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The Advanced Upholstery & Fabric
Cleaning Technical Manual
By Jeff Cross
Senior Editor
Cleanfax magazine
jcross@ntpmedia.com
Copyright
2011
All rights reserved
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Table of Contents
Furniture cleaning challenges………..…….……..….3
Fiber basics……………………………………….….….….5
Fiber ID…………………………………………..………….17
Fiber characteristics……………………….……………19
Yarn manufacturing…………………….……………….20
Fabrics and weaves..………………….………………….21
Adding color to fabrics………………….……………….26
Color troubles/cleaning challenges..…………………27
Soil and fabric performance…………..……………….31
Inspection……………………………………………………33
Principles of cleaning……………………….……...……43
Methods of cleaning………………………………………47
Chemistry of cleaning…………………………….…..….57
Spot and stain removal…………………….………..…..69
Spot and stain removal procedures………………….73
Stain Wheel………………………………….…………..…..75
Stain Zapper Reference Guide…………………………77
Miscellaneous forms, homework, etc…..…………….92
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Furniture cleaning challenges
To professionals in the carpet cleaning industry, furniture
cleaning is a scary proposition…
Furniture cleaning is not carpet cleaning. The fibers, weaves and
fabrics are far more complex than carpet, although many of the
techniques you use in carpet cleaning can be used with various
furniture cleaning methods.
When cleaning carpet, those nylons, olefins and polyesters are easy
to clean and relatively worry free. But with furniture, you have
cotton, linen, silk, wool, rayon — and then the headaches begin.
You are faced with:
Bleeding (color loss) – This is color transfer or migration in the
presence of liquids (water based cleaning solutions), more common
with natural fibers due to increased fiber absorbency and slower
drying.
Crocking (color loss) – This is the physical transfer of color with
agitation (rubbing or scrubbing) of fabrics, with or without moisture.
Browning – Natural lignin in cellulosic materials will wick to the
surface of fabrics. Normally corrected with acid rinse.
Shrinkage – Shrinkage is actually the swelling of natural fibers,
usually in woven goods, pulling on other fibers, resulting in
wrinkles, torn seams and/or fabric distortion.
Haitian Cotton (minimally processed cotton) – It’s not as common
as it used to be (sometimes found in “canvas” fabric.)
Most problems are solved with an acid-side application or
rinse.
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Become a specialist
Furniture cleaning production is much slower than carpet cleaning
production. With furniture, take more time to analyze your cleaning
process.
Fabric cleaning has many details. From pleats to pillows, you aren’t
going to be cleaning with a screaming wand at 220 degrees
Fahrenheit.
However, this is a specialty, and with education and experience, you
can become an expert fabric care specialist.
Know your limits, and your customer’s
expectations
You should not expect the same cleaning results as you do with
carpet, especially when you
consider the amount of carpet
that can be cleaned compared
to the amount of upholstery
that can be cleaned in the same
amount of time spent on the
job. But with patience,
knowledge and the right
method and chemistry, you can
be an expert.
Your customer will have
expectations. Your customer is probably more concerned with the
furniture in the home than the carpet. More time, money and
thought goes into selecting furniture.
Along with those expectations comes pricing. Be sure to charge
enough and deliver beyond what is expected.
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Make sure you perform proper pre-inspections, have a signed work
order, and have the proper insurance. Remember, though, that if
cleaning removes color or alters the texture, insurance normally
does not cover that loss. Most insurance policies cover broken items
not being directly worked upon, such as other furnishings in the
home or business, or if someone suffers from a slip and fall accident.
A care, custody and control waiver will help protect you.
The fiber basics
Natural fibers found in fabrics (furniture has much more natural
fibers than carpet – and often are a blend of fibers, which may not be
identifiable individually by the technician.) These are fibers that
originate from plants, animals, and insects. Natural fabrics are very
absorbent (much more than synthetics) and require special care
and skill, especially with the chemistry used in your cleaning
process. All natural fibers are created using one of three spinning
methods: Warp, ring and open spinning.
Protein fibers
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1. Protein fibers (wool and silk) come from animals or their by-
products. Chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite), used in
many cleaning situations (such as laundries), will quickly
dissolve and/or soften protein fibers.
2. Protein fibers are naturally flame resistant, and normally
will hide dirt and give fabrics a “warm” look and feel.
Wool specifics
A protein fiber, from the fleece of a sheep or lamb — has a
natural crimp and is resilient.
This three-part fiber (epicuticle, cortex
and medulla) dates back to 2000 BC.
Use care with alkalinity. Dye migration
can occur, along with alkaline damage to
the epicuticle/epidermis (outer layer of
wool) if too strong of an alkaline solution
is used. For the most part, you do not
need a high pH for cleaning furniture.
Use products formulated for
wool.
Use gentle agitation with wool
fibers. You can “felt” the fabric
if not careful. Felting is the
interlocking of the scales of the
wool fiber.
Only use fluorochemicals as
fabric protectors as silicones
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block the pores of wool and cause premature degradation.
Wool can be damaged in direct sunlight, and suffer sunfading.
It is “warm” in feel and appearance, and has low luster.
Naturally soil resistant (hides dirt, too), and has protective
membrane that repels moisture but, at the same time, accepts
atmospheric moisture and helps control
static.
Lamb wool is the first fleece that is
sheered from a sheep that is eight
months or younger. It is softer and finer
than subsequent sheerings.
Virgin wool is wool that has never been
processed.
Pulled wool is fleeced taken from dead
animals and is most often used in making wool carpet fibers.
Can support insect growth.
Silk specifics
Produced by the silkworm (into cocoons),
it is the strongest (pound for pound) of all
natural fibers. Has thin “denier” or
thickness.
The moth lays the egg, the egg hatches
into a caterpillar that then feeds and
spins a cocoon. The cocoon is the material
harvested and spun into silk fabric.
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Silk fibers will easily watermark, so be sure to clean them
evenly, and with little water and neutral to slightly acidic pH.
You will find silk occasionally used in
furniture, sometimes as a blend.
Has a soft “hand” (feel), very
absorbent, good light reflection.
Negative traits: Spots or stains easily,
turns yellow with age, damaged by oils
(including perspiration) and by
sunlight, which can make it be brittle
and more challenging when cleaning.
Cellulosic fibers
Cellulosic fibers come from plants, and are typically the most
absorbent fiber used in upholstery.
Cotton is a seed fiber and grows on and is taken
from the seed hairs of the cotton plant, via
“ginning”, a mechanical process for cotton
production.
Cotton is the most popular fiber in the
world, and is the dominant furniture fabric, approximately
55% of the
market.
Mercerizing
with an alkaline swells cellulosic fibers and makes them
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stronger and adds luster. Cotton is often blended with other
types of fibers.
Only a cellulosic fiber can have “cellulosic browning” (much
like an apple will turn brown) caused by the lignin binders
dissolving in solution and
wicking to the surface. Alkaline
agents cause and intensify this.
Overwetting or slow drying also
contributes to browning. Correct
with acid rinse.
Cotton is highly absorbent,
which means longer drying times.
Cotton is stronger when wet.
Cotton does not contribute to static.
Haitian cotton is minimally processed, and has more
cottonseeds and other contaminants that can easily cause
cellulosic browning.
Negative traits: May swell and cause fabric shrinkage, brown,
has poor resilience, will abrade, can mold, can deteriorate in
sunlight.
Linen (flax) comes from the stem or
woody part of the flax plant. The
material goes through a rotting or
retting process in water. Resulting
fibers pulled from the stem are combed
and prepared for spinning into yarns.
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Linen is lustrous and light cream or tan, sometimes darker.
Good moisture absorbency.
Stronger when wet.
Good sunlight resistance; more so than cotton.
Negative traits: Typically expensive, may swell and cause
fabric shrinkage, will brown, stain, has low resilience, poor
abrasion, darkens when wet (during cleaning) but then it
lightens as it dries (which makes spotting difficult). Will
support mold growth.
Jute is made from the stalk of the jute plant. It is used
occasionally as a secondary backing in some upholstered pieces. It
has good dimensional stability and resistance to dry heat. But it
may swell and cause fabric shrinkage, and rot or brown with
overwetting and improper drying. Jute has many of the same
characteristics as cotton.
Manmade fibers (regenerated cellulosic)
Manmade fibers are typically considered to be synthetic
polymers and are manufactured using an “extrusion” process. But
not all synthetics are pure synthetics (100% polymer). Acetate and
rayon are examples of regenerated cellulose, but still fall in the
synthetic (manmade) family.
Acetate is a manmade fiber with natural materials. Purified
cellulose is blended with glacial acetic acid and then acetic
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anhydride. It is then extruded into a fiber with synthetic
characteristics.
It has good luster and is a good choice in draperies.
Resistant to shrinkage.
Has a soft hand.
Usually solution or disperse dyed, very colorfast.
Negative traits: Will abrade, dissolves in acetone (fingernail
polish remover), slightly weaker when wet.
Rayon (also called viscose) is the first manmade regenerated
cellulosic fiber, (often
referred to as artificial silk).
Like acetate, it has natural
materials. Wood pulp or
cotton is placed in alkaline,
which creates a liquid
material that is extruded
into fiber. Color can be added
in this step. The resulting
material is often referred to
as viscose. Rayon has many
characteristics of cotton.
Rayon has a soft “hand” (soft touch, comfortable).
Absorbent, dyes easily, good choice for draperies.
Negative traits: Shrinks, bleeds, browns, abrades, weak
resiliency, weakest fiber when wet, as absorbent as cotton.
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100% synthetic polymers
(non-absorbent)
All synthetic fibers are processed with fiber extrusion. Polymer
chips are blended and put into a
“hopper” and then melted and fed
through a “shower head” type
device called a spinnerette. Color
can be added during this process.
The fibers are extruded and go
into a cooling chamber, when they
are drawn, crimped and stretched,
resulting in a bulked continuous
filament fiber (BCF). These can then be cut into staple fibers (short
length fibers) which are created into yarn.
Nylon is the most
popular carpet fiber today,
although it isn’t used as
much in furniture
manufacturing.
– Nylon is
dissolved by
formic acid,
used for fiber
ID and melts at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
– Solution dyeing (pigmented dyeing) is sometimes used.
Good resiliency.
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