Editor’s Note: This post was written by Brianna’s sister, Sarah, who lives near San Antonio, TX

Craigslist… it’s a curse.. it’s a blessing.

This time for me it was a blessing. Who in their right mind could pass up a couch, loveseat, and oversized chair for a mere $125? Not this girl. Tan microfiber and in good shape. SOLD. Then the kicker– the previous owner had cats and dogs. I decided to make the purchase anyway. All the pieces were in great condition just a little dirty. Despite her reassurances that she had cleaned it with Woolite furniture spray, there were still spots. Once I got the furniture home and had vacuumed them like crazy, I still wasn’t completely satisfied with their cleanliness.

The Couch Before:

So I turned to the God-inspired (because I am convinced it was) Pinterest. Search: “How to clean Microfiber” and BOOM answers. Seemed easy enough, as most Pinterest projects really turn out to be. All I needed was a sponge, rubbing alcohol, a scrub brush, and a spray bottle. I embarked on my cleaning journey.

First, a few things I realized while cleaning:

1. The higher the percentage of alcohol, the better it seemed to clean. Yes, this might seem like common sense, but I didn’t see this mentioned anywhere. I ended up using 91% Isopropyl Alcohol.

2. Get the BIG bottles. Just for the chair it took one and a half small bottles. The loveseat took almost one and a half of the larger bottles. So go big, especially if you are tackling a couch. I used five large bottles of rubbing alcohol for all three pieces.

3. Gloves and proper ventilation. The gloves will save your hands from the alcohol and keep them from drying out. Proper ventilation because soon all you will smell is rubbing alcohol.

4. Spot check. Once you’ve finished and let the original cleaning dry you may notice a couple of spots you need to go back over. No need to tackle that entire section again, just go for the spots.

5. Use two sponges. When one gets dirty, rinse it (no soap), and let it air dry while you use the other.

The Couch After:

The breakdown:

Fill your spray bottle with rubbing alcohol.

Put on your gloves and grab your sponge. I used Scotch Brite Dobie.. Make sure you use one with no color because the other articles said the color might transfer, not a risk you want to take. Use the scrubber side, or if you find the ones like mine either side works.

Lightly spray the area you want to scrub. Make sure you do a little test portion first, just in case. Don’t saturate into the cushions, you don’t want to soak it, just clean it. Then scrub away. You don’t have to be aggressive just clean it like you would a dish in the sink. I cleaned each of the back cushions three times each to ensure that it was clean.

Then let it dry.

When it’s dry, take another neutral colored scrub brush and brush the furniture. This loosens up the fabric again and makes it look nice. Presto! You have a clean couch. It works amazingly well as you can see from my pictures. Added bonus is that it makes you feel that the couch is really clean and all the germs are killed. Good luck!

–Sarah