How to clean upholstery fabric

     When cleaning the fabric on upholstery or a sofa or chair you need to know what it is made of. Most couches are a mixed fabric but performing a burn test will give you an idea on what type of fabric you are dealing with, so you will  know how to go about cleaning the upholstery. You can open the zipper and take a single strand of fiber and do a burn test. If nothing else, it will help to know if it is a synthetic or natural fiber, because those two types of fibers you need to use different types of products to clean them.  When cleaning upholstery it helps to stay close to 7 PH level or just under that so you do not run into any problems. Using Prochem fine fabric shampoo is between a 6-7 PH level and that is really safe for most fabrics.                             When you are dealing with soils on the fabric, if it is a oil based soil like gum, ink, makeup, oils, you need to use a solvent because those stains are not water soluble. If it is a food stain with sugars you need to use a water based product because those type of soils are not solvent soluble. When you are dealing with color stains in the fabric, if it is a natural color stain like mustard, wood stain from furniture, or grape juice, you would use a peroxide base product. If it is a food coloring  stain you would need to use an ammonia based  product. We always carry a dozen if different carpet cleaning products to get out different stains in the fabric. Having a table to work on makes it easier to see the bad areas and to do a better job cleaning the upholstery. We also spend a lot of time to protect your home in the process. 

This is our Mytee high dry upholstery cleaning tool. It only gets the fabric wet if it touches it so there is no over spray and it doesn't force water into the foam padding. If the fabric has any pilling on it we use this fabric shaver. 

   Cleaning codes for upholstery cleaning                                                                                                      W: Water-base cleaning agents or foam can be used. Never use tap water because it has minerals in the water that might leave a water ring on the upholstery when cleaning.                           S:   Only mild water-free cleaning solvents, never use water, do not dry clean in part.                  WS:   Water-base cleaning agents. Foam or mild water-free cleaning solvents may be used. Never use tap water because it has minerals in the water so use distilled  water so there will not be any fading or a water ring when you on done cleaning the upholstery.                                    X:     Clean only by vacuuming or light brushing to remove overall soil in the upholstery, never use water, foam or liquid cleaning agents.                                                                                           The important thing is to find out if it is a natural fiber or a man made fiber or a mixed blend to give you an idea how to clean the fabric. For an example you would not want to try to clean a wool fabric or get out a blood spot in hot water.

Here is more about our upholstery cleaning service