Which stains can be removed, and which cannot
Professional cleaning removes soil, spills, grease and many stains from the fabric, and it cannot give back color a fiber has lost; the result depends on the stain, its age, the fabric and what was tried before. WATERFALL's pet stain and odor page covers pets, and the prices page lists the price of each piece. WATERFALL treats pet urine and odor at your home for $30 a stain: call (747) 214-6199.
Can professional cleaning remove all stains?
No, and anyone who says it can is promising too much. Professional cleaning removes the many stains that are soil, food, drink, grease or mud, lightens others, and cannot restore color where the fiber has been bleached, burned or dyed.
On a sofa the result depends on what caused the mark and how long it has been there, the fabric, its dye and its cleaning code, whether heat or an unsuitable product has been used on it, and whether the mark is dirt at all or lost color, scorching or worn fiber. A careful cleaner looks at the piece and tests a hidden spot before treating it, and says before the visit what is likely; be wary of anyone who promises that they all come out.
We look at a photo before the visit and tell you what we expect. Some marks lighten and some stay.
Which stains does professional cleaning lift from a sofa or carpet?
Most household stains: food and drink, grease and body oil, mud and dirt, makeup and many inks when they are fresh. Pet urine and odor is a separate option, priced per stain, with enzyme products. The guides in this hub cover each kind, and the stains that are most likely to stay are old dye stains, bleach, burns and anything that has been set by heat.
For pet stains and odors, the page for pet stains and odors says how we work; the option is priced per stain, see prices.
How is professional upholstery stain removal approached?
In order: look at the fabric and its tag, test in a hidden spot, loosen the stain, extract it with water and keep the piece from being over-wet. We work the way the fabric allows and not the way the stain asks.
WATERFALL cleans the whole piece in your home: the cushions come off, an organic shampoo is worked into the fabric, and steam extraction pulls it out with the dirt. The visit takes about an hour for a typical couch, 1–2 hours for bigger pieces.
What affects the result of upholstery stain removal?
The kind of stain, its age, the fiber and dye of the fabric, the heat it has been through and what has been tried on it. A fresh food stain on a durable fabric comes out; an old dye stain on a pale delicate one may lighten only.
A DIY product left in the fabric, hot water and scrubbing change the result, which is why we ask what you have used.
Before you book any cleaner for an old stain such as red wine, tell them the fabric and the tag, how old the stain is, everything you tried (vinegar, salt, bleach, peroxide, a spray) and whether the covers come off. Red wine is a dye, so the older it is and the more heat or scrubbing it has met, the more of it stays.
Can professional cleaning treat several types of stains on the same sofa?
Yes. Since we clean the whole piece, a sofa with wine on one cushion, grease on an arm and mud on the seat is one job, and each mark is then looked at on its own. Text a photo of the whole sofa to (747) 214-6199.
When should I consider professional carpet stain removal?
When a stain is large, old, comes back, is a dye such as wine, ink or paint, or when blotting and a mild soap have not worked. Stopping early matters: a carpet that has been scrubbed, heated or treated with several products is harder to help.
Carpet is priced per room; the carpet cleaning page says how it is done.
Which stains need a professional: red wine, paint, ink, nail polish?
Those that are dyes and that have dried: red wine, ink, paint, nail polish and hair dye are the ones that earn a photo by text before you try a solvent. A fresh spill of any of them is worth blotting at once, and the guides on food and drink and ink, paint and glue give the steps.
Which stains are permanent, and which are only hard?
Few are permanent as stains; what stays is usually color the carpet or fabric has lost, or fiber that is damaged. Red wine, coffee, pet urine, grease, nail polish and rust are hard, especially when old, but not automatically permanent, and cleaning often lightens them.
What cleaning cannot do is put color back; for that the options are a color repair or a patch by a carpet repairer, which we do not offer. Text a photo to (747) 214-6199.
- Chlorine bleach, and benzoyl peroxide in acne creams, which take the dye out.
- Permanent hair dye, fabric dye and some inks, which dye the fiber.
- Mustard, turmeric and curry on a light carpet, if they are left.
- Iodine, some medicines and strong drain or oven cleaners, which change the dye or burn the fiber.
- Burns, melted spots and heavy wear, which are damage rather than stains.
Can I see what professional stain removal has done?
Yes, the before and after page shows couches and chairs from our own jobs, one cleaning each. They show those jobs, not what will happen on yours.
What does stain removal cost, and how do I book?
The price follows the piece: a couch by its seats, a chair, mattress or rug by the item, and carpet by the room. The prices page lists them, and pet urine and odor is a separate option priced per stain. The price you see is the price you pay: nothing is added when we arrive. Any form of payment is accepted, after the work, with an invoice on request. Book on the site or text a photo of the stain to (747) 214-6199.
A cream sofa with grey marks, before and after one cleaning.
A grey chaise sectional with dark marks, before and after one cleaning.
Questions and answers
Can a professional get old red wine stains out of a fabric sofa?
Often it can be lightened a lot and sometimes removed, but no one can promise it: it depends on the fabric and its code, the age of the stain, whether it reached the filling and what was tried. WATERFALL, (747) 214-6199, cleans the whole sofa at your home with an organic shampoo and steam extraction; text a photo of the stain and the tag and we say what we expect before you book.
Does professional cleaning remove all stains?
No. Dye, bleach and burns have changed the fiber, and old or scrubbed marks may only lighten.
Will professional cleaning remove stains and smells?
Many dirt-based stains and some smells, yes. We tell you what we expect from a photo and promise no result.
Can you remove tough stains like wine, ink or pet urine?
We look first. Text a photo of the mark to (747) 214-6199, and we say what we expect. Pet urine is a separate option, priced per stain, with enzyme products.
Can you remove all types of stains and odors?
No. Some marks are dye or damage, and no cleaner can promise that a given mark comes out.
What types of stains can you remove?
Dirt, food and drink, oil and body-oil marks, many fresh spills. Dye, bleach and burns are the ones that stay.
Why do upholstery stains respond differently?
Because the fabric, the kind of stain, its age and what was tried before all differ. That is why we look at a photo before we say what to expect.
Which stains are impossible to remove from carpet?
Few are impossible as stains: what stays is color the carpet has lost, from bleach or acne cream, fiber dyed by hair dye or some inks, and burns or melted spots. Wine, coffee, urine, grease and rust are hard, especially when old, and often lighten with cleaning.
Prices and booking
More guides
- Stain removal: all guides
- How to get stains out of a couch — Blot, do not rub; use cool water and a white cloth; test a hidden spot first; stop when the cloth stops picking up color.
- How to get old stains out of a couch — Old stains often lighten and may not vanish; what makes one permanent is dye, heat, time, fiber and what was tried before.
- Carpet browning, yellowing and bleach spots — Soil that darkens or yellows fabric can be cleaned out; a bleach spot or burned patch is lost color and cannot; traffic lanes and black edges lighten and may not vanish.
- Coffee and wine stains in carpet or a couch — Most food and drink comes out when it is blotted fast with cool water; wine, tea, coffee and mustard carry dye and are the ones to act on first.
Sources: IICRC (The cleaning and restoration industry's standards body, for how professionals clean fabrics and carpet.)