World's first 'sofa wash' is unveiled to stop people dumping stained settees in Milton Keynes

In Milton Keynes hundreds of bulky sofas are dumped every year because the fabric is stained.

Every year up to 22 million pieces of furniture are discarded nationally. At least half of them would be in a usable condition if they were cleaned, but instead they take up valuable space in landfill.

Cleaning company Dr. Beckmann joined forces with car wash experts Wilcomatic to see what would happen in a sofa was covered in its new stain removal product and then put through a regular car wash.

They took a white, two-seater sofa, stained it liberally with red wine and put it through the automatic car wash 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,” said a Dr. Beckmann spokesman.

The new Upholstery Stain Remover has a 2 in 1 brush head that targets stubborn stains found on upholstery items, making it easier to rescue stained furniture from a trip to the dump.

Almost a quarter of Brits have admitted they would throw away their stained sofa instead of getting it cleaned, according Dr. Beckmann’s research.

The company polled 2,000 of its customers to investigate what stubborn stains are damaging their upholstery furniture. Red wine, curry, muddy pawprints, fruit juice and make up proved the most common.

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.

“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.

“This will result in your sofa staying sparkling and stain-free and reduce easily reusable furniture from going into landfills across the country.”