[david@zap-clean]

I've been using the well documented 'burn test' for fabric identification up to now quite successfully.  While it's straightforward with carpets, I'm having problems with IDing some upholstery fabrics:

I feel my sense of smell has diminished since I started this job.  The problem with IDing UP fabrics is that they are often fairly complex mixes of several fabric types. 

For example: I ID'ed one last week as (largely) cotton mix, but while surveying the job pre-clean I found a label which told me it was only 10% cotton.  The primary fabrics were polyester (52%) and acrylic (38%).  I'd have been non-the-wiser if label was missing!

Is there an alternative method?  And how do you manage this... I can guess the answer to this question 'always play safe'.

[John Kelly]

If there is no label on the upholstery ask the customer if they got any documentation when they bought it. There is sometimes info in there regarding the fabric.
99% of wet cleanable fabrics are perfectly safe to clean. Over time you are able to identify most of them by sight. If you have any worries do a test clean on a small area or take a small cushion away to test. You need to test using the products you would be using and fully dry the area to make sure there are no problems.
The only ones I can remember having any issues with where with quilted fabrics with various layer of different materials often called "pocket weave". If the materials shrink or expand at different rates when wetted then it can dry wrinkled.

[david@zap-clean]

Cheers John - good idea!

Upholstery used to scare the **** out of me, but after several training courses (inc IICRC) and 2 years experience, I'm fairly comfortable these days. UP cleaning is a much tougher challenge than carpets.

I'm off to see Derek Bolton next week, to get another perspective on UP cleaning.

[Simon Gerrard]

David,
After a period of time you rely less and less on id'ing fabrics and more upon instinct, whilst watching out for Dry Clean only labels and the obvious tell tale signs of viscose.
A burn test will only tell you the likely main fibre and whether or not it is wet cleanable but then so will the fibre content label. It is a good idea to know how to do a burn test but it in most cases it tells you next to nothing about how best to clean the fabric. A better test to do is an adaptation of the carpet dye test where you wet an inconspicuous area of a cushion with your usual cleaning agent and bulldog clip to it for a few minutes. This will show you the soil release and also an idea of pile distortion that may occur through their being more than one fibre present.
The principal decision you have to make is whether it is wet cleanable or not and from there on, how best to clean it and that decision is far more about the level of soiling that it has to do with the fibre content.

Simon

[david@zap-clean]

Hi Simon,

Yes, I'm much faster than I used to be.  I use the clip-test most of the time - mainly for dye bleed/distortion checking.

I have to say, I do these tests with plain water, not the cleaning solutions - mainly because I haven't mixed any up at this point, and also I use 'safe' cleaning solutions, appropriate rinse aids, and er, I'm maybe getting complacent, I mean experienced!

[Simon Gerrard]

Hi David,
There was a time when fibre identification along with a shrinkage test on fabrics was, not necessarily essential, but desirable, because some fabrics would shrink, others would bleed dyes and in the case of viscose you could get quite dramatic and irreversible pile distortion. With modern fabrics that are made up of a number of different fibres, those risks are diminished.
All I am interested in is 1) whether it is wet cleanable 2) given the soil conditions, how best to clean it 3) what impact the actual cleaning may have upon the fibres, both in the cleaning result and upon the subsequent drying time.

A burn test can also counterproductive. Sure, you should know what it is you are working on, but you shouldn't let that cloud how you go about doing what you are being paid to do. The presence of Viscose or Rayon, Cotton can have you thinking, 'Oh no, I daren't get this stuff too wet because it will be damp for weeks,' yet your looking at a suite that is heavily soil and needs a thorough deep clean, a contradiction in terms, no less. So after speaking to the customer and explaining that the result could be in question because of the make up of the fabric, why not just clean one cushion and see how it turns out. This first cushion may require different techniques, chemicals, chemicals combinations, agitation etc to get it clean, but through that process of getting that first cushion right, it tells you how to clean the rest of the suit. If you show the customer the result and she is happy with it, she's then qualified to the end result.
If you'd listened simply to the result of the burn test and detected Viscose etc, you could have been scared off altogether.

Simon

[david@zap-clean]

<snip>
If you'd listened simply to the result of the burn test and detected Viscose etc, you could have been scared off altogether.

Simon

Good post Simon, thanks.

The Sapphire revolutionised my UP cleaning :-)
I can put 20 litres through a sofa and still leave it relatively dry :-)