How to Get Melted Butter Out of the Sofa

Melted butter mars a sofa's overall appearance.

Many people enjoy relaxing on sofas and snacking on buttery popcorn while watching movies. Since it's difficult to focus on popcorn and a movie at once, some popcorn generally falls onto the sofa. This buttery popcorn transfers greasy smudges onto upholstered sofa surfaces. These buttery smudges actually consist of oily fats that become harder to extract over time. Promptly get melted butter out of the sofa to prevent permanent oil smudges on the upholstery.

Things You'll Need

• Paper towels
• Baking soda
• Vacuum with attachment
• White rag
• 1/2 tsp. dry-cleaning solvent
• Towel

Instructions

1. Blot excess melted butter off the sofa using paper towels. Replace the paper towels as oily residue collects on them.

2. Coat the remaining oily blotch thoroughly with baking soda. Give the baking soda 10 minutes to draw out the remaining excess butter.

3. Vacuum the oily baking soda off the sofa's surface using the vacuum's attachment.

4. Inspect the sofa for oily residue. If a dark blotch remains on the upholstery, dampen a white rag with 1/2 tsp. of dry-cleaning solvent.

5. Blot the sofa's upholstery with the solvent until the oily blotch disappears. Moisten the rag with more solvent, if necessary.

6. Dab the area with a towel until the upholstery dries. No rinsing is necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Substitute another absorbent product, such as cornstarch, for the baking soda.

• Dry-cleaning solvent may damage some sofa upholsteries; spot-test the solvent first.

References

• The College of New Jersey: All About Butter -- How Is Butter Made?
• University of Illinois Extension: Stain Solutions
• Good Housekeeping: Stain Buster -- Butter