How to Keep Your Commercial Upholstery Clean
Businesses rely on regular office cleanings to keep spaces fresh and germ-free. Floors, surfaces, bathrooms and desks and are among the areas that are regularly cleaned. However, there’s an area of the office that is often overlooked when cleaning – your upholstery.
Many companies don’t address upholstery cleaning until the furniture is noticeably dirty – whether it is from employee spills or a lack of cleaning. However, failing to regularly clean the upholstery on your office furniture can cause can have an adverse affect on the health of your team and require you to replace your furniture more often.
The Importance of Regular Commercial Upholstery Cleaning
Cleaning upholstery does more than keep up a good office appearance. It also extends the lifespan of your furniture. Regular cleaning protects your furniture investment by allowing it to be used longer before it needs to be replaced. That’s because the upholstery cleaning process removes soils and other items that are damaging to furniture materials.
Consistent commercial upholstery cleaning also promotes a healthier office environment. Like carpet, the upholstery on your furniture and office panels acts as a filter for allergens, dust and dust mites. When you don’t clean upholstery regularly, dirt and allergens can build up in the material and can impact the health of your employees. For instance, people who are continuously exposed to dust could experience irritated eyes, hay fever, asthma attacks and more.
These are just a couple of reasons why regular commercial upholstery cleanings are essential for your business.
When to Clean Commercial Upholstery
So, how often should you clean the upholstery in your office?
The answer depends on the type of business, size of your company and how heavily your furniture is used. But, we typically recommend having your office upholstery professionally cleaned at least every six to 12 months.
However, there are a few instances in the workplace that may require more frequent upholstery cleaning outside of regularly scheduled preventative maintenance cleanings:
1. When there are staff changes.
Staff and office changes signify the need for thorough upholstery cleaning – whether an employee is moving desks or leaving the company. For sanitary reasons, you should clean all upholstery – including desk chairs or cubicle panels – in a person’s workspace when there are staff changes.
2. During cubicle reconfigurations.
Commonly, businesses forget to have upholstery on cubicle panels cleaned. However, upholstered panels accumulate unwanted particles even though they are touched infrequently.
It’s a good idea to clean cubicle panels when reconfiguring cubicle spaces. When the panels are broken down, your commercial upholstery cleaner will have easy access to hard-to-reach areas of the panels.
Plus, when panels are moved, you may find dirt or grime lines from the previous furniture configuration. Cleaning upholstered cubicle panels will ensure they look good in their new positions.
3. In childcare and healthcare settings.
Childcare and healthcare settings are especially prone to excess germs and bacteria. As such, it’s essential to clean upholstery in these areas more often than traditional commercial environments.
You’ll want to consider the location of the upholstery and its susceptibility to getting dirty when determining how often to clean it. For instance, chairs in a doctor’s office waiting room might need to be cleaned more often than furniture in other locations.
The Best Method for Commercial Upholstery Cleaning
Just like carpet cleaning, it’s important to use a low-moisture system for commercial upholstery cleaning. If upholstery gets too wet when cleaned, you may cause more harm than good. For instance, hot water extraction could cause mold or fungus to grow in your upholstery. Not to mention, too much water exposure on the metal frame of your furniture could cause it to rust.
That’s why you’ll want to choose a commercial carpet cleaner that uses a low-moisture cleaning system like we use at DPM Care.
Professional, regular upholstery cleanings are an integral part of systemic workplace sanitation. The cleanings help keep upholstery fresh and sanitary, which looks and feels good and promotes a healthy workplace.
Contact us today to schedule a deep, long-lasting upholstery cleaning for your facility!