The letter on your sofa tag tells you what the fabric can be cleaned with. W means water-based cleaner, S means a water-free dry cleaning solvent, WS (sometimes printed SW) means either one, and X means no liquid at all, only vacuuming or light brushing. The tag is usually under one of the seat cushions or on the underside of the sofa.
Read it before the next spill, not during it. Once wine is soaking into the arm, nobody wants to be on the floor with a flashlight looking for a label.
Where the tag hides
Ashley Furniture's page on cleaning codes says its upholstered pieces carry the tag either under a seat cushion or beneath the unit itself. On a big sectional it can take a few minutes to find. Check these spots:
- the deck under each seat cushion, where the cushions sit
- the bottom of the frame, which means tipping a light armchair back or using your phone camera under a heavy sectional
- the inside of a zipped cushion cover
- a back cushion or a throw pillow, which can have a tag of its own
If the cushions and the frame have different tags, follow each tag for its own part. A sectional bought in pieces can also carry different codes on different pieces.
The four letters, as the maker writes them
The definitions below are quoted or closely followed from Ashley's page. They're a good reference because they come from a company that makes the furniture and writes the tags. If your own tag or manual says something different, your tag wins.
| Code | What you may use | What the maker says not to do |
|---|---|---|
| W | Only a water-based shampoo or foam upholstery cleaner | Don't over wet it, and don't use solvents to spot clean |
| S | Only a dry cleaning solvent | Don't use water and don't saturate the fabric |
| WS or SW | Upholstery shampoo, the foam of a mild detergent, or a mild dry cleaning solvent | Don't saturate it with liquid |
| X | Vacuuming or light brushing only | No water-based and no solvent-based cleaner |
Two more codes show up now and then. DC means dry clean only. WASH means the cover can go in the washing machine, and Ashley's note for it is cold water, gentle cycle, mild detergent, no bleach, and a low tumble or line dry.
On velvet, chenille and other fabrics with a raised pile, the same page adds that the pile may need brushing afterwards to stand back up. So let a cleaned spot on a pile fabric dry, brush it gently, and only then decide whether the mark is still there.
A zipper is not a washing instruction
Many cushions have zippers, and it's tempting to pull the covers off and put them in the machine. For W, S and WS, the maker's text says no:
Cushion covers should not be removed and laundered.
That line comes from the W definition. The S and WS definitions say the same about dry cleaning. So a zipper on its own tells you nothing about washing. Only a tag that says WASH, or a manual that says the covers come off for cleaning, means they can.
Spot cleaning a W or WS sofa, step by step
This is how to deal with a fresh mark on fabric that takes water. Work with foam, not liquid. The goal is to clean the top of the fabric without wetting the cushion underneath it.
- Blot up as much of the spill as you can with a clean white cloth or plain paper towel. Press, lift, move to a clean part of the cloth. Rubbing pushes it deeper and spreads it.
- Vacuum the area with the upholstery tool so loose crumbs and hair don't turn into mud.
- Test your cleaner on a hidden spot first: the back of the sofa near the floor, or the underside of a cushion. Let it dry fully and look for a change in colour or texture.
- Whip a little mild detergent in warm water until it makes suds, and lift off only the foam with a cloth or a soft brush. Or use an upholstery foam cleaner the way its label says.
- Work from the outside of the mark toward the middle in small, light strokes, so you don't make the stain bigger.
- Blot with a clean cloth dampened in plain water to take the soap back out, so none of it is left sitting in the fabric.
- Press a dry towel on it, then let the air finish the job. A fan helps. A hair dryer on high heat close to the fabric doesn't.
If you see a pale ring as it dries, the edge of the wet area was too sharp. A light pass of damp cloth across the whole panel, feathered outward, usually blends it, but stop there and don't keep adding water.
When the tag says S or X
S: no water, even a little
A glass of water is the wrong first reach on an S fabric. Blot the spill dry, vacuum, and if the mark stays, use a product sold as an upholstery or dry cleaning solvent for home spot cleaning, tested on a hidden spot first. Use a small amount on a cloth, not poured onto the fabric. Read the safety part below before you open one.
X: dry methods only
An X tag means no water-based and no solvent cleaner. What you can do at home is vacuum with the brush attachment, brush lightly with a soft clothes brush, and blot fresh spills straight away with a dry white cloth. A stain that stays after that is a job for someone with the right equipment, not for a spray from under the sink.
No tag at all
An older sofa, a second-hand chair or a piece from a family member often has no tag left. Then you're guessing, so make the guess cheap:
- Start with what can't hurt any fabric: vacuuming, a soft brush, blotting with a dry white cloth.
- If you need more, test a water-based foam on a hidden spot and wait until it's completely dry before you judge it. Check for rings, colour change and a stiff or fuzzy patch.
- If anything changed on the test spot, don't go further.
- The brand name is sometimes printed under the frame even when the code tag is gone. The maker's customer service can often tell you the code from the model.
Solvent cleaners need a window open
Dry cleaning solvents for upholstery are chemical products, and some carry warning symbols on the label. Health Canada's page on using household chemicals safely explains what the symbols mean. The flame symbol, FLAMMABLE, means the product or its fumes catch fire easily near heat, flames or sparks, and that rags used with it may begin to burn on their own.
The same page says to read the label and follow it, to never mix household chemical products together because some mixtures give off harmful gases, and to open windows or use exhaust fans. For a sofa that means:
- open a window and keep candles, a gas fireplace and space heaters off while you work
- never add a second product on top of the first to make it stronger
- let used cloths dry flat outside, or follow the disposal note on the label, instead of balling them up in the kitchen bin
If you'd rather send us the tag
Our page on window, upholstery and mattress cleaning asks for the number of seats, the fabric or a photo of the care label, and any stains, so a picture of that small tag is the first thing to send. Text it to (647) 507-8440 with a photo of the sofa and we'll reply with an estimate. You can see real jobs on our before and after page, and if the sofa is one part of a bigger job, furniture is part of a deep clean too.
