Furniture collects a different kind of dirt than carpet does. Carpet gets whatever walks in on shoes. Upholstery gets us: skin oil from bare arms on the armrests, hair product on the headrest, crumbs and grease worked into the seam along the seat cushion, sweat in the back of an office chair. None of that sits on top of the fabric. It goes in, and it stays there.
That is why a chair can look acceptable and still feel slightly tacky when you run a hand across it. Dust settles on the fibers, body oil holds it in place, and after a couple of years the two together turn into a film. Light fabrics go grey through the middle of the seat, dark ones go shiny, and vacuuming does nothing for either.
What the care tag tells us
Most upholstered furniture carries a tag under the seat or on the deck with a single letter on it, and that letter decides everything we do next. W means water-based cleaning is fine, which covers the majority of sofas and chairs in Calgary homes. S means solvent only, because water can leave rings or shrink that particular fabric. WS takes either one. X means vacuum only: nothing wet, no cleaning agents at all.
We look for that tag first, before the equipment comes off the van. If a piece is coded S or X, we tell you and explain what can realistically be done with it instead of gambling with your furniture. On older or unmarked pieces we test the chemistry somewhere hidden, usually under a cushion or behind the skirt, and check a white towel for color transfer before going near the visible fabric.
The pieces people forget about
Sofas get booked. Everything else in the house tends to get overlooked until somebody looks closely. Dining chairs pick up grease from hands along the upper back and dropped food on the seat. Headboards take in hair product and skin oil night after night, which is why they usually start to smell before they start to look dirty. Office chairs get the worst of it, since someone sits in them eight hours a day. Ottomans get feet, and recliners collect everything that falls into the crease where the footrest folds away.
All of it is priced per piece, so it pays to add these to the same visit. The equipment is already set up in your home, and a set of dining chairs or a headboard takes minutes rather than a separate appointment.