Upholstered furniture care guide

An upholstered piece of furniture, like a sofa or armchair or even a bed, is one of the biggest purchases you make for your home. Take good care of it and it will keep looking like the day it was delivered.

In this guide you’ll find lots of good advice and handy tips for caring for your fabric and leather upholstered furniture, protecting it from harm, and keeping it clean.

Looking after your furniture

Recliners

There’s nothing more relaxing than a recliner. Be sure you’re getting the most from yours by using and caring for it properly. Just follow these simple instructions.

How to recline

Sit back in the recliner with a gap between the footrest and your feet. Pull the recliner handle or press the power button and the footrest will rise. Push back on the arm tops to recline further.

How to sit up

Close the recliner with your legs positioned centrally. Be sure the recliner action is completely closed before getting out directly forward.

What not to do

Don’t close the recliner if your legs are placed off to the side of the footrest. And don’t get up from the recliner whilst the footrest is extended as this will damage the mechanism.

Solving recliner problems

If your manual recliner feels stiff

The motion of your new manual recliner may feel a little stiff at first. Please allow time for it to ease into use. Seat cushions will soften with use, too.

If your power recliner suddenly stops working

You may have moved your recliner and dislodged the power pack or cable, or the power cables may have become entangled in the mechanism. Make sure that cables are routed under the recliner mechanism and to the rear of the recliner.

If there is a small gap between seat platforms

On all recliners, it’s normal to see a small gap between the cushions. This is to allow the seat pad to expand during use so that it does not inhibit the recliner action. This may be exaggerated, depending on the type of flooring you have.

Additional instructions for recliners

Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions when assembling or disassembling your recliner.

Recliners have fixed cushions which require smoothing and straightening regularly. Simply punch the top two corners and pinch them outwards. You’ll find more about this in the seat and back cushions section of this guide.

Please take a look at the Fabric upholstery and Leather upholstery sections of this guide for detailed care and cleaning information. Refer to the manufacturers care guide for full care details and remember to only ever use recommended cleaning products.

Add accidental damage cover

While everything at Furniture Village comes with a 20 year quality guarantee, It's worth asking about our Care+ Protect policy for your bed or mattress. This worthwhile insurance plan will cover your new bed and mattress against any accidental damage.

The Furniture Village 20-year structural guarantee

At Furniture Village, every single item we sell is built to last and fit to withstand everyday life. That’s why all our sofas and beds, and all dining and bedroom furniture comes with our free 20-year structural guarantee. So you can buy with confidence – and enjoy your furniture for years to come.
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