Match the cleaner to the fabric.
Many stains just sit there, making your furniture look unsightly. Once dry, they typically don't pose a threat to clothing. Not so with a grease stain, which may not dry quickly and easily transfers from your upholstery to your clothing and then to other upholstery. Before tackling the stain, consider the fabric type. Successfully removing the stain includes not ruining the fabric.
Fabric Care Codes
Furniture manufactures often conform to a voluntary industry labeling of upholstered furniture, to help guide consumers in cleaning the fabric. Before removing the grease stain, look for a fabric care label or mark, located somewhere on the upholstery. It will be a letter or letters -- W, S, SW or X. If marked X, the manufacturer recommends vacuuming or brushing only, as cleaning solutions might fade or shrink the fabric. Clean upholstery marked W with water-based solutions, and those marked S with water-free solvent cleaners. The most versatile is WS, which you can safely wash using water or water-free cleaner.
Cornmeal
Cover the grease stain with cornmeal, and allow the meal to absorb the grease. Let it set overnight, and then vacuum up the cornmeal. To finish the cleaning, make a paste by combining three parts baking soda to one part water. Rub the paste into the remaining stain and allow it to dry. After the baking soda mixture dries, vacuum the spot. If it is leather upholstery instead of fabric, sprinkle on white talcum powder instead of cornmeal to lift out the grease. After it sets overnight, wash off and clean the leather according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Salt
For a fresh grease stain, cover the mark with table salt immediately. Allow the salt to absorb and draw the grease from the fabric before brushing or vacuuming off the salt. If it is a large glob of grease, carefully remove the surface grease by scrapping off with a straight edge or dull knife before applying the salt.
Dry-Cleaning Solution
There are commercial upholstery cleaners on the market, some designed specifically to remove grease stains. Dry-cleaning fluid can also remove grease. Rub the area with the fluid and then blot the stain with a clean, dry cloth. Use a white cloth, as a colored cloth can leave dye on the upholstery. Before using a cleaner or solution on your upholstery, test the solution on an out-of-the-way piece of the fabric, to see if it damages the material.
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