How hot do you clean residential upholstery?

[Bob Foster]

I was working with your basic nylon poly stuff and found that I didn't use a lot but I was wondering if any of you pushed up the temperature on most synthetic material upholstery.

 

[Doug Cox]

How hot do you clean nylon carpet?

 

[Hoody]

A lot of upholstery I will clean at a higher temp, or normal temp that the TM puts out. The hotter water tends to evaporate faster, and my upholstery dries a lot quicker than using cold water.

And yes even on SOME cotton blends I will do the same. I worry a lot more about bleeding/colorfastness, and browning from higher pH products.

 

[topnotchman]

I dont, I am always just cautious of upholstery even durable synthetics. I turned my salsa heat off when I do upholstery, so I think it get around 195-200F At the truckmount. if its really dirty or greasy Ill turn the salsa on, but thats rare.

 

[R W]

Maybe 200. Maybe a little more. Too much and that tool gets too hot to handle! With my PC bypass tool, it keeps the heat up there.

 

[Jose Smith]

Fabrics are not usually damaged by high heat. In fact, I prefer it. The hotter the better for me.

However, some "finishes" can be damaged/removed by heat. For instance, a crushed velvet can become a regular velvet if the high heat sets a new "memory" on the fabric. Embossed velvet can be damaged. Also, some moires can be removed with moisture, so it only stands to reason that hot moisture can take it away quicker.

These are rare examples. For the most part however, high heat should be fine on most fabrics encountered.

Jose Smith

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Fabrics are not usually damaged by high heat. In fact, I prefer it. The hotter the better for me.

However, some "finishes" can be damaged/removed by heat. For instance, a crushed velvet can become a regular velvet if the high heat sets a new "memory" on the fabric. Embossed velvet can be damaged. Also, some moires can be removed with moisture, so it only stands to reason that hot moisture can take it away quicker.

These are rare examples. For the most part however, high heat should be fine on most fabrics encountered.

Jose Smith

I have been cleaning a lot of poly sofas lately and a moderately hot solution line will melt the fabric pretty quick. The water may not damage it, but a sloution line laying on the fabric will. I know cause I melted a stripe in a cushion once. So I would say it is safer to just use warm water.

 

[Hoody]

Fabrics are not usually damaged by high heat. In fact, I prefer it. The hotter the better for me.

However, some "finishes" can be damaged/removed by heat. For instance, a crushed velvet can become a regular velvet if the high heat sets a new "memory" on the fabric. Embossed velvet can be damaged. Also, some moires can be removed with moisture, so it only stands to reason that hot moisture can take it away quicker.

These are rare examples. For the most part however, high heat should be fine on most fabrics encountered.

Jose Smith

I have been cleaning a lot of poly sofas lately and a moderately hot solution line will melt the fabric pretty quick. The water may not damage it, but a sloution line laying on the fabric will. I know cause I melted a stripe in a cushion once. So I would say it is safer to just use warm water.

Good examples Jose.

Daniel,

Get some clean color fast furniture pads or drop clothes, and if you have to absolutely lay your hose on the fabric. Wrap the hose in them or lay them on the piece where the hoses touch.

 

[Jose Smith]

More than likely the fabric was olefin/polypropylene. These can be damaged by dry heat/friction. However, keeping a pressure line off the fabric should be pretty simple.

Higher heat has many benefits. Hot obviously cleans better than warm. It will also clean faster than warm. Hot water will dry quicker than warm water.
Hot water can set colors that might otherwise run.


Jose Smith

 

[Ron Werner]

I set the LG just past the Warm setting Bob, no higher than 2 notches past. With the HK tool its been cleaning excellent, leaving it almost dry to the touch. Not sure what temp its hitting, but its hot enough. I don't run it super hot for uph.
Been cleaning a lot of uph this month, esp the microfibre. The O2 works excellent on that.

 

[Bob Foster]

I've been running less than that but my LG seems to run hotter than yours.

 

[Chris A]

I open up my vac relief (second port) on my machine enough to get 7-8 inches of lift, then go at it with about 180 degree water at the mount.

 

[Jim Pemberton]

I'm careful with heat on synthetic fiber velvet fabrics. I've seen where machines that have "heat spikes" (malfunction or bad design) cause permanent distortion where the blast of super hot water makes it through the lines and out of the jet.

Also, the old style Drimaster upholstery tool's flat nozzle has worked like an iron and press areas of such velvets flat.

I have also seen color loss caused by the same issues of heat spikes or "Drimaster Ironing" as well.

Make sure your cleaning unit is functioning properly and that your cleaning tool is adjusted in such a way to give you an even heat flow to the fabric.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Like Jose said, the hotter the better, with the one exception that Jim mentioned, piled fabrics.

It cleans faster, cleans better, removes more spots and dries faster.

I prefer it so hot that I wear a rubber glove in my left hand, the one I use to make a seal on edges.

Smokin hot! 8)

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Has anybody else here taken Murray Cremer's upholstery cleaning class? I did in 1981 and it opened my eyes for sure.

Hot is good....usually.

Thanks,
Lee

 

[Desk Jockey]

I took it, I also took one from Wally Weber when he was a Kleenrite instructor.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I know Wally was still in the business in Nevada just a few years ago. Never took his class but read a lot of stuff he had posted on his site.

 

[Desk Jockey]

It was pretty much like Murray's class, but he had a little more sales involved. He was a good instructor.

I've also had Jim Pemberton's Upholstery class, it was a great class, he's a very good instructor.

 

[Loren Egland]

Wally Webber and Steve Marsh have both suggested in their class that the hotter the better is ok for upholstery cleaning. I don't know if they still say that now.

I got myself into trouble listening to that in class and then going out in the field to clean upholstery. As has been mentioned, pile distortion may occur. I have also seen fabric brown before my very eyes when the solution got too hot. And I have taken color out where my tool stopped too long in one place.

Normally I clean fairly hot, but better safe than sorry. Not all tools and equipment will deliver super hot temps to the fabric, so it is something some instructors have never experienced due to the equipment they have been using.

 

[Art Kelley]

I clean as hot as I can which with a choked down Vulcan post heater on my WM is really hot, 260-270 degrees ATM. I removed the trigger on my PMF internal jet tool so it is continous flow, so the heat is nice and steady. I cleaned a dingy cotton blend yesterday and it came out like new with Chemeister's Preaction as my prespray, and a boiling hot fresh water rinse.
I learned about using heat in a Wally Weber upholstery cleaning class back in 1985. What a great instructer.
Only once did heat cause me a problem and that was when a hot solution line was resting on a synthetic velvet fabric and made a line mark. Gotta watch that.

 

[The Magician]

Hey Lee I took Murrays class in 80. Hotter is better with common sense.

 

[Hoody]

I was born in 1986. Damn some of you are old :mrgreen:

 

[The Preacher]

A lot of upholstery I will clean at a higher temp, or normal temp that the TM puts out. The hotter water tends to evaporate faster, and my upholstery dries a lot quicker than using cold water.

And yes even on SOME cotton blends I will do the same. I worry a lot more about bleeding/colorfastness, and browning from higher pH products.

how does water that cools to room temp in a matter of minutes evaporate faster??? would air flow make that happen faster???
:shock:

 

[Hoody]

[quote="Steven Hoodlebrink":n9lap914]A lot of upholstery I will clean at a higher temp, or normal temp that the TM puts out. The hotter water tends to evaporate faster, and my upholstery dries a lot quicker than using cold water.

And yes even on SOME cotton blends I will do the same. I worry a lot more about bleeding/colorfastness, and browning from higher pH products.

how does water that cools to room temp in a matter of minutes evaporate faster??? would air flow make that happen faster???
:shock:[/quote:n9lap914]

Damn danny and I thought you were just a hack bonnet cleaner!

 

[Chris A]

I was born in 1986. Damn some of you are old :mrgreen:

I know Right?

 

[Art Kelley]

[quote="Steven Hoodlebrink":11qui8lx]I was born in 1986. Damn some of you are old :mrgreen:

I know Right? [/quote:11qui8lx]

It's good to be old. Your vast life experiences color everything that you do.

 

[John Watson]

Wally was Murray's #1 trained boy!!!! I have had 3 other instructors for the Kleen Rite class also. Bill something, Roger Shepperd, and the guy who was the VP or something and trains the Dalworths crews, damn I can't remember names and dates like I used to. Previous students could reattend for free. It was a bennifit that not many used.

They taught to get the solution to a rolling boil and use the recurculating tool. Loved those old double boiler machines. If you had any problems Wally Mist was supposed to almost fix anything.

 

[The Magician]

I was born in 1986. Damn some of you are old :mrgreen:

I might but older but still kick A$$

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Bill Hachtmann, Arlen and John Knight...