I don’t think so! The small sofa in the pictures below was brought to our shop for cleaning after having been stored with a local Boston area moving company for the last 3-4 years. Our client informed us that the piece was in need of a thorough cleaning even before it went into storage. The before pictures show how extensive the embedded soils are, especially in the inside back area. Because of the degree of soiling, you may think that being “gentle” with the cleaning is impractical (not removing enough soils), but what we also had to factor in was that this piece was built sometime between the years 1790 and 1825, according to our client. Reupholstering of an antique sofa like this is definately out of the question.
The before pictures:
BEFORE: Notice the soiling in the upper right corner!
BEFORE: Heavy soiling throughout!
The best method to clean a piece like this is to do several very gentle cleanings, allowing the fabric to fully dry inbetween each cleaning. To protect the colors from bleeding and the “hand” from changing the detergents should be a neutral pH or slightly acidic water-based detergent formulated to not only quickly emulsify greasy soils but provide for an easy wet extraction rinse. A quick dry-down is also a must.
A note about solvent or “dry” cleaning detergents: whena fabric cannot be cleaned using water-based detergents solvent cleaners may be the only option. Solvent cleaners will remove soils, but will not remove as many types of soils as water-based. Solvents also cannot correct heavily soils fabrics.
The after pictures:
AFTER: Notice the upper right corner-the black marking is gone!
AFTER: The colors are brighter!
Questions about your own fine upholstery? Please contact us at 781-995-0683 or info@regalclean.com. You can also watch the latest episode of REGAL TV by visiting: http://youtube.com/regalfabriccare Message us on facebook at http://facebook.com/regalfabriccare and share your “Tales from the Dirty Side” photos, videos or stories.
