Upholstery Problem.

[carpet cleaner]

I cleaned a few white pieces of upholstery last Monday. The inside of the cushions were Goose Down with a liner. The customer called me a few days later and said one of the cushions turned greenish purple and had a mold smell. (That part of the cushion was facing down on the chair, and I guess it took too long to dry)

I will be picking the cushion up tomorrow and bringing it back to my place to work on it.

I welcome all suggestions on how I may be able to attempt to correct this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Charlie Lyman]

Not that i can help, but get some pictures so we all can learn from this.
Thanks

 

[carpet cleaner]

Good idea.

I'll see what I can do.

Not that i can help, but get some pictures so we all can learn from this.
Thanks

 

[carpet cleaner]

white

What was the color initially ?

 

[Jimmy L]

Carpet cleaner I see you have NO name or anything in your profile.
If you want help it would be polite to tell us who you are and where you live etc.

 

[carpet cleaner]

Greenie, Jay Delaughter, Larry Cobb and a few others know who I am and where I live. Alot of members on this board don't have their complete profile filled out.

If you don't want to help, don't help.

I would appreciate productive suggestions only, Thanks.

Carpet cleaner I see you have NO name or anything in your profile.
If you want help it would be polite to tell us who you are and where you live etc.

 

[XTREME1]

Why was the cushion drying on the chair?
There a few things you can do depending on what products you cleaned them with and what skill level you have with upholstery.

If it is isolated to the cushions I would take the upholstery off the foam or filling and shampoo and speed dry without heat to check results. That is hwere I would start

Alot of members on this board don't have their complete profile filled out.

it is required

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Mold/musty smell means it was wet for to long and probley browned out, the purple could be from ink on the tag. Did you just lay it back down like it normally lays after you cleaned it? All cushions need to be propted up so front and back side can dry properly.

Its really tough to say what fully happen without seeing it and without you telling use how you cleaned it. PSI, prespray, ect?

Hope you didnt soak it so the feathers are still damp and need to be replaced. Use a browning treatment for the browning if that is what it is and use a ink remover for the ink if that is what it is.

Shot in the dark.

 

[carpet cleaner]

Yes, I realize it took too long to dry.

I'm looking for suggestions to try and correct it.

Thanks.

 

[renegade_cowboy]

Greenie, Jay Delaughter, Larry Cobb and a few others know who I am and where I live. Alot of members on this board don't have their complete profile filled out.

If you don't want to help, don't help.

I would appreciate productive suggestions only, Thanks.

Carpet cleaner I see you have NO name or anything in your profile.
If you want help it would be polite to tell us who you are and where you live etc.

Well if larry cobb is your bud, then call him and get the products you need if that is all the help you need. Yeah fill out your profile, jimmy hates secrets.

 

[Spurling]

I had a carpet with alot of mold from a leaky fish tank .. I saturated it with sporicidan .. let it sit for 15 and extracted .. I removed all odor and stain completely .. not sure this would work for you .. if youre a fabric soaker .. maybe next time wrap the liner in plastic .. I always have the customer rotate the cushions for quicker dry time .. good luck

 

[carpet cleaner]

Steven and the others that are helping, thanks.

I used jon don's outset and rinsed with hwe.

Is there just a few spots or did it affect the whole side of the cushion that was facing down ?

It sounds like a fabric pen that upholsters will sometimes use to mark the fabric bled thru, which can be common with white fabrics. Either used on the fabric itself or on the lining as you mentioned was there. If it was just because it didn't dry right I would expect some yellowing or browning which could be corrected by a reducing agent like Buff All.

Also what products did you use initially to clean it ?

 

[carpet cleaner]

sporicidan, what is it and where do you get it?

I had a carpet with alot of mold from a leaky fish tank .. I saturated it with sporicidan .. let it sit for 15 and extracted .. I removed all odor and stain completely .. not sure this would work for you .. if youre a fabric soaker .. maybe next time wrap the liner in plastic .. I always have the customer rotate the cushions for quicker dry time .. good luck

 

[Mr Carpet]

Carpet cleaner,

You haven't even listed cover fabric content or any other relevant information.

Why was the cushion placed down before it was dry?

It is unlikely to be mold.

More likely some sort of browning/chemical reaction or could even be color from the decking.

It would take more information/photos for a correct diagnosis of the problem.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

I have seen this happen before. Learn from your mistakes. Check the tags and any paper for ink transfer. I have seen the ink and dye on the tags bleed and stain upholstery. If only the underside of the cushion is stained and not on the opposite side, then the ink on the tags likley bleed onto the cushion. As far as the moldy smell, the customer is likely just over-reacting.

 

[Johnny]

Tell us about and post pics of your home-brew truckmount. Did you build it?

 

[Wayne Miller]

You said it was the side of the cushion facing down. Was it resting on the platform? Could the discoloration be bleeding from the platform?

 

[Bob Foster]

Continuing with Wayne's thought maybe from gassing coming off of felt or foam in the deck that got damp.

 

[alazo1]

Take em home, take out of cushions and stick them in the gentle cycle. If that doesn't work go to store and get some white rit dye or soak in bleach for a few hours. Works every time.



jk dude. Need pics.

 

[carpet cleaner]

I plan on it.

Larry is my local distributor.

Well if larry cobb is your bud, then call him and get the products you need if that is all the help you need. Yeah fill out your profile, jimmy hates secrets.

 

[Jimmy L]

Could be from the decking.

 

[steve r]

using a solvent protector with a nice fragrance will help prevent this from happening.

i use a solvent protector on all my upholstery.

 

[Harry Myers]

Dry your cushions before putting them down. Place in an inverted V and dry. That is how the problem could have been solved. I also reccomend what Steve said in his 2nd reply . Maybe also try some sterifab to kill the mold. If it comes back they wont be happy. I would sterifab it first than do what Steve Reccomended.

 

[everfresh1]

Could be from the decking.

Thats what it sounds like to me, he(or the customer) put the wet coushon on a colored decking fabric if thats the case it'll never come out.

 

[sweendogg]

Decking material is a possibility.. Outset is a pretty high alkaline prepsray for white upholstery. I know it supposed to be self neutralizing, however if you just used water to rinse with you may have left it slightly on the alkaline side. Not only would this cause the browning but it could of caused migration of the decking material dyes into the cushion. How long between the cleaning and the customer calling? Down as a pretty powerful smell if it is overwet. In the future I would recommend always using an acid rinse, escpecielly on your white upholstery. And even go so foar as to recommond a product only for your white cotton upholstery to mitigate any problems.

 

[jojo bamboo]

Make sure that when you bring the cushin back that it matches the outher ones.
ie don't get carried away.

 

[Jose Smith]

Carpet cleaner,

You haven't even listed cover fabric content or any other relevant information.

Why was the cushion placed down before it was dry?

It is unlikely to be mold.

More likely some sort of browning/chemical reaction or could even be color from the decking.

It would take more information/photos for a correct diagnosis of the problem.

This is the only sound advice so far. There are far too many unanswered questions for corrective methods to be given.

Please post more info/pictures ,etc.


Jose Smith

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Look at the facts. If there was a problem with either the cleaning or the drying then all of the cushions would exhibit the same markings. You said only ONE cushion turned greenish purple on the underside. I can guarantee you had a tag with purple and green ink bleed onto the cushion. Like I said, "I have seen this happen before." An easy way to tell would simply be to wet the tag with water and the same chemical you used to clean the couch and check to see if it bleeds. The dye on the tag will look smeared as well. I have seen a tag bleed instantly when water got onto it. Luckily I caught it before too much damage was done. Learn from your mistakes. I always check the tags etc. to see if there is any chance the ink will bleed.

 

[carpet cleaner]

I'm waiting for her to call me, so I can go pick the cushion up.

Once I get it I'll post pictures.

Thanks.

 

[everfresh1]

Look at the facts. If there was a problem with either the cleaning or the drying then all of the cushions would exhibit the same markings. You said only ONE cushion turned greenish purple on the underside. I can guarantee you had a tag with purple and green ink bleed onto the cushion. Like I said, "I have seen this happen before." An easy way to tell would simply be to wet the tag with water and the same chemical you used to clean the couch and check to see if it bleeds. The dye on the tag will look smeared as well. I have seen a tag bleed instantly when water got onto it. Luckily I caught it before too much damage was done. Learn from your mistakes. I always check the tags etc. to see if there is any chance the ink will bleed.

He said the cushion on a chair, Chairs only have one cushion.