If you're going to take the time and spend the money to put a textile or cloth sofa in storage, you want to make sure it emerges in good condition. Far too many sofas emerge from storage moldy, smelly, or dirty because their owners did not take the proper steps and precautions when storing them. Follow these do's and don'ts for best results.

Do: Vacuum the sofa thoroughly first.

Even a few little crumbs could attract rodents and insects who could urinate or leave droppings on your sofa, not to mention chewing through it. So vacuum your sofa thoroughly before putting it in storage; this includes removing all of the cushions and using the wand attachment to vacuum up crumbs, hair, and dust in the seams.

Do: Remove stains before storing the sofa.

It's tempting to just leave stains, thinking you'll remove them once you pull the sofa from storage since you'll want to re-clean it then anyways. But the longer stains sit, the more they sink in. What's easy to remove now might be impossible to remove later. So grab a bottle of stain remover and start blotting away. Make sure you do this a few days before you need to put the sofa in storage so that it has ample time to dry.

Don't: Spray the sofa with perfumes or deodorizers.

You're worried about the sofa smelling fresh when you pull it out of storage, but spraying it with perfume or a deodorizer now will do more harm than good. These products can leave residues on your sofa that might cause stains once they go through the temperature fluctuations associated with storage. You never know when a spray might attract insects, either. If you're really worried about smells, place a few sachets of baking soda between the cushions. They'll absorb both odors and moisture without harming the sofa.

Don't: Wrap the sofa in plastic.

If there's even the tiniest amount of moisture in any of the cushions or textile covering, wrapping the sofa in plastic will trap it in – and you'll come back to a moldy, ruined sofa. Drape a plain, white sheet over your sofa to protect it from dust in the storage unit. Alternatively, you could cover it with a linen slipcover.

Don't: Store the sofa directly on the ground.

Even if it has wooden or metal feet, storing it on the ground may expose it to water if there's flooding or a spill that seeps in from the next unit. You don't want the wooden feet to rot or the metal feet to mold. Store the sofa on a pallet. You can usually find pallets free or cheaply at hardware stores.

For more storage tips, contact a company like Palmisano Ralph Movers.