Jim Pemberton
MB Exclusive.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2006
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- 12,547
- Name
- Jim Pemberton
Recently I was asked to evaluate the restoration potential of a high value furniture item, upholstered with a natural fiber chenille fabric that was both smoke and soot damaged.
Such natural fiber chenille fabrics are especially challenging to clean because of the manner in which the soft chenille texture is created. Rather than having "carpet like" tufted pile as velvet has, chenille has a pile on each individual yarn. This creates a luxurious soft hand, but also a texture that is easily damaged and quite difficult to restore.
The restoration problem was made more difficult by the fact that the soot and smoke residues present created the need to have a way to remove these materials without causing irreparable texture damage.
Removing this heavy amount of soot from a delicate fabric like chenille without damage is nearly impossible!
Because of the outstanding results we had experienced in other applications using microfiber cloth cleaning technology, I decided to substitute microfiber cleaning cloths in place of the brushes usually used for dry brushing, preconditioning, and finishing of delicate texture fabrics such as this.
Steps Taken:
#1 - Dry Soil Removal: Soot residues need to be removed carefully, as harsh brushing can easily drive soot more deeply into the fabric. In this case, gently wiping with microfiber cloths before vacuuming picked up the soot without driving it into the fabric.
The amount of soot removal with just a dry microfiber cloth was incredible!
#2 - Preconditioning: A neutral detergent with a solvent booster was applied in a fine mist to loosen smoke film and "pre-loss" soiling. Instead of using a brush, the fabric was wiped with a microfiber cloth to absorb loosened soil while using as little agitation as possible. The microfiber cloth removed so much soil with this step that the fabric actually appeared to be cleaned!
This is how the fabric looked before it was rinsed!
#3 - Extraction: The fabric was rinsed with a neutralizing rinse agent to remove the loosened soil and stabilize the fabric's dyes.
The rounded edges on the Upholstery Pro prevent fabric distortion.
#4 - Grooming: Grooming was done with a dry, clean microfiber cloth. Since conventional velvet groomers can leave lines on some textures, the microfiber cloth was used as it was able to restore the nap of the fabric and remove excess moisture as well.
No brush lines are left when chenille fabric is groomed with microfiber cloths
Results:
Not only was the soot and smoke removed, but just as importantly, the fabric was left as soft as it was before the loss. The people who owned the piece were pleased that the fabric was completely restored to the condition it was in before the fire loss.
Microfiber technology can do all these things and more to make your fine fabric cleaning better than ever.
Such natural fiber chenille fabrics are especially challenging to clean because of the manner in which the soft chenille texture is created. Rather than having "carpet like" tufted pile as velvet has, chenille has a pile on each individual yarn. This creates a luxurious soft hand, but also a texture that is easily damaged and quite difficult to restore.
The restoration problem was made more difficult by the fact that the soot and smoke residues present created the need to have a way to remove these materials without causing irreparable texture damage.
Removing this heavy amount of soot from a delicate fabric like chenille without damage is nearly impossible!
Because of the outstanding results we had experienced in other applications using microfiber cloth cleaning technology, I decided to substitute microfiber cleaning cloths in place of the brushes usually used for dry brushing, preconditioning, and finishing of delicate texture fabrics such as this.
Steps Taken:
#1 - Dry Soil Removal: Soot residues need to be removed carefully, as harsh brushing can easily drive soot more deeply into the fabric. In this case, gently wiping with microfiber cloths before vacuuming picked up the soot without driving it into the fabric.
The amount of soot removal with just a dry microfiber cloth was incredible!
#2 - Preconditioning: A neutral detergent with a solvent booster was applied in a fine mist to loosen smoke film and "pre-loss" soiling. Instead of using a brush, the fabric was wiped with a microfiber cloth to absorb loosened soil while using as little agitation as possible. The microfiber cloth removed so much soil with this step that the fabric actually appeared to be cleaned!
This is how the fabric looked before it was rinsed!
#3 - Extraction: The fabric was rinsed with a neutralizing rinse agent to remove the loosened soil and stabilize the fabric's dyes.
The rounded edges on the Upholstery Pro prevent fabric distortion.
#4 - Grooming: Grooming was done with a dry, clean microfiber cloth. Since conventional velvet groomers can leave lines on some textures, the microfiber cloth was used as it was able to restore the nap of the fabric and remove excess moisture as well.
No brush lines are left when chenille fabric is groomed with microfiber cloths
Results:
Not only was the soot and smoke removed, but just as importantly, the fabric was left as soft as it was before the loss. The people who owned the piece were pleased that the fabric was completely restored to the condition it was in before the fire loss.
Microfiber technology can do all these things and more to make your fine fabric cleaning better than ever.
