treat than one that has had several products thrown at it.

Stain and odour removal

When you book, tell us what caused each stain. Coffee, wine, grease, ink and urine each need a different treatment, and knowing the source helps us bring the right product.

Smells can be treated too: pets, tobacco, sweat, the damp of a flat that has been shut up. They often come from the filling and not just the surface, which is where extraction makes the difference. Where a pet has used the same spot many times, the smell does not always go completely.

Some marks are not dirt: bleach, sun fading, fabric worn shiny on the arms, a cigarette burn. That is damaged fabric, and no clean brings it back. Some old stains will not come out completely either. When we can see that, we tell you before we start, not at the end.

Mattresses, chairs, rugs and car upholstery

The same care works for almost anything with fabric and filling. Tell us everything you want cleaned when you book, so the quote and the visit cover it.

Mattress and headboard cleaning

The mattress is the piece in the home that gets cleaned least. It collects sweat and dust, and the stains hide under the sheet. We clean mattresses and upholstered headboards, and if you ask, we also carry out the anti dust mite treatment. A mattress has to dry before it is made up again, so book in the morning.

Chair cleaning

Dining chairs with food on the seats, office chairs worn with use, armchairs and footstools. Tell us how many there are and send a photo of one.

Rugs and fitted carpets

Rugs, hall runners and fitted carpets are washed where they are. Before the visit, move any light furniture off them. Wool or handmade rugs go through the same test as sofas, and if cleaning is not safe for that rug, we tell you first.

Car upholstery

Car seats and mats, with spilt coffee, crumbs from the back seat and dog hair. When you book, we agree where the car will be on the day and what is needed on site. After cleaning, the car dries better with the windows slightly open, somewhere sheltered.

Sofas in homes with pets and small children

On a sofa where a dog or cat sleeps, the dirt gathers on the animal's favourite spot: hair worked into the weave, oil from the coat and sometimes accidents nobody saw. Tell us when you book where it likes to lie. Before the visit, lift loose hair with the vacuum or a damp rubber glove. Threads pulled by claws are not fixed by cleaning.

With small children the stains are juice, yoghurt, chocolate, play dough and felt tips. For liquids, the rule above applies. Let play dough harden and pick it off by hand without wetting it, and treat felt tips like pen ink.

On the day, keep pets in another room and keep children and pets off the sofa until it is dry. Afterwards, a washable throw on the dog's spot or the corner where the children eat protects the fabric.

Damp and musty smells in ground floor flats and seaside homes

In a ground floor flat (rés-do-chão in Portuguese), a basement or a house near the sea, damp air gets into upholstery. The filling soaks it up, the fabric takes on a shut in smell and, at worst, small mould spots appear on cushions pressed against the wall.

Cleaning lifts the dirt that holds the smell, but it does not change the air in the flat. If the room stays damp, the smell comes back. Move the sofa a few fingers away from an outside wall, open the windows every day, even in winter, and use a dehumidifier if there is condensation on the windows in the morning. In a home that will be shut for a while, cover the upholstery with a cotton sheet rather than plastic, which traps moisture.

Mould does not always come out completely, and after the test we tell you what to expect. If the damp comes from a patch on the wall that keeps growing, there may be a leak, and that is a job for a plumber in Porto, not for the upholstery line.

Tenants, landlords and holiday lets

If you rent and the sofa came with the flat, it belongs to your landlord. Speak to them before you work on a stain: an agreed clean is far better than a stain made worse in the week you hand back the keys.

For landlords, the gap between tenants is the easy moment: the flat is empty and the pieces have time to dry. Holiday lets (alojamento local) run on a tighter calendar: book straight after check out and leave the rest of the day for drying. Do not forget the sofa bed mattress.

If you cannot be there, someone you trust can let the team in, but the quote still needs your approval, so agree with us when you book how you will give it. The invoice is issued with the tax number (NIF) you give us.

A changeover between tenants often turns up other jobs, such as a dripping tap. The upholstery line only handles upholstery. For other home repairs in Porto, call the main Reparon24 line, +351 928 286 711.

Preparing for the visit and keeping the sofa clean

When you book, tell us which floor you are on, whether there is a lift and whether parking nearby is easy. On the day, clear the space around the pieces, move side tables with anything fragile and strip the bed if a mattress is being cleaned.

Afterwards, simple habits make the result last: vacuum the sofa weekly with the upholstery nozzle, turn and swap the seat cushions now and then, keep it out of direct sun, which fades the fabric, and blot spills straight away.

When a clean makes sense

It makes sense when you move into a new or furnished flat, before you hand back a rented one, when a baby or a pet arrives, or with a sofa bought second hand or inherited after years in storage.

As for how often, some people book once a year so the dirt never builds up. With pets or small children the fabric needs attention more often, and a holiday home is worth doing before and after the season. Some people fit it into their list of seasonal home repairs, in spring or before winter.

What our upholstery cleaning covers

• Fabric, leather and faux leather sofas
• Mattresses and headboards
• Dining and office chairs
• Rugs and fitted carpets
• Car seats and floor mats
• Stain and odour removal
• Anti dust mite sanitisation

How the cleaning goes, from booking to the invoice

It is always the same path, whether it is a two seater sofa or the whole flat.

1. You call or send a message

   Your call goes to the upholstery line, +351 933 535 818. Tell us which pieces you want cleaned, what they are made of if you know, and any stains or smells in particular. Photos on WhatsApp help: the whole piece, the fabric close up, the label and the stains.

2. We book the day and time

   We arrange the visit for the day and time that suit you, and agree how you would like to pay on the phone, so there are no misunderstandings at the door. We also tell you what to get ready.

3. We look at the pieces and test the fabric

   When we arrive, the team looks at each piece, confirms the material and tests the cleaning on a hidden area. They explain what they see and what it is realistic to expect from each stain.

4. You get the quote before we start

   We tell you what we will clean, how and what it costs. If a piece will not take the treatment or a stain will not come out, we say so. Nothing starts without your approval.

5. We treat the stains and clean

   First we treat the stains and smells we agreed on, each according to its cause. Then we clean by hot water extraction, or with the leather method. At the end you check the result with us, piece by piece.

6. Drying

   Drying time depends on the fabric and how well the room airs, and open windows speed it up. Before we leave we tell you when each piece can be used again.

7. You keep the invoice and our number

   The invoice describes the work done. That document is your guarantee and what entitles you to complain if something is not right. For the next clean, you call the same number.

Upholstery cleaning and sanitisation is carried out by our team dedicated to this work, which has its own line. That is where your call goes when this is the service you need.

Jobs we have done

Real photos of work completed by our team.

Upholstery cleaning questions

Upholstery cleaning across Greater Porto

We clean sofas and upholstery in every municipality of Greater Porto: Porto itself, Matosinhos, Vila Nova de Gaia, Maia, Gondomar, Valongo, Espinho, Vila do Conde and Póvoa de Varzim. Because the work is booked, we arrange the visit around your area and your availability. Along the coast many holiday flats sit closed for months, and in plenty of ground floor homes the smell of damp gets into upholstery.

• Porto
• Matosinhos
• Vila Nova de Gaia
• Maia
• Gondomar
• Valongo
• Espinho
• Vila do Conde
• Póvoa de Varzim