[Emil Dinev]

I have cleaned an upholstered wall covered in silk that had some oily stains about. I advised customer that stains may not come out. Now got a call from them asking me to re-do the stains as their still visible. I used odourless mineral solvent applied by towel following vacuuming. Is there anything else I can do to improve the stains?

Any thoughts appreciated!

[stuart_clark]

You could try chemspec pog then the dry solvent afterwards
you need to rince out the pog with a dry solvent otherwise the pog may leave a residue mark

[Emil Dinev]

Thank you Stuart!
When you say rinse do you mean using dry solvent extractor, because I don't have one.
Would a cloth soaked in dry solvent be sufficient option?

Cheers

[Simon Gerrard]

I wouldn't use POG on this is is quite oily and could make matters worse, even if you did rinse it out.
Don't forget, you didn't put the stain there and while it is right you try your best to remove it for the client you need to be very careful that in-so-doing you don't  make matters worse and have an angry client on your hands.
Simon

[Mike Halliday]

I did a big hair grease mark on a silk headboard, I misted it chemspec dry solvent (the one that comes in their spotting kit) it came out with light towelling

[John Kelly]

Emil, you are on a hiding to nothing here. As has been said you could end up making things a lot worse
And a customer wanting a very expensive replacement. Its great being a hero untilmit goes tits up.
I would politely tell the client that you have carried out the appropriate treatment and unfortunately it didn't respond, any further treatments may end up damaging the fabric.
I think the only method which would work on this would be a dry solvent extraction machine.

[Emil Dinev]

Hey guys, thank you for your replies. I am going back anyways as I advertise 100% money back guarantee with the opportunity to rectify issues first. I am aware stains are not my fault and had explained to customer that they may not come out completely. I am thinking of making them aware of the possibility that the stains get worse if I made another attempt and get them to sign a disclaimer.
The thing is it's a hotel chain in Central London. I quoted on some more works yesterday that is to take place on monthly basis, nothing silk related this time though 
So I would like to play this smart in order to do more business with them.
What do you guys think about the disclaimer thing?

Cheers
Emil

[Simon Gerrard]

Emil,
Disclaimers aren't worth the paper they are written on.
The vast majority of clients accept why stains won't come out if it is explained to them properly and the ones that won't aren't in my experience people you want to be doing business with.
If I were you I wouldn't offer 100% guarantee on anything, especially stain removal as you are leaving yourself wide open to people taking advantage, plus, stain removal is not something you can guarantee as there are so many reasons why removal may be impossible.
People judge you on the quality of all of your work, not just one aspect of it.

Simon

[Simon Gerrard]

You can deal with this issue at the quoting stage by adding wording something like this at the bottom of this and every quote you.
'All stains will be treated with specialists products and whilst every effort will be made to remove them we cannot guarantee their complete removal.'
If the client accepts the quote they have also accepted that proviso, which should cover you against possible complaints and is far more effective (and legal) than a disclaimer.
Hope this helps,

Simon

[Emil Dinev]

Thakns Simon. Yes it helps!

Cheers
Emil

[Simon Gerrard]

It always helps to be as up front as you can with a new client so that they know what to expect. Many people still think stain removal is an inevitable consequence of getting things cleaned, whereas that is not necessarily the case, which is why dealing with the issue now and not when a complaint is made is the best way forward. This also helps flush out their expectations which may result in the insisting on stains been taken out and if that happens you have to stand your ground, or walk away.

Simon

[Emil Dinev]

Simon, I understand all your saying and fully support it. I am only going to carry out the additional work as a gesture of good will and in order to please the client so that they see I'm serious about doing business. Even if I have to issue a full refund. I'll let you guys know how I get on with this

[petermaybury]

Emil
do you have any idea what the stain is in the first place. Prochem fabric restorer is very effective on body oils and isopropanol is also effective on a lot of different oils. Pog is not a good idea as stated by others.
Although with the fabric restorer you may have to treat the whole panel to maintain uniformity as the restorer has quite a brightening effect on the fabric. The isopropanol is an excellent product that will evaporate very quickly.
I do carry forms to indemnify myself from damage all they do is basically reinforce the fact that you have explained the risks to the customer and that they are willing for you to carry out the work without any come back for any damage caused. They would help if ever anything did go wrong as the client could not say that you had told them any differently. It is just part of the professional process. It also reinforces to the customer that there may be a risk involved. They are evidence that you have explained things to the customer and that you have not acted irresponsibly. We have several of these forms for different situations including the use of pesticides and rodenticides, curtain cleaning, situations of high risk of schrinkage etc etc.
A 100 % satisfaction guarantee is quite a stupid thing to offer for every situation and it would only be professional on your part to explain when thing might not be 100 %. Which when you are dealing with things that have been used and worn in the first place cannot be always achieved. You need to explain that something thsat has been used cannot become new again, it is basic common sense and your customers need to have realistic expectations in the first place.

Peter

[Emil Dinev]

Ok, thanks everyone for your input. I have now carried out the remedial work and client is happy as "it made difference". I simply used dry solvent very gently applied to the not so visible stains. I had to use solvex on the bad stains followed by dry solvent. I also used hair dryer to be able to see the result there and then.