Zee
Supportive Member
All over a loveseat and a large sofa. Yellowish spots. Most prominent in places where two fabrics overlap/cover each other.
The things that show up like that are usually mold or early stage flame retardant damage. I don't think those cushions are down filled, so I'll say maybe not flame retardant.
Mold loves to eat cotton, food and drink residues, and cleaning detergent residues. The fact that oxidizer and sunlight got rid of it last time would lead me to believe it could be mold as well.
Here is an ugly thought and I'm not accusing but is it possible the mold came from the last bit of moisture from the cushion that butt up against the inside back of the divan.I first tried cleaning them.
All the spots glow very bright, under UV.
Here is an ugly thought and I'm not accusing but is it possible the mold came from the last bit of moisture from the cushion that butt up against the inside back of the divan.
No no I didn't think so.
Glow yellow, glow green/yellow, glow purple?
No problem, I believe you Zee.Not possible. All of it got dried outside in the sun.
And wasn't put back together for nearly two days.
Wouldn't the digested remains of the mold also glow under a uv light?
I've never checked fabric. Generally any piece that has more than settled spores, we recommend replacement. Actual growth on a piece is not good and has likely damaged the piece and is deeply rooted in the fabric. It doesn't mean we won't clean it, we are not the mold police but we highly recommend they think about the possible consequences.That's a good question Richard. Have you seen bright yellow mold on cellulose fabric in your line of work?
As far as on other substrates it can be visible with UV when non visible in regular light.
That's the point I'm pursuing right now. The pattern surely looks like mold, its just the way its acting afterward that puzzles me.
Zee: Is the fabric weaker on these spots? What happens if you gently push on the yellowed areas with a spotting spatula? I'd like you to try an unaffected area and a yellowed area so that you can compare the weakness in the fabric, if any.
Do you have a pocket microscope? There really should be some damage to the cellulose fibers at this point that you should be able to see under the microscope.