Cleaning upholstery fabrics problems and solutions
February 1st 2004

Derek Bolton, director, The National Carpet Cleaners Association explains what some of the problems are when cleaning upholstery I consider that upholstery cleaning is the forgotten side of soft furnishing cleaning, those of us in the trade all know that we do it, but when carrying out cleaning work for a customer the question always seems to arise Oh, do you clean upholstery? The fact that the word upholstery appears in all your advertisements and features largely on your vehicle livery appears to count for nothing. You feel like shouting back YES, I do clean upholstery and of course we diplomatically and politely say Yes, certainly Madam! When I was a lad (the Ark had just landed, Noah was still a young man) meals were generally eaten sitting around a tablealmost always. Sitting rooms (Lounge) were designated areas for reading, entertaining and listening to the wireless (Radio) In todays society people live in the lounge almost entirely, whilst eating, watching TV usually with the meal balanced on the knee, adults, children and their pets eat, play and sleep on their upholstered furniture. The lounge has evolved into the family room. When called upon to clean an item of furniture the very first procedure to carry out is the Audit or survey after removing the children, cats, and dogs of course. This is the time to fully inspect the item to be cleaned with a fine toothcomb to establish certain criteria: - a) There is no pre-existing damage. b) Assess the degree of soiling on and within the fabric. c) Check for potential colour loss through cleaning. d) Discuss your findings with the customer. e) Make sure that the customers expectations equal reality. f) PUT EVERYTHING DOWN IN WRITING! To help you in obtaining the information to carry out this task you will have to carry out certain standard test procedures. 1. Establish the fibre content. 2. Identify the construction of the fabric. 3. Carry out a thorough dye bleed test. 4. Check for colour loss through abrasion (Crock test). The information that you gather whilst going through these procedures should enable you to be able to clean the item using the correct equipment and chemicals the object of the exercise is to ultimately end up with another satisfied customer who will, in turn, advocate the use of your services to their friends and family. Popular fabric protectors are often applied either at the mill or by the retailer in store and sold usually linked with some form of warranty/guarantee. These protective treatments do provide some protection against soiling, stains and spillages but cannot withstand the appalling abuse that some consumers inflict upon their furniture. What is this soiling that is so damaging? Greasy soils: Furniture is exposed to a high degree of human and animal body oils. This, if left, may cause weakening and discolouration of the fabric. Perspiration: These stains can be more difficult to remove and will over a period of time damage many of the fibre types used in todays upholstery fabrics. Perspiration contains protein, salts, oxidised body fats. When perspiration leaves the body it is initially acidic but changes to an alkali in a matter of hours. The customer must be advised regarding any permanent staining, colour loss or weakness of the fabric that may have already occurred. Hair: Animal and human hair on soft furnishings can be difficult to remove from woven fabrics. The hair itself can become very tightly held within the fabric construction. You can spend hours trying to remove the small needle like hairs from the coat of a shorthaired terrier that have become trapped within the fibres. It is at times like this that ones sanity becomes threatened. Cosmetics: Usually found on furniture in the bedroom these need to be tackled professionally. Removal may require the use of volatile or non-volatile solvent spotting chemicals. Pre-inspection is essential as solvent spotting agents may damage back coatings on fabrics or affect the colours in synthetic fibres. The use of proprietary brand products bought from the local supermarket may cause the stain to become permanent or the inappropriate use of the product may damage the fabric itself. There is almost always an instruction on the container that will say always read the instructions carefully followed by the words TEST FIRST. This is the section that usually gets read AFTER the customer has caused some visible damage. The very next step for the customer is to PANIC! This is when they decide to call in the professionalsit may be YOU! You must always remember, a professional you may be, but any miracle working should be left to the Almighty who is infinitely more qualified. Problems in cleaning upholstery-furnishing fabrics are greater than the problems associated with carpet cleaning. Complaints on upholstery cleaning, as comparable to carpet cleaning, run consistently at about eight to one, surely this should be a clear indication of the care that has to be taken during the pre-clean inspection. Maybe this is the reason why there are still a lot of carpet cleaners out there who will not touch upholstery.

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