Question 1

What areas does First Class Real Clean Steam cover?

Accepted Answer

We're based on Chicago's East Side and work across the city and the western suburbs — Cicero, Berwyn, Oak Park, Forest Park, Elmwood Park, Melrose Park, Elmhurst, Oak Lawn, Schaumburg, Skokie, Evanston, Downers Grove and Bolingbrook. The nearer areas can usually be booked within a day or two; the farther ones (Schaumburg, Downers Grove, Bolingbrook) are grouped into scheduled runs, so call ahead. If you're not sure whether you're in range, call and ask.

Question 2

How much does it cost to clean a sofa?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the size of the piece, the fabric, and what's on it — a two-seater in good condition and a six-piece sectional with pet stains are very different jobs. We don't quote a flat rate sight unseen, because that's how people end up with a price that changes on the day. Send a photo by text or describe the piece over the phone and you'll get a real number before we book anything, free and with no obligation.

Question 3

How long does a sofa take to dry?

Accepted Answer

Usually two to four hours to touch-dry, and fully dry by the next morning. That comes down to extraction: the more water the machine pulls back out, the shorter the dry time. We finish every piece with dry passes for exactly that reason. Opening a window or running a fan speeds it up, and you can normally use the sofa the same evening.

Question 4

Will steam cleaning damage my fabric?

Accepted Answer

Not if the method matches the fabric — and that's why we check first. Velvet crushes if it gets too wet, linen and cotton shrink, microfibre shows a water edge unless a whole panel is taken at once, and leather shouldn't be extracted at all. We read the manufacturer's cleaning code, test a hidden spot, and use full extraction, a low-moisture method or a hand clean depending on what the piece can take. If a piece shouldn't be cleaned the way you were hoping, we'll say so before we start.

Question 5

Can you get rid of pet urine smell, or just the stain?

Accepted Answer

Both, but they're two different treatments. The stain is on the fabric; the smell is coming from the source, which has usually gone through into the foam and often into the deck under the cushion. Cleaning only the top removes the mark and leaves the smell — and as the sofa dries, the residue wicks back up and the mark returns with it. We treat the source with an enzyme, then flush and extract it. We deodorise after extraction rather than spraying a fragrance over the top, because a scent over a smell is obvious to anyone who walks in.

Question 6

What hours are you open?

Accepted Answer

8am to 6pm, Monday through Saturday. We're closed Sunday. Call or text (773) 512-2629 — a photo of the piece over text is the fastest way to get a price.

Question 7

Do you speak Spanish?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every job is run in both English and Spanish, from the first call to the walk-through at the end — and this website can be read in either language using the toggle in the header.

Question 8

Can you clean an old stain, or does it have to be fresh?

Accepted Answer

We can try, and often we succeed, but we'll be straight with you about the odds. A fresh spill blotted with water is the easiest job there is. An old stain that has dried in is harder, and a stain that has been treated with the wrong product — a general-purpose cleaner on red wine, or heat on a pet accident — may have been chemically set, which no later treatment will undo. We'll tell you which one you have after we've looked at it, and we won't charge you for a clean that we don't think will show.

Question 9

Do I need to move the sofa or empty the room?

Accepted Answer

No. We work around your furniture. We put mats down, protect the floor and the skirting, pull the piece out far enough to reach the back and the sides, and put it back where it was. All we'd ask is that you clear personal items off and around it — remotes, chargers, anything under the cushions — and keep pets in another room while the machine is running, because it's loud.

Question 10

Do you clean chairs and other upholstery, or only sofas?

Accepted Answer

All of it. Armchairs, recliners, ottomans, benches, headboards, dining chairs, bar stools and office chairs. Dining sets are worth doing as a whole set rather than one or two chairs, because one clean chair beside five dirty ones looks worse than none — so we price per chair with a set rate and take them all in one pass.

Question 11

Do you work for businesses, or only homes?

Accepted Answer

Both. Homes are most of what we do, but we also clean chairs and seating for offices, salons, waiting rooms, restaurants and churches, and we turn over furniture for landlords and short-term rental hosts between tenants. Commercial work can be scheduled after hours where that suits you better.

Question 12

Can you work in an apartment or a walk-up?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A good share of our work is in city apartments, condos and two-flats. The machine comes up the stairs, we bring our own water, and we put mats down along the route so nothing gets tracked through a hallway. High-rise, garden unit or third-floor walk-up, it makes no difference to the job.

Sofas That Look
Brand New Again.

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Our Services

Deep Sofa Cleaning

Upholstery Cleaning

Stain & Odor Removal

Chair Cleaning

Convenient and Effective Cleaning

Sofa Cleaning Near You

Carpet Cleaning

Mattress Cleaning

Why Choose Us

Real Steam, Not Just Soap

The Owner Does the Work

Price Before We Start

Safe on Delicate Fabrics

Dry in Hours, Not Days

Hablamos Español

What Our Clients Say

Areas We Serve

Frequently Asked Questions

Sofas That LookBrand New Again.