[John Kelly]

I have spoken to a few cleaners who have had pink discolouration problems on upholstery which was not rectifiable using either Alkaline or Acid. The PH indicator dye problem is usually easily rectified.

This new issue is caused by flame retardants, usually applied to the inner cushions especially if they are feather filled. They are moisture sensitive and can turn the outer fabric pink once moisture, regardless of PH, wicks through.
These are a few American articles highlighting the problem:

http://cleanwiki.com/industry/red-discoloration-problems-on-upholstery/

http://www.ecleanadvisor.com/public/843.cfm

[david@zap-clean]

Tnx John, much appreciated...

I've not come across this problem, yet.  The documentation you've pointed to states the issue is with the flame retardant treatment of the inner cotton casing of down cushions.  Could I assume that, if you don't over-wet the outer fabric (e.g. use a sapphire tool), there's unlikely to be an issue?

[John Kelly]

Unfortunately not, even slight moisture contact can bleed it through.

[DB]

John

Is there any chance of you obtaining some of the damaged fabric or letting me know who can supply some of the new 'stuff'

I had a chat twelve months ago with an American who I asked to get me some (I am prepared to pay) .... no result

I have a few ideas on how this may be cleaned

Kind regards

Derek

[John Kelly]

Hi Derek
At the moment both cases are in limbo. When something concrete happens I'll see if any cushions are available. Its an Acid based flame retardant which is the culprit. Its applied to feather filled cushions so I wonder if there is a manufacturer who supplies these to the upholstery trade who is the source.
One of the suites affected is a Duresta.

[Mike Gwilliam]

I wonder if the manufacturers could be held responsible for these problems. The problem is tracing back the supplier and manufacturer. Then there is the problem of getting them to own up to how the upholstery was treated during manufacture which had caused the problem.

There is an old but informative case study/s here that refers to PH sensitive dyes in the fabric and correction methods.:
http://restorationindustry.org/files/dyes_Ramirez377.pdf

Also rapid drying can influence success it seems.

[Mike Gwilliam]

Also another useful link here: http://www.carpetinspector.com/members/ph_indicator_dye_on_upholstery.htm

Quote:
CONCLUSION

The color change in the chair in question was inherent in the dyes as an indicator dye and are correctable.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Lasting corrections cannot be made with just ammonium hydroxide because of its volatility.

The acid residue needs to be rinsed out of the fabric. Therefore, a steam extraction with a mildly alkaline cleaning solution should correct the situation. If the resulting pHs are slightly over seven, then ammonium hydroxide should clear up any remains of redness.

[homenclean]

We had this before Xmas pinking to a new sofa but only on one arm, luckily owner didn't hold me responsible and was understanding and accepted my explanation of what had caused it.
Richard at chem spec was a great source of knoledge and advice but unfortunately couldn't rectify it.

Customer contacted the supplier as it was only a few weeks old (was only having it cleaned as kids party resulted in few marks, big house, really expensive corner sofa) suppliers inspected it and agreed to replace it.

Difficult to spot these potential problems.
John

[Dave_Lee]

This is interesting as i had a suite a couple of weeks ago, that in a couple of places, pink started to come through. I couldn't figure it out. However I dried off the area as much as possible with a terry towel and set the blower directly on each area. The Pink seemed to vanish as it dried.
Dave.

[Hilton]

Are these suites sold as 'cleanable ' ?

if so they are not fit for purpose and as such no claim can be made against the cleaner, if their recommended cleaning instructions have been followed..

[John Kelly]

This is not your standard PH indicator dye problem. That is an inherent problem with the dyes used to colour the fabrics re-acting to either Alkaline or Acidic cleaning solutions.
This problem is the flame retardant re-acting to plain water.

[DB]

Thanks John

In the US it was the fabric inter-liners that were causing the problem....dubbed 'the Red Scare' at the time

Fit for purpose is debateable...I tend to agree that they aren't fit for purpose ...however there is so much money swashing about within the industry no one will rock the boat by commenting...they play the numbers game...sell thousands' of units and pay out for the odd person who complains

I have been down this road before some years ago... the only thing we, as cleaners, can do is test on the zip end of a cushion. Trading Standards viewpoint tends to be is the 'last person to touch it syndrome' is responsible...after all (they say) we are supposed to be the professionals... they fail to realise that we are not textile chemists