Fabric content

[cajunpedaler]

One of the big mysteries these days is fabric content.  Especially since most upholsterers work with COM fabric.  Most of the time, I can tell if something is synthetic or cotton, but that's as far as it goes..
Therefore, when delivering a finished piece using COM, I put on the receipt that Customer supplied fabric. I guess my mild rant here is the cleaning methods recommended for different fabrics.  Water based, or definitely not water based cleaners..or solvent type cleaner, etc.

I personally have a piece of furniture that, as I type this, I am committing the ultimate upholstery fabric sin..I am washing the cushion cover in the...gasp...my hand to my throat....WASHING MACHINE!!! (Imagine horror movie music here)

I have no idea what the fabric content is...It pills, I shave it.  It's synthetic for sure.  It's a piece of furniture that my dogs are on quite a bit.  And it seems to stink to high heaven...worse, way worse than any fabric that they also spend time on.

I'm not a believer in Febreeze at all...it's chemical makeup and the fact that it simply fools the brain into thinking there is no odor is creepy to me.

Anyone chime in? Similar thoughts, similar experience?

Perry

[sofadoc]

I act dumb about ALL COM fabrics (and it really doesn't take an Academy Award winning performance on my part).

Even if you know the content, you can't be sure whether or not the fabric got the full treatment when it was milled.

So when a customer brings me an unmarked roll of material........"I dunno nuthin' 'bout nuthin'"

[SteveA]

If cleaning a fabric that you're unsure of the make up -Id tell customer to  test an area that doesn't show - and start with a dry cleaner rather then water based.  I see that most of the professional cleaning services have a sign off sheet that you initial before they start. It absolves them of damage e.g. running colors, water marks, fraying etc. They can usually tell what to do without causing damage. 
If the fabric covered chair was mine I'd have no hesitation trying the washing machine with mild detergent using cold water only.
SA

[byhammerandhand]

I clean a lot of fabric.  In fact, it's my most common "upholstery" chore.

Some fabrics you can put on the laundry.  Personally, I recommend against it unless the manufacturer has specifically indicated so.   Can you get away with it?   Sometimes yes, sometimes no.   I think your big risk other than bleeding is irregular shriinkage, either making the cover not fit or skewing on a bias.

I have a couple of dry cleaning solutions along with the dozen or more water-cleaning solutions.  Most fabrics you can successfully water clean without a problem, even many labelled S-clean (dry clean).   One of my early customers I did a lot of protection plan work for.   The wife owned a retail store that I also worked for directly in the warehouse and the husband (and daughter) with both fabric manufacturer's reps for fabric to the upholstery factories.  (Husband had eastern US and daughter had western).    I asked him one day why everything from the store was S-coded when I knew from experience that it was almost always water cleanable.   He laughed and basically said to protect themselves from the DIYers that improperly cleaned their goods and ruined them.

When I first went to training the instructor was very careful to talk about S-clean vs W-clean and never mix them up.   My first few jobs were not very successful.   I finally got "Chemistry for Dummies" and read the section on solvents and solvency and the light went on.   I nearly immediately learned to ignore the stated cleaning code and use what I had to to get the stain out, wihich was almost always water.   "What goes in wet, comes out wet."  The dry cleaning solvents work well on inks, oils, and greases, but not foods, body fluids, body oils, cosmetics, beverages, pet hair oils, etc. that's 98% of the stains I see.

Anyway, I learned to avoid water on chenille as it irreparably distorts the nap.   And there are some fabrics that bleed dye.  It's been a long time since I've seen any of the 100% cotton that one store used to sell a lot of, frosted, lost color and looked like old blue jeans in a short while and "stained easily and cleaned with difficulty"    I was really glad when all those plans aged out.

http://www.carrscorner.com/cleaning.php

[SteveA]

Hammer
If I cleaned a fabric with water labeled " Dry clean only " and it resulted in a new issue - I've got trouble.  You of course can get away with it because you know what you're looking at.  I'm not bad on rugs with my Electrolux machine but fabrics scare me. 
I have had very good results w/afta but things like resolve seem to leave a shadow mark.  I've had good results on box springs and mattresses w/resolve.   Thanks for that link - a lot of great info.  One more thing to bring on the next service call - a Washing Machine.
SA

[Dede]

I asked him one day why everything from the store was S-coded when I knew from experience that it was almost always water cleanable.   He laughed and basically said to protect themselves from the DIYers that improperly cleaned their goods and ruined them.

I knew it!

[byhammerandhand]

One technique that you need to know if you're water cleaning anything.  Always do a seam-to-seam cleaning.   I've seen lots of spots where the consumers tried to clean it themselves and ended up with what they thought was a "water spot."   It was actually just a very dirty fabric and ended up with a clean sport and around the perimeter of their cleaning, the dirt left a ring.

A second tip is that if it's a very colored stain, for example a marker, dark food, etc.   Run a ring of wet with your cleaning solution around the stain first, then spiral into the stain.   This prevents a 1" stain from migrating into a 4" stain.

And when in doubt, take a white towel wet with your cleaning solution (or just water) and do a wet rub test on a hidden area (like by the zipper on the back of a cushion or the sample tag on the deck if there is one.  If you get color transfer or modified look, stop.  I'm always amazed at people that start with a new product front and center on a piece - whether its wood finishing, painting, cleaning upholstery or wood furniture, etc.