Upholstery Cleaning Services Chula Vista
Let cover some problems there are with upholstery cleaning right up front. First of all, when it comes to manufacturing upholstered products, there are no standards. What I mean by that is there is more information about a $10 shirt that you buy at Wal-Mart than there is for a $2,000 sofa. Currently, when it comes to fiber content, there are no government standards. The tag that is on the decking (which is the place where the cushions sit), is specifically for the materials that are used underneath the fabric, which are the cushion materials, ticking and batting. Some items do have a consumer information tag which might have cleaning codes. In a minute I will be discussing the codes, however we commonly take in two separate pieces (for example, a love seat and sofa) that have an identical structure and identical fabric, that were purchased at the same time in the same store but come with different cleaning codes.
If we ‘wet clean’ one and ‘solvent clean’ the other, usually the results are significantly different. We cover ourselves by cleaning according to the cleaning codes. The manufacturer can’t come back and claim that we voided the warranty. However, the consumer pays us to clean an item. No matter what kind of fabric it is, the deciding factor in being able to get an item clean is the soil. We frequently ‘wet clean’ items that state ‘dry clean only.’ When you need to deal with beverage spills, food or body oils (both hair and hand) or pets who love rubbing against the furniture, it means you are needing to deal with water-soluble soils. These only respond well with wet agents. That isn’t the manufacturer’s concern of course. Their concern is on what will and will not affect the fabric.
Common Upholstery Cleaning Codes
S: dry clean only, meaning no water
W: wet clean, meaning no solvents
S-W: wet or dry cleaning methods
X: vacuum only, using no cleaning agents
Now let’s briefly discuss the cleaning methods for upholstery cleaning. Here we have actual ‘dry’ methods (no water and using solvents), ‘dry’ (mostly low moisture), and ‘wet’ methods.
Methods For Cleaning Upholstery
Dry solvent method – This method is mainly used on non-colorfast or delicate fabrics that can easily be damaged if water-based methods are used. It is safe to use on nearly all dyes and fabrics but might damage adhesives that are on the back of some fabrics. Dry cleaning solvents are a type of hazardous chemical. That is why we won’t use them inside homes. It can take around 16 hours for these solvents to evaporate or off-gas from the fabric.
Absorbent Compound Method – This method involves minimal moisture and is classified as a type of dry cleaning. It involves using cleaning agents to treat the granular powder and then it is sprinkled onto the fabric and uniformly brushed over the fabric so that soils are suspended. It dries in approximately half an hour. It is necessary to use a dry vacuum for removing soil that the compound has absorbed.
Dry Foam Method – this involves dense foam that is machine made. A brush is used to distribute over the fabric. Once suspended in foam, a wet vacuum is then use to extract the soils.
Shampoo Method – Brushes, sponges or sprayers are used to apply a foaming cleaning agent to the fabric. A wet vacuum is then used to extract the suspended soils. Although the shampoo and dry foam methods are similar, the dense foam method is not as wet as the shampoo method.
Water Extraction – with this method a cleaning solution flows across or is injected into the fabric. The flushing action removes the suspended soils along with vacuuming from a wet vacuum. The best results are usually achieved by this method. However, it is only used on fabrics whose composition, dyes and fibers are not negatively affected by water-based cleaners or water.
We can frequently clean on location. However, upholstery that is very heavily soiled, or that has delicate fabric or requires solvent clean is taken into our plant to be cleaned. We are limited in the home to a one-time cleaning. However, in our shop we are able to cleaning something several times to ensure we get it as clean as we possibly can. One of our strong advantages is often that we know how to truly solve a problem. So many cleaners over the years have brought upholstery into us because they believed they had ruined it. Often it is easy to fix these “ruined” items and it all comes down to experience and knowledge.