How to remove odor from upholstered furniture

As the main attraction at the end of the day, a couch endures a lot of traffic. The combination of dirt, spilled food, pets, and humidity often creates unpleasant smells in the upholstery of your sofa. Learn how to remove odor from a couch so that you and your family can continue enjoying its comfort in a stink-free zone.

Your couch is a magnet for household odors, no matter what type of upholstery. Because of its central location in your home, it absorbs odors of every kind.

Everything from a lingering smell of the fish you fried the other night to your dog that just came in from the rain leaves lingering odors. Therefore, regular sofa deodorizing is essential to keep the upholstery smelling fresh and clean.

Deodorizing Your Couch

Removing a bad odor from your sofa, whether it is pet odors, a urine smell, mildew, or other unpleasant smell, is not as difficult a task as you might think. First, find the sofa deodorizer that works for you.

Second, perform a couch deodorizing routine regularly. Doing these two steps ensures that your sofa is a place you enjoy spending your free time.

Removing Odor from a Couch

Before cleaning or deodorizing your sofa, vacuum it to remove any loose hairs, dirt, dust, debris. Sometimes, a good vacuuming eliminates a musty smell without having to use cleaning solutions.

Vacuuming a Couch

Remove the couch cushions from the sofa and set aside. Use the upholstery attachment of your vacuum cleaner to clean away loose dirt from the base, armrests, and headrest of the couch.

Vacuum both sides of the seat cushions before setting them back into place. If your sofa is only slightly musty, take the opportunity to freshen it by spraying it lightly with an air freshener such as Febreze or Lysol.

Homemade Couch Deodorizer Recipe

Use baking soda as a natural, homemade couch deodorizer. Not only is this alkaline powder excellent at absorbing and removing tough odors, but it is also cheap and non-toxic. This is an overnight deodorizer, so make sure to perform it at an appropriate time.

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Couch Deodorizer

• Baking soda
• Vacuum cleaner

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Remove the couch cushions and lay them on a flat surface. Sprinkle a fine dusting of baking soda over the top and bottom of each cushion, as well as the backrest and armrests of the couch.

Allow the powder to sit on the sofa overnight and then vacuum all of the odor absorbed residue in the morning before replacing the cushion onto the sofa.

Remove Urine Smell from a Couch Cushion Cover

If your sofa’s care tag has a ‘W’ or ‘SW’ on it, and the cushions have removable covers, wash them in the washing machine to remove urine smell from a couch.

Machine Washing Couch Cushion Covers

Remove the cushion covers by unzipping the back section and slipping out the inside cushioning. Follow the instructions on the label and place them into the washing machine.

Set the washer on the gentle cycle and wash the cushion covers using your favorite laundry detergent. Allow them to air dry to prevent shrinkage.

Getting Rid of Bad Odors from a Leather Couch

Use a combination of white vinegar and olive oil for removing odor from a leather sofa while conditioning the material. Add your favorite essential oils to the solution to make your couch smell fresh.

Not only does this easy recipe eliminate odors, but it is also one of the best leather couch cleaning products. Remove stains, condition the leather, and leave your sofa looking like new again.

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Leather Sofa Deodorizer and Conditioner

• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• Orange essential oil
• Spray bottle
• Microfiber cloth

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Begin by opening the windows to allow fresh air into the room while you clean. Fill a bottle sprayer with olive oil and white vinegar. To get rid of a vinegar smell, add several drops of orange essential oil to the solution, and shake well to mix.

Spritz the leather deodorizer onto the entire surface of your couch while standing a foot away as you spray to prevent saturating the material. Use a soft cloth to clean away the residue.

Deodorizing a Microfiber or Synthetic Couch

White vinegar works wonders at removing odors from a smelly microfiber sofa, while essential oils leave behind a pleasing scent. This recipe calls for lavender oil, but any of your favorite oils are suitable.

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Microfiber Couch Odor Remover

• 1 cup of warm water
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• Lavender essential oil
• Dish soap
• Paper towels
• Spray bottle

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Pour water into a bottle and add the white vinegar and lavender oil. Adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil to the cleaner increases the deodorizing effect.

Shake the container well to mix and label it if you plan on using it more than once. Stand one foot away from the surface of your sofa and spray the odor remover across the entire area. Use paper toweling to wipe up any excess moisture.

Remove Foul Odors from a Fabric Sofa

Rubbing alcohol kills bacteria causing odors, while white vinegar acts like an enzyme cleaner that removes cat urine smell. Adding your favorite essential oil to the solution not only freshens the deodorizer but masks the scent of vinegar.

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Fabric Sofa Odor Eliminator

• 1 cup of water
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
• Lemon essential oil
• Paper towels
• Spray bottle

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Pour water, rubbing alcohol, white vinegar, and a few drops of lemon oil into a spray bottle and shake well. If your sofa has removable cushions, take them off the couch and set them aside.

Stand one foot away from your couch and spray the deodorizer over the entire surface. Spray the solution on both sides of the sofa cushions and prop them upright. Use paper toweling to blot away any excess deodorizing spray.

Removing Smoke Odors from a Sofa

If you have a smoker in your home or have lingering smells from a burnt dinner residing in the fabric of your sofa, try using a combination of hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. This recipe also works well at removing odor from a mattress.

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Sofa Smoke Odor Remover

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
• Spray bottle
• Paper towels

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Before spraying the sofa, test an inconspicuous area of the upholstery for color-fastness. Combine the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in a bottle sprayer and shake well.

While standing a foot away from your couch, spray the deodorizer evenly across its surface. Use paper towels to blot up any areas that receive too much of the spray. The solution neutralizes the smoky odors as it evaporates.

Using a Steam Cleaner to Remove Bad Smells from Your Sofa

If your couch has bad odors that a deodorizing spray doesn’t eliminate, a steam cleaner is another way to go. Steam kills odor-causing germs and bacteria on many sofa types. A steam cleaner is also an ideal tool for getting cat pee smell out of carpet.

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Steam Cleaning a Sofa

• Steam cleaner
• Upholstery attachment

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Remove the cushions of your sofa and set them to the side. Follow the instructions on your steam cleaners manual to prepare it for cleaning. Use an upholstery attachment to steam clean the sofa backrest and armrests in sections, making sure that you overlap each area as you go along.

Repeat the same process on the top and bottom of each cushion. Allow the couch to dry completely before placing the seat cushions back on to the sofa. Turn on fans and open windows for faster drying time.

The first step in removing odors from your sofa is to understand which cleaning products to use for your particular sofa. Once you’ve got that figured out, keeping your couch odor-free is as easy as filling a spray bottle with the right DIY deodorizer, using a store-bought air freshener, or cleaning the surface of your sofa to remove foul odors.

We’re glad that we could show you how to remove odor from a couch using both commercial and natural ingredients, and we’d love it if you’d share our sofa deodorizing tips with people you know on Pinterest and Facebook.

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