Can I Clean Upholstery With My Spotting Machine?
by Jim Pemberton - Fabric Pro Specialist
ANSWER: Absolutely Yes! . . . If You Avoid The Following
Problems When Using Your Spotting Machine for
Upholstery Cleaning
Cleaners often ask if the lightweight, inexpensive machines
made for spotting carpets can be used for upholstery cleaning.
Frankly, it makes sense to consider using such a machine for
upholstery cleaning for the following 3 solid reasons:
#1 - Lightweight. The machines can be easily carried in one
hand. This means that in areas that are difficult to
reach with a truck mount, or on extremely cold days when
you might prefer to not to use a truck mount, you can
easily walk into a home or commercial setting and set up
quickly to clean without several trips or spending too
much time outside.
#2 - Compact: Spotting machines can easily fit in the
passenger seat of a car, or in even the most crowded
truck mount van set up.
#3 - Inexpensive: You can purchase a spotting machine for
about the same price as a specialty low wetting “dry
tool”. If you are on a budget and feel you need both,
its easy to see why a cleaner might consider the
spotting machine.
With these seemingly overwhelming benefits in mind, there are
3 fundamental risks involved in using a spotting machine for
upholstery cleaning that are easily overlooked, but that can end
up costing you a lot of money if you aren't mindful of them:
1. Tool Design: The cleaning tools used with these machines
are designed to “flood and flush” carpet yarns so that heavy
spills and the spotting agents needed to remove them can be
thoroughly rinsed from the carpet.
This means that the tool can easily over wet a fabric and
contribute to browning, bleeding, and water marks on natural
fiber fabrics and blends. These problems are unlikely to be
found on synthetic fiber fabrics, but if you choose to
attempt to clean a natural fiber fabric or even a blend, it
is better to hold the tool away from the fabric, apply your
solution lightly, then release the trigger to extract
afterward.
That still may be too wet for some very absorbent, “problem
fabrics”, but will at least be safer than flooding the
fabric by applying the tool directly to it during the
rinsing step.
2. Vacuum Capacity: The power of the vacuum motor on a
spotting unit is sufficient for extracting the suspended
spot residue and spotting agents. It may not be strong
enough to extract moisture from absorbent natural fiber
fabrics if you don't follow the “spray and vacuum
separately” recommendation from above.
3. Recovery Tank Capacity: To keep these units lightweight and
compact, the solution and recovery tanks usually only hold
two to three gallons of solution. This might require
removing waste water and refilling the solution tank a few
times on a job that has a large sofa or multiple pieces of
upholstery.
Worse yet, because of the foaming nature of most upholstery
preconditioning agents, you can easily damage the vacuum
motor from foam in the recovery system, as foam does not
cause the vacuum tank float to shut off the vacuum motor.
Always use a defoamer when you use a spotting machine for
upholstery cleaning, and keep a close eye on the waste water
that accumulates in the recovery tank.
SUMMARY:
You are always best to use a 'low moisture dry tool' when
cleaning upholstery. These tools give the best results when
coupled with a high performance portable or truck mount that can
provide adequate water flow and vacuum for the tool to function
as it should, giving you the best cleaning and extraction for
fast drying and safe, consistent results.
For those times that budget and circumstance make the use of a
spotting machine an attractive option, be sure to carefully
review the suggestions provided above, and reserve the use of
this type of machine for low risk synthetic fiber fabrics.
If you'd like learn more about upholstery cleaning, come to “The
Experience” in Clearwater Florida in April where I'll be sharing
a presentation on The Seven Keys to Success in Upholstery
Cleaning, and will also be available to discuss cleaning tool
choices and procedures daily.
http://www.experiencetheevents.com/texp_conf.html