Microfiber cleaning process start to finish

[Bob Foster]

Mr. Pemberton, Mr Wheelwright and other upholstery experts I would appreciate critiques on my process. This is how I clean microfiber.


NOTE: SOME OF THESE PICTURES ARE WORK IN PROGRESS AND NOT COMPLETED TO THE STEPS DESCRIBED AT TIME OF PICTURE

Vacuum

Pre-inspect for pre-spray compatibility, damage, crocking and any signs of re-upholstery and fabric identification and possible manufacturer. Some manufacturers I've learned to decline cleaning.

Pre-spray and horse hair brush the prespray in with a circular motion on open areas and laterally brush piping

I avoid pre-spray and cleaning of chair or sofa bench areas

Extract with low heat, low pressure, piping, middle to corner, edges middle to corner to clean corners the best and easiest, open flats border stroke and then lateral stokes side to side

Notice the partially open vacuum relief on the Pemberton Sapphire Scientic upholstery tool

Post extraction horse hair brush all surfaces in a circular motion followed by lateral motion on all surfaces

Wipe down all wood surfaces

Set to dry tip standing the upholstery - outside drying in the sun is a nice bonus

Taking care not to set cushions on factory labels in case of dye transfer

Final finish is a terry toweling and set of microfiber to suitable finished appearance

 

[Bob Foster]

Having now cleaned quite a few different types of fabrics and furniture pieces with the Sapphire Scientific upholstery tool I can say that I have become quite fond of it. I own a Drimaster and a Prochem too however the Sapphire is now my favorite for most fabrics. And the tool is speedy too if you need it to be.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Nice work Bob!

I like your set by step photo's! 8)

We sometimes use a PC tool with a glide if it's no brainer fabric but any special care, any problem fabric, any time we are doing any volume of pieces it's the Sapphire's they use.

I loved the Drimaster and it is still a good tool, but the Sapphire is a great tool and like you Bob it's our favorite. 8)

 

[ascrubabove]

Bob, do you get enough for all that work? 80% of my uph work is microfiber, young military wifes with a couple kids that have drooled and spilt thier sippy cups. Some have even been coverd in mold due to storage prior to cleaning. I charge enough for what I do, but around here they can't afford all the extra stuff.

 

[dgargan]

How did you get that blue chair to change to green? Were they mad?

 

[harryhides]

David, my guess is that is caused by lighting conditions or changing camera angles - seen it many times myself.

Looks good to me Bob.
The most important step, imo is plenty of toweling off with clean white towels before setting the nap.

 

[dgargan]

I know Harry. I just had to throw that out there

 

[Bob Foster]

Bob, do you get enough for all that work? 80% of my uph work is microfiber, young military wifes with a couple kids that have drooled and spilt thier sippy cups. Some have even been covered in mold due to storage prior to cleaning. I charge enough for what I do, but around here they can't afford all the extra stuff.

I got paid very well for this work. Multiple repeat client who actively refers my services. I also clean for her relatives and friends.

Hard not to clean lots of microfiber these days. I would love to punt my leather couch and chair and go to microfiber as I find it more comfortable. Kind of sick of leather in my own home.

The job that I illustrated was in a home with 5 kids all under the age of 10. The chairs had the usual kid stuff on them. I have not had an occasion with crocking on microfiber but I have run into microfiber that the fuzzy part came off the foundation material with heat so I test them carefully. I know this store that sold these chairs and was pretty certain they would be good material. In the USA most cleaners are shy of Pottery Barn goods and up here some of us know to be suspicious of Ikea furniture. I flat out refuse to clean Ikea furniture even if the customer says to go ahead and take a chance. I won't leave my name on it. Long after other people come to see it and don't know the circumstances as to why it was cleaned and looked like crap they somehow will remember my name associated with it.

Having said that I ran into a La-Z-Boy branded non-microfiber couch that you would think would be a decent fabric. But it crocked badly.
It looked really similar to this

This was also a regular customer who after I explained the situation I declined to clean it for him. The La-Z-Boy store referred the cleaning to someone else and I never did clean for this person again.

 

[Bob Foster]

Look closer. Do you see it?

Don't get blamed for this type of stuff. As soon as you see it point it out to your customer. For those of us who occasionally use our upholstery tools for things like stairs a bur on your metal upholstery head can cause damage like this. One more reason to use a Sapphire Scientific upholstery tool or a Teflon glided tool on upholstery.

A kid jumping on this chair, UV deterioration and general wear will eventually cause this cushion to tear on this spot.

 

[Shorty]

Although I am by no means an "expert", (in Oz speak, an "ex" is a has-been, whilst a "spert" is drip under pressure shiteatinggrin ), I'd like to make a couple of comments.

I love microfibre.

Many won't touch it, I think mainly because of the earlier flocked versions that had a tendency to fall apart.

Having had both DriMasters, I also much prefer the Sapphire tool, and it NEVER goes onto stairs. :shock:

I basically clean the same as you have shown, even down to leaving the cushion on the chair, but with a couple of minor exceptions.

Our tags on the cushions USUALLY are inside the cushion, and on the three seater, they can be UNDER the sofa, or on the deck, turned around so that one must lean over the inside back to read them. :roll:

Our (Australian made) furniture by law, must have a care tag affixed, along with the fibre content, which I notice your pic doesn't have. :?: By this, I mean the content, your label is there, but with no content.

Many imported furniture comes in with no tag. :x

On really grubby fabrics, we have at times, resorted to using a variable speed polisher with a bonnet, or the Cyclo with soft brushes prior to rinse extracting.

After towelling off, we also groom the nap with a stainless steel carding brush, the cushions may then be stored on their zippered edge on the deck of the chair.

Damn good, well set out article mate.

Wish I could've had stuff like this a few years ago when I started.

8)

 

[steve frasier]

I had the new hydramaster tool. One of the metal lips came off and snagged the furniture. This was the 3rd time I had the problem. Was given warranty on all the tools but I turned it in to JonDon and got the Sapphire tool.

Like it much better at this point in time

sometimes wonder about the microfiber but it always seems to be fine when it dries

 

[Bob Foster]

Shorty the label is required by law and is on this one but not completed. I've seen this lots of times but for some reason the fabric type information is not enforced. Maybe someone here knows why this is allowed.

 

[Royal Man]

For Canada:
http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/ ... 01282.html


In the US upholstered furniture has to have tags listing the filling material, Not the outer covering content.

This is why it is very misguided to go by what the tag says.

Most say polyester or cotton referring to the stuffing.


Whats interesting is that in Canada the fed law is the opposite. (They have to list the outer covering and NOT the stuffing material.)

 

[Doug Cox]

I don't consider that fabric as micro fiber. I call it ultra suede. Its a bitch to clean, cleans up well for the most part but doesn't absorb water well.

 

[Royal Man]

I don't consider that fabric as micro fiber. I call it ultra suede. Its a bitch to clean, cleans up well for the most part but doesn't absorb water well.

......Um it's plastic!!!

It's the easiest fabric in the world to clean.'

In the 70 & 80s it was considered trailer park furniture.

It used to be in wood (2x4 ) frames with pheasants printed on it.

The fabric is so cheep to produce that the manufacturers latched on to it as a way for easy profits.

Kind of what is happening in the carpet industry, with nylon being replaced with crap.

 

[supersoaker]

I'm with Dave.

These are the absolute easiest fabrics to clean. I don't see any reason to pre-test them for anything either. Whats going to happen? If they bleed on themselves no big deal as there almost always the same color through out. Turn up the heat on these things if there soiled, heat is your friend.

I do hate grooming the tool marks out of them though. I've seen a couple that I've cleaned and still had the prochem tool marks in them on the back and sides.

I recently got the sapphire tool and it's my favorite tool on the truck. I almost smile when I'm doing upholstery now. I'm going to start wearing hearing protection with the tool because it makes my ears ring when I have to open the vac release. For lightly soiled micro fibers I can actually leaver my butler in the upholstery cleaning position and save myself a ton of gas. This tool leaves the micro fibers dry in about an hour with no air movement and uses a lot less water than my prochem. I will use the glided prochem for really delicate peaces.

I don't have that kind of view when I work.

 

[Shorty]

I don't consider that fabric as micro fiber. I call it ultra suede. Its a bitch to clean, cleans up well for the most part but doesn't absorb water well.

Down under, micro fibre encompasses a whole lot of fabrics, each one designated a different name by the manufacturer, such as:

Micro fibre, Macro fibre, Micro suede, Macro sude , Ultra suede, et al,

And a stack of others which I won't bore you with.

We still do get the occassional "glued" micro fibre, or if you prefer, "flocked".

Which, when heat or solvent is applied leaves the piece looking like a mangy dog with patches of fibre missing all over, if one is stupid enough to have not tested and carries on cleaning.

Oh to live in a perfect world. shiteatinggrin

 

[ACE]

Bob, Your really overthinking this.

Microfiber is too easy once you reallize you don't need much flow/PSI.

Let's see the photos of you cleaning a heavly soiled white cotton sofa.

 

[Hoody]

Heat + plastic isn't good, you CAN create a burn mark, I've seen it happen.

For all upholstery I pre-vac, pre-condition, scrub, extract with towels first, then rinse, extract with towels again, then set the nap if necessary, apply protector.

 

[Bob Foster]

Especially with a continuous flow tool you can get a lot of heat off a tool. That's why I keep the heat down.

 

[davegillfishing]

i am kind of surprised at how freaked out some of you guys look or feel about micro fiber..i love to clean it and
hope for it on every uph job we book..very easy to clean and usually cleans up like a dream..crank up the heat
lay on some juicy scrub a little and make it look new..

 

[Dolly Llama]

I love MF too

the first piece i cleaned was salvage piece.
The kids had abused it with pens, crayons, milk, snot, you name it.....it was trashed
i told the lady I couldn't be responsible for any damage i caused by "attempting" to clean it

she said "go for it"


i HOSED it down with carpet pre-spray and went to cleaning .
My eyes popped out of my hEd when it cleaned up like new with little effort :shock:

easy to be a hero with the stuff



..L.T.A.

 

[Royal Man]

The only real trick to cleaning microfiber is to post towel the fabric after cleaning.

It aids in drying. Cleans the nooks and crannies. Sets the nap and sometimes removes even more oils. (Like on the arms on very soiled ones.)

You would be surprised on well some can clean with just a light mist and a towel.

Super easy stuff. They can't bleed, -Um plastic! ('cept sometimes the decking)

Won't shrink, No ph problems (rings, browning, yellowing.) It they get rings its wicking from soil. Sometimes kids spill all over this stuff like a play ground.


The problems this fabric can have are:
It does have an affinity for oils. Oils can permanently change the fabric color and it becomes the fabric. (Like a polyester shirt with an oil stain.)

The texture of the flocking can be altered if your jets are too close to the fabric especially when you hit the trigger.

Also,many are flocked. (Or the outer fabric is simply glued on).
So, the flocking can come off by using solvents or way too much agitation. (Some are saying heat, I have yet to see that as a problem.)

This fabric is nothing to be scared of.

I consider it beginner trainer furniture.

 

[Hoody]

Look here Mr Expert Yoakum. Microfiber is NOT a fiber type, it is a finish/texture... not ALL microfiber is made from plastic bottles.

It also comes in rayon, cotton, nylon, and acrylic.

Just going into a furniture store I've noticed a lot more rayon, its making a big come back, and yes even on microfiber textured pieces.

I would hate for some poor sap to find a rayon piece and ripple it all to heck from the fabric stretching, not to mention it'll water mark far worse than microfibers already do.

 

[Royal Man]

You are confusing velours and microfibers.

It is not just a fluffy fabric texture.

Microfiber actually Is a fiber type. It refers to synthetic fibers that measure less than one denier( 1 gram of weight per 9,000 meters length of fiber strand, Or really small stuff). The most common types of microfibers are made from polyesters, polyamides, nylon, kevlar, nomex, trogamide. and or a conjugation of polyester and polyamide.

Microfiber came out in the 70s and was perfected as a manufacturing process in the 90s.

Velours on the other hand, have have been around for centuries.

Of course all fabrics should be tested prior to cleaning to determine fiber content, and condition issues , bleeding, crocking etc..

As stated before microfiber won't water mark. if they "watermark" it is usually from wicking and ineffective cleaning. A light misting and toweling will usually take care of the problem. (if it is not from oil.) Some oils will never come out of microfiber.

 

[Hoody]

Pretty sure I'm not. Since my own experience isn't a "credible source", I'll take a quote from Jeff Cross who I believe is.

Microfiber truths

Microfibers are normally a polyester fiber that is spun very thin - thus the term "micro".

Polyester is the best choice because of its natural soft feel (hand) and durability with colorfastness.

But not all microfibers are polyester. There are microfibers made from cotton, rayon, acrylic and nylon.

Most of the time, though, the fiber is polyester. A simple burn test will tell you which fiber the product contains.

Quote Source: http://www.cleanprosonline.com/Microfibers.html

 

[Bill Soukoreff]

I like the SS for other fabrics but for a oily microfiber I live my hydrokinetic. Full heat and tm flow with no distortion. Twice as fast as the SS. I agree with Dave, with the right tool you can use as much heat as can muster. Anyone who says something else is a chem salesman.

 

[juniorc82]

I like to use rubbing alchol as a spotter on microfiber. It works well on all kinds of stains

 

[Royal Man]

I like to use rubbing alchol as a spotter on microfiber. It works well on all kinds of stains

The rubbing alcohol is a nice alternative for microfiber and using solvents that could be more prone to damaging the fabric.

I restored several microfiber sofas where candles exploded on them.(covering an entire arm, down an entire side, splattered across several cushions.)

By using rubbing alcohol and some very gentle agitation and some spotting towels.

Works like a charm for a very bad looking accident!!

Didn't even have to break out the truckmount.

 

[sam miller]

I like the sapphire tool also the handle can be awkward. I have seen microfiber lose dye sat one against wall and it bled on wall rare

Jim P had an article here awhile back suggesting amonia as a prespray for breaking down oily areas or maybe it was amonia based?

haven't tried that yet some are easier then others to clean. I like doing them

good job Bob