Super touchy velvet

[Mikey P]

Customer spot cleaned this with just warm water and a towel

Obvious color loss..

We tested with MB dry cleaning solvent, soft water and PC fine Fabric shampoo

Obviously we walked....


always pretest 50 year old sofas..

 

[jcooper]

Customer spot cleaned this with just warm water and a towel

Screwing your stuff up with just warm water... That's pretty nuts.

Mike, You seem to run into this crazy velvet/etc. stuff quite a bit. Other than the client knowing it's velvet, any simple things to look for? Ever have a client not know it's velvet?

It kinda looks like microfiber without the backing.

 

[Desk Jockey]

What is the original color? It looks really oxidized as if it were supposed to be that lighter color?

 

[Steve Lawrence]

Looks like you tested on an inconspicuous area of the sofa so I'm sure you asked for permission. Man, that color was so easily removed. The homeowner should thank you for not damaging their heirloom.

Good job, Mike.

 

[Mikey P]

they just bought it from a friend who had it in a dark room for close to 50 years.

Almost zero fading.

 

[Mikey P]

Good job, Mike.

Davis actually..

 

[Jim Pemberton]

Some fabrics lose dye fastness over time, others are improperly dyed and just await the first unsuspecting cleaner.

Davis showed experience and maturity as a cleaner (not always the same thing) by noticing the per-existing color damage and tested afterward accordingly.

When I met him in Vegas, he impressed me with his serious , thoughtful attitude about the business.

(When I say "thoughtful" I mean it in the literal sense of the word. He's far more mature at his age than was I at his age Mike)

 

[Desk Jockey]

He's a good kid and has matured rapidly as Mike empowered him several years ago. The sky is the limit for him, he has the clientele, the experience and the equipment. It will be up to him to maintain or grow it as he sees fit. He is certainly in a sweet spot in his young life!

 

[Jimmy L]

Had a blue denim sofa years ago like that. Water would remove color.

 

[Spurlington]

This chair was 25 yrs old and the previous cleaner started it and said oops ... I took it on - written as - to improve a damaged piece and was able to blend the bright areas as I removed most of the green. It was like the color let go. What you see here is before I started. Ive never had a piece lose the color like this one. They loved the fact the areas didnt stand out like a sore thumb.

 

[Doug Cox]

View attachment 8003

This chair was 25 yrs old and the previous cleaner started it and said oops ... I took it on - written as - to improve a damaged piece and was able to blend the bright areas as I removed most of the green. It was like the color let go. What you see here is before I started. Ive never had a piece lose the color like this one. They loved the fact the areas didnt stand out like a sore thumb.

That's a wet clean fabric. What did the cleaner do to "F" it up? Looks pretty soiled.

 

[Spurlington]

Yes it is a wet cleanable .. it had a ws code not that that would matter .. the soiled looking on top right is his water and detergent drip. Looks flooded without proper extraction. Custy says it was not like that before he did it. Im thinking ammonia based cleaner/spotter may have done something? Im guessing he left product on the fabric .. I really dont know why the green was cleaning away. It was like a snow cone effect. The more I extracted - the more the green faded.

 

[Spurlington]

See how the arm looks like uneven cleaning ..

 

[Desk Jockey]

I've seen it happen and I hate it. Fortunately its rare. The bigger concern is that its generally not me doing the cleaning so the guy behind the tool must recognize he must stop when something doesn't appear right. Not always an easy judgement to make when different fabric look different when wet.