Upholstery hack question...

[Russ T.]

Am I okay to go ahead and get this wet? Its mostly poly. I usually jump on upholstery with my Drimaster but this one concerned me a little.

Can you see the "rings" on the back of the sofa? There's a little on the bottom right too. It's a very faint yellowing. The owner doesn't know what it is. It almost looks like browning from water.

I don't normally encap upholstery but I was thinking about it here.

Anyway, I passed on the cleaning while they had the carpet done. They want me to try in the morning.

Am I worried for nothing? Any tips? Thanks!

 

[Desk Jockey]

Yikes!

It looks like an easy clean but you have me scared with that pink tint.

 

[Russ T.]

I should be okay getting it wet, right?

I did a test spot in the back that I'll check before I start.

 

[Mikey P]

9 times out of nine the tag has NOTHING to do with the fabric.
The tags tells you what's inside.

 

[Mikey P]

My guess is a cotton blend, leaning in favor of the cotton.

The soil on the arms and edges will need a good scrubbing with a fine fabric shampoo and rinsing with your DM3 and an acid rinse.

Mist some distilled water on those rings and use the DM3 to rinse out. Then proceed to shampoo and rinse



Promise nothing and do it out side in the sun if possible.

 

[SamIam]

Clip a little do a burn test, tags are mostly useless.

I would hit it with a mild pre spray and rinse it with last step.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I should be okay getting it wet, right?

I did a test spot in the back that I'll check before I start.

Let the test spot dry completely. All the bad scary things happen during drying.

It could be nothing but those pink areas are enough to be concerned about cleaning the piece.

 

[SamIam]

You could through a scoop of natural fiber cleaner in the rinse.

 

[steve_64]

I thought it was white lol

Yikes!

It looks like an easy clean but you have me scared with that pink tint.

 

[steve_64]

30% cotton body I would get it dry fast it could ripple.

 

[Russ T.]

Ugh.

Now I definitely don't want to touch it.

I bet it is cotton. Those rings are from the slightest bit of moisture.

 

[Russ T.]

Remember, I actually am a upholstery hack. I want to make that clear so that no one overestimates me. I clean microfiber 50% of the time and am respectable at it but I struggle with the finer fabrics.

I might pass on it again, tomorrow.

 

[Wing It]

Take the cushions home and take your time. You may not make great money on this one, but the confidence you get will bring on more upholstery jobs. Misting distilled water over it shouldn't cause any problems and might make the rings disappear. This sometimes takes more than one application. If you do notice pink, jim pemberton can help. I wouldn't go any further if you notice pink inside the cushion or the ticking ph is below 5. Otherwise, mist distilled water over it, apply the foam whipped up from a fine fabric shampoo with a horsehair brush or mitt, rinse with the drimaster and a neutral or acidic rinse, then put a fan on it. If it's not as clean you'd like once dry, do it again.

 

[dgardner]

jim pemberton can help.

X2!

 

[Mikey P]

Thanks John, great post.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Maybe the pink came from the red ink on the tag. ???

Being a gambling man by nature, I think I'd gofur it.
Every time I ruined something it was because I thought I was the master.

I thought wrong! Be patient, see what your test dries like. I agree starting the cushions could be the best move. I'd clean the back let it dry. If that dries fine do one side of the cushion. Proceed slowly, don't rush it.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Vacuum very thoroughly first.

 

[Nate The Great]

Pray and spray...

Looks like a normal simple clean... Pull up your panties and get err done...

 

[EDS]

Nate ...sorry to stalk but you have a little bit of experience on this matter...seeking guidance in dealing with this filthy animal...but in a home alone kinda way...

 

[Nate The Great]

We actually take on work others pass on... I still hate cleaning denim fabric... It doesn't matter what you do, it'll always get darker... The texture will change regardless of what the "designer" said... Velvets suck too with all the grooming that's needed... Chenille is also another fun one, mostly with the humidity spots aka (orange spots) from the down filling and fire retardant in a humid climate... We fix our fair share of others screw ups also... I haven't see the screen printed fabrics here though (thank God)...

Cotton is fine as long as you don't over wet it and speed dry it... Wet it evenly, it's not that hard...

 

[Russ T.]

I'm just going to jump on it with the DM3. I'll get it as dry as I can and use a fan as I go.

The back is fixed, without removable cushions.

I'm going to warn her before starting.

Thanks guys!

 

[Mark Saiger]

We actually take on work others pass on... I still hate cleaning denim fabric... It doesn't matter what you do, it'll always get darker... The texture will change regardless of what the "designer" said... Velvets suck too with all the grooming that's needed... Chenille is also another fun one, mostly with the humidity spots aka (orange spots) from the down filling and fire retardant in a humid climate... We fix our fair share of others screw ups also... I haven't see the screen printed fabrics here though (thank God)...

Cotton is fine as long as you don't over wet it and speed dry it... Wet it evenly, it's not that hard...

Screen printed... Yep... Have seen and been lucky fixing a few home owner try to spot clean mess ups. Took I think about 3 return trips to do. Lady wouldn't let the piece out of the house.

I think the grandkids wrote on it with crayon or something if I recall and grandma tried to fix. Was on a natural fiber too...

Boy... Did I get lucky fixing that looking back now....

 

[KevinD]

9 times out of nine the tag has NOTHING to do with the fabric.
The tags tells you what's inside.

I usually bang my head against the wall when I hear this from cleaners thinking a fill tag is a fabric tag.
Time for some formal education and training if they want to seriously clean upholstery.
http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public...ric-Upholstery-Cleaning-Training-Workshop.cfm

 

[Mikey P]

I don't know how you could be in this industry for more than a month and not know that.




Sorry Russ ...

 

[The Great Oz]

DO NOT WET CLEAN THIS WITHOUT PRE-TESTING THE BACK OF A CUSHION!

We bought one of these recently and have it sitting in our meeting room as a reminder to pre-test. The linen "look" is likely printed on and the print is water soluable. The discolorations are from spills or customer cleaning that have already dissolved the print. Touch it with water, you own it.

Look inside a cushion and see if it looks the same as the outside of the cover. If not, OMS is all you can do. (This stuff fades like crazy too.)

Looks like linen right? Not. this is the printed polyester fabric, $1,800 Crate and Barrel sofa that was our lesson.

Remember, the Chinese manufacturer gets the general idea of something, but often doesn't get the reality of how their cheat will hold up... or they don't care. The people that sell this stuff don't know, but we can try to make them care by refusing to clean the junk. Let them deal with angry customers and they may rethink what they sell. In the case of the piece above Crate and Barrel didn't care at all, since we wet cleaned it against manufacturer recommendations.

Fabric Care Instructions

Spot clean with mild, water-free cleaning solvents only. Do not use water or dry clean. Always test a small inconspicuous area first. Blot spills immediately with a clean, absorbent white cloth. Rotate cushions and pillows weekly. Vacuum regularly. Professional upholstery cleaning recommended annually. Avoid direct sunlight. Fabric fresheners and protectors are not recommended.

 

[Bob Pruitt]

I was going to say to Russ that when you were there doing the carpets would have been a good time to take one of the seat cushions and do a wet test on the zipper side...then go clean the carpets. Should be dry when you finished and probably the test would have told the story. Of course unzip and look inside as well. Your first instinct when you saw the water marks would have been mine as well. Would tell them sorry but no.
I know I need to get to Lee's Upholstery Class!
Yes Bryan...it looks like linen to me.

 

[The Great Oz]

If it's printed, you will know right away as the print dissolves while you're working on it. We had a tech clean outdoor cushions (you can't hurt Sunbrella, right?) by starting with a pass right down the middle of the cushion. The rust color was gone, leaving an off-white stripe with yellow at the edges of the cleaning pass. The male customer said it was his fault for buying "the cheap stuff" and asked if our guy could clean the rest of the color off. The cushion ended up being mottled yellow and off-white.

Outdoor cushions that fade fast and can't get wet. Who would think that's OK?

 

[Nate The Great]

Slip covers is another irritating clean... Mostly the higher end clientele have them here... I've seen cotton, linen, denim slip covers... I guess it's cheaper to have slips made than to re-upholster...

 

[Bob Pruitt]

Who would think that's OK?

Their Interior Decorators. Cleaning and maintenance isn't even a factor in their though process.
Test everything I guess... even microfiber....start on a place that isn't going to be visible and wipe with a white towel for color fastness.
Good info in this thread!

 

[Mikey P]

Brian, your saying the weave is printed on?

So we now have Pergo fabrics to deal with?