The UK’s most common sofa stains revealed

Almost a quarter of Brits have admitted they would throw away their stained sofa instead of getting it cleaned, according to new research released today*.

Every year, up to 22 million pieces of furniture are discarded and the majority are sent to landfills up and down the country. At least half of these items are still in a usable state but are thrown away because they are dirty, stained or discoloured.

Dr. Beckmann polled 2,000 people to investigate what stubborn stains are damaging their upholstery furniture, with red wine, curry and muddy pawprints being the most popular.

The study, conducted by the cleaning and laundry expert, was carried out to mark the launch of its new Upholstery Stain Remover – a unique 2 in 1 brush head that targets stubborn stains found on upholstery items both inside and outside the home, making it easier to rescue stained furniture from a trip to the dump and help in prolonging the nation’s upholstery furniture’s longevity.

With almost a quarter of Brits (23%) announcing they would rather throw away their stained sofa than get it cleaned and the shocking statistic that sofas take up 15.1 million cubic metres of landfill space each year**, the cleaning experts teamed up with Wilcomatic – the UK’s leading provider of car washes – to create the nation’s first ever sofa wash.

Based on the results of the survey, Dr. Beckmann decided to put the number one sofa stain as voted by the nation, to the test; red wine (37%).

They took a white, 2-seater sofa, stained it with red wine and put it through an automatic car wash at a site in Sutton Coldfield on the hottest day of the year. The finished result might not have been as refined and polished as a newly washed car, but it proved that with the right product and right application, you don’t have to go to great lengths to clean your soiled sofa.

Dr. Beckmann spokesperson, Susan Fermor said: “It is so important to ensure we’re doing what we can do as a nation to protect our environment, so when we discovered how many sofas are discarded across the UK each year, we were shocked.

“Household chores and cleaning our homes may seem like a mundane task, but there are many effective methods Brits can channel to make sure their homes and furniture can stay spick and span effortlessly. Sofas are the hub of the home, it’s where people sit back and relax, play games, talk to loved ones and even enjoy their dinner, so it’s inevitable that stains and spills happen.

“However, instead of having to go to great lengths to clean sofas, like our brand-new sofa wash – the UK’s first – or even throw them away, you can simply use a dedicated stain remover, such as our Upholstery Stain Remover, to eradicate the stain easily and effectively. This will result in your sofa staying sparkling and stain-free and reduce easily reusable furniture from going into landfills across the country.”

To help maintain the cleanliness of your sofa, purchase Dr. Beckmann’s brand-new Upholstery Stain Remover in store or online at Waitrose, Morrisons, wilko and Amazon.

THE UK’S MOST COMMON SOFA STAINS

Red wine (37%)
Curry (26%)
Muddy pawprints (23%)
Fruit juice (19%)
Make-up (13%)