Annie’s Natural Upholstery Freshener

As spring-cleaning time approaches, I will be sharing little tips for your cleaning pleasure. I love to organize. LOVE it. Cleaning? Not so much. However, I do realize it is necessary, and try to make the best of it while I clean away.

To freshen up the upholstery on furniture that has started to have an odor from daily use, pets, too many gym socks, etc., here is a tried and true, inexpensive idea.

Annie’s Natural Upholstery Freshener

• Obtain a 32 ounce spray bottle.
• Pour 8 ounces (1 cup) of white vinegar into bottle.
• Pour 24 ounces (3 cups) of water into bottle.
• Shake well.
• Test spray on hidden section of upholstery to ensure that it will not ruin the fabric. (I have never once had this mixture ruin anything, but you can never be too careful.)
• Spray entire piece of furniture with mixture, paying special attention to highly used areas. The piece of furniture will be damp.
• Allow upholstery to dry before using. I have found that a fan will help in the drying process.
• This spray may be used on carpets as well.
• While the white vinegar does have an odor while wet, once it dries, it will have no odor and will have taken away most, if not all, of the odor in the treated upholstery or carpet.
• If necessary, repeat steps until odor is gone.

A wonderful friend once gave us a much-needed sofa bed that had been left in their new home when they moved in. The former owner of the house had smoked around the couch for years. When I first got the couch to our house, I set it outside and doused it with Febreeze and other products like it. All it did was mask the odor for awhile.

My mom, who is my go-to person for all things natural, suggested the above vinegar-based spray. While it did take three applications, the smoke smell did come out of the upholstery. We were able to freshen up the sofa bed for hardly any money, and we were able to do so without using harsh chemicals.

I now use this mixture whenever I have upholstery or carpet that needs to be freshened up a bit. It is quick, easy, and inexpensive. If only all spring-cleaning projects were as easy as this one….

Enjoy your day, lovelies. And remember, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.”

~Annie