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| Tech Corner: Upholstery Cleaners Beware |
| Thursday, October 23, 2008 Posted by MarkCermak |
 Upholstery Cleaners Beware
By Carey Vermeulen LMCCA Technical Advisor
 Today’s upholstery cleaning technician has many new issues to deal with as they attempt to clean their client’s furniture. Much of the time, we are still safe, and can successfully clean these fabrics, providing we....
Over the last twenty-five years, I have seen many changes in furniture manufacturing in North America, and around the world.
Having grown up in a family run upholstery business, which was the premise for the start up of our carpet cleaning company, I have had a long time exposure to furniture and the many fabrics used,
During my nine year tenure as IICRC TAC (Trade Advisory Committee) Chair
I had the opportunity to represent the IICRC at the American Home Furnishings Alliance’s (then called AFMA) and participate on their Standards & Guidelines Committee, and also chair several of their committees.
During the 1970s and 1980s upholstery technicians had to contend with fabrics like Haitian Cotton, Multi colored Brocades, made with multiple types of fibers, Multi layered Matlases , also often made with multiple types of fibers.
Many carpet cleaning technicians rushed around trying to find answers from their suppliers and through IICRC Certification.
These fabrics would shrink, bleed, turn brown or deteriorate as we cleaned them.
They often cost us more than the cleaning job was worth in the first place.
I can remember when hand applying dry cleaning solvent to a fabric that was a known bleeder, to allow us use wet cleaning systems, while extracting through a screen, to try to clean these fabrics, or having to remove the suede upholstery fabric from a piece of furniture, taking it to the local Dry Cleaner for cleaning and then reinstalling the suede to the furniture.
We have come a long way since those days.
Cleaning chemical manufacturers stepped up to the plate, and started producing cleaners and rinse products specifically for difficult to clean upholstery fabrics. Equipment manufacturers developed better tools and equipment to help us clean better, and safer.
IICRC education taught us how to use these products, combined with cleaning methods that allowed us to become true professionals in Upholstery Cleaning.
In 2000 the IICRC published S300, the Standard & Reference Guide for Professional Upholstery Cleaning. The document was a collaborative effort between many AFMA members, who represented fabric and furniture manufacturers, and many IICRC volunteers. Many of which whom are still volunteering today. The S300 outlines the various cleaning methods, fiber characteristics, manufacturing techniques, color fastness codes, the difference between maintenance / normal / restorative cleaning, plus a wealth of other information beneficial to the professional upholstery cleaner.
Today’s upholstery cleaning technician has many new issues to deal with as they attempt to clean their client’s furniture. Much of the time, we are still safe, and can successfully clean these fabrics, providing we do careful inspection, including fiber identification to determine the best system and chemical for that particular piece.
However, we must also contend with a lot of fabric that is manufactured “Off-Shore”. This is where we can get into trouble, and unknowingly cause damage to our client’s furniture. In 2006 reports showed that 30 % of the fabric, and or furniture that was sold in North America was from an “Off-Shore” manufacturer.
These non North American fabrics are often made to duplicate similar fabrics made right here at home. I refer to these fabrics as “Off-Shore, Knock-Offs”.
The main differences in the Knock Offs are typically in the fiber content and the structural integrity of the weave itself. This, combined with manufacturing quality controls and quality standards, that are often less stringent than ours here at home, can spell havoc for the upholstery cleaning professional.
Whether the fabric in question is a micro fiber, twill weave, flat weave, printed jacquard, chenille, or velvet. They are often made with a lot more rayon than we are used to seeing in our homegrown fabrics, where in recent years the North American fabric manufacturers embraced olefin for many of their fabrics, which made our job easier. Things are changing.
As our fabric manufacturers continue to lose market share, we need to be prepared to provide a much-needed service to our clients, and contend with different fabrics, that look the same.
Rayon, by definition in IICRC S300 is a “Regenerated/Modified Cellulose Fiber. Manmade and Semi Synthetic. It begins as a combination of chemicals and liquefied components, extruded through a spinneret and then hardened in liquid or air to form a manmade filament or fiber.
Whats important to the upholstery-cleaning technician, is that rayon, much like cotton, absorbs about 20% of its weight in moisture. So shrinkage and wrinkling can be a problem. It also loses about 70% of its strength when wet. So we need minimize agitation and moisture as we clean it. Finally, keep the heat down. Treat it as you would wool.
Pick an upholstery hand tool that lets you control the amount of moisture that hits the fabric, and you will do a great job.
As with any cleaning job, carpet, or upholstery, make sure you dry the fabric as quickly as possible, ensuring it is dry before you leave the jobsite. Excess moisture and chemical residue could affect the dye in the fiber resulting in bleeding or color migration in the fabric.
Remember “Off-Shore” fabrics are just different from what we are used to. But we can still clean them.
Client communication is critical when evaluating possible results. So make sure your client is well informed that their fabric is different. My recommendation to fellow cleaners out there is to familiarize yourself with these fabrics, so you can recognize them, before you make them wet!
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